Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Finest minds recruited to ensure legacy

In the latest episode of our Toward the Games podcast, special guest Annastacia Palaszczuk reveals the new committee taking shape. LISTEN NOW

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and AOC chairman John Coates

Queensland’s brightest and most passionate minds will be recruited within weeks for a unique Olympic Games committee tasked with securing long-term benefits for the state.

Applications for a position on Brisbane’s Olympic Games Legacy Committee will open within weeks, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed.

The Legacy Committee, committed to by Ms Palaszczuk following a push by The Courier-Mail, will focus on how Queensland will benefit from the Olympics.

It will be separate from the official International Olympic Committee-mandated organising committee, which will plan and deliver the $5 billion 2032 Games and instead focus on ensuring Queensland benefits decades beyond the four-week event.

Speaking on the latest episode of The Courier-Mail and Nova’s Toward the Games podcast – out today – Ms Palaszczuk said the Legacy Committee would comprise people from diverse business, sporting and cultural backgrounds.

“In the very near future – I can’t give away Cabinet deliberations – but in the very near future we’ll be going out to advertise,” she said.

“There are so many people who want to be on it and people are coming up to me saying I think I’ve got something to contribute to it.

“I think that’s going to be a great committee.”

The recruitment process is expected to seek applicants ­before a shortlist and then ­successful candidates are selected by the Government.

Ms Palaszczuk also pledged her ministers would be “out and about in the boardrooms across the state” to ensure the private sector had the Government’s ear in Games planning.

Former Brisbane lord mayor Sallyanne Atkinson, who spearheaded the city’s ­unsuccessful bid for the 1992 Games, said members of the Legacy Committee must acknowledge it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“I think it’s very important we have people who have a passion for Queensland and a commitment to the state,” she said.

“Think about what kind of a city, what kind of a state do we want in the future?

“We’ve always got to be thinking beyond the Olympics – the Olympics will be two wonderful weeks, but the state will last forever.”

Ms Atkinson, who said she would welcome involvement in planning the Games, said Brisbane’s Legacy Committee must focus beyond the road and rail infrastructure that would inevitably be built.

“The cultural side is very important – it’s the art and ­culture which determines what kind of a city we have,” she said.

“The other one of the exciting aspects of Brisbane is it’s a city that keeps evolving and dealing with change.”