Editorial: Fighting must stop to deliver Brisbane’s Olympic Games legacy

The Brisbane 2032 Olympics are not about one person, but, increasingly, we’ve seen tall-poppy politicians jostling over who is most critical to their success, writes the editor. Regardless of who had the idea first or in whose back yard the stadiums will be, we must unify.

One of the most respected names in Australian sport has fired a warning shot at self-absorbed politicians who put their personal profile above community benefits.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll has made an impassioned plea for all levels of government to stop playing politics with the Brisbane Olympic Games.

Mr Carroll, a five-year veteran of the AOC’s top job, used his address at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon in Brisbane to urge local, state and federal levels of government to row together towards Brisbane’s Olympic Games.

He noted the enthusiasm to deliver legacy opportunities, but demanded we “do it as a team”.

Mr Carroll likened Brisbane’s Olympic runway to rowing and declared “if you’re not pulling your weight or in time – everyone knows that you are letting the team down”.

CEO of the Australia Olympic Committee Matt Carroll. (Image/Josh Woning)

It’s a timely and poignant reminder of just how fragile these Games are.

There is no certainty they will deliver the legacy opportunities Queensland needs.

Unity between the three levels of government over the Games has eroded since Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and then-sports minister Richard Colbeck held hands in Tokyo last year.

We saw, last week, the most significant fracture of the relationship when Mr Colbeck – unceremoniously dumped by the Premier from the Olympics board after the federal election – returned serve.

He declared it “frightening” how little the state government had done in the year since the Games was announced.

Members of the Brisbane 2032 delegation (L-R) John Coates AC, President, Australian Olympic Committee, Annastacia Palaszczuk, Adrian Schrinner, and Richard Colbeck celebrate after Brisbane was announced as the 2032 Summer Olympics host city during the 138th IOC Session at Hotel Okura in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Getty Images)

Already we’ve seen the state bicker with the commonwealth over funding critical rail infrastructure to the Sunshine Coast, and with the council over the South Brisbane site, which will become the International Broadcast Centre.

Most concerning, however, is the lack of agreement about how the body responsible for delivering infrastructure will be formed.

The 2032 Olympic Games will take care of themselves.

World-renowned businessman Andrew Liveris will ensure the organising committee is an efficient and driven team, which will put on a great Olympics.

However, what isn’t certain is that Queensland will take advantage of the transformational benefits these Games can provide.

That is, right now, the responsibility of our political leaders – a realisation to frighten the most casual observers of Queensland politics.

It is more worrying, perhaps, that those responsible for building the social and sporting benefits, roads and rail, are unlikely to be in the public arena and accountable once the 2032 flame is extinguished.

We’ve warned before, the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games are not about one person, or even one level of government. It will provide social, economic and community benefits further than any government could possibly achieve.

Increasingly, we’ve seen tall-poppy politicians jostling over who is most critical to the success of the Games.

Regardless of who had the idea first, who travelled to Lausanne, or in whose back yard the stadiums will be built, we must unify.

It is critical all three levels row together over the next decade or Queenslanders will forever remember who squandered this one-in-a-generation opportunity.