Editorial: Games should be quarantined from political ambition

The state government’s latest stadium move fails the pub test, and feeds the growing perception it has lost touch, writes the editor.

It was always hard to understand why it was that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk wanted sole control of the Olympic Games, considering the organising of the massive event is always so controversial – and fraught – in the lead-up to the glory of the opening ceremony that two former host nations have literally made sitcom-style mockumentaries about the inevitable mess of it all.

But Ms Palaszczuk still chose to name herself the Minister for the Olympics (tacking on a year later, after an outcry, “and Paralympics”).

She also deliberately dismissed the usual convention of keeping at arm’s length from government a co-ordination authority to work with the other 11 “Games delivery partners” on the delivery of the necessary Games infrastructure. Ms Palaszczuk instead set up that body within her own department.

But Ms Palaszczuk is now quickly learning that with all that power also comes the responsibility – and, from a political perspective when there is nobody else to blame, you wear it yourself.

We have seen evidence of this already with Ms Palaszczuk’s decision to progress plans to have the main Games stadium at the Gabba, which then requires a full demolition and rebuild that was to have cost $1bn but that price has already tripled – opening up along the way a political opportunity for the Greens in an electorate once held by Labor, with the party now leading the campaign against the necessary relocation of the East Brisbane State School.

And we have seen it over the past few days with the government’s bungled announcement of a new $137m 20,000-seat boutique stadium at the Main Arena at the inner-city RNA Showgrounds to host cricket and AFL for the four or five years that the Gabba will be out of action.

Without an independent body to handle the negotiations over who is to pay for the necessary new venue – the government, the RNA, the council, the AFL and/or cricket – the government has tried to play politics with the process in order to deflect the criticism Ms Palaszczuk fears she will personally get over the cash being spent on the Gabba.

But, oh, the tangled web she has weaved, because by shooting for the political deflection Ms Palaszczuk has simply turned the spotlight back on herself. Instead of a one-day story, the controversy about the new stadium has dominated the news for days – and will continue to do so, with all those stakeholders feeling blindsided and, yes, extorted.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk named herself Minister for the Olympics (and Paralympics).

Adding fuel to that fire was the bizarre claim on Sunday from Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe that the government did not need to compensate Queensland Cricket and the Brisbane Lions for the years they would spend playing in a smaller stadium. Bizarre, because that is like the government demolishing the building a local bakery operates from, and telling the owner that they should just suck it up – “and oh, if you wouldn’t mind can you stump up some cash to help build your temporary new shop? We won’t be paying for it alone”.

It is just rude – and it certainly doesn’t pass the pub test. It also feeds the growing perception that this is a premier and a government that has lost touch; perhaps in some instances even with reality.

Further, by trying to play politics by demanding the LNP-led Brisbane City Council help fund the RNA upgrade simply because the Lord Mayor once said he liked the idea, Ms Palaszczuk has blown up the quite respectful bipartisan support she had enjoyed from City Hall in relation to her plans for the Games. Now, all those bets are off. It is a massive own goal.

And if that is not all bad enough, the government has also picked an unnecessary fight with the AFL and cricket by choosing to avoid negotiating with them in good faith, and instead unveiling with no notice plans for a new sporting facility only necessary because of Ms Palaszczuk’s own decision to go ahead with the Gabba rebuild that the government now expects them to help pay for. Minister Hinchliffe then doubled down on Sunday, indicating he had not told them because he cannot trust them.

The Courier-Mail has long been an enthusiastic supporter of the upgrade of the RNA Main Arena as the best option to cover the loss of the Gabba while it is rebuilt. Not only will it be a Games venue – currently for equestrian, possibly also for cricket – but the rebuild will leave a valuable Olympic legacy for the inner-city.

But we have also passionately advocated for the decision-making for the Games to remain as distant from the politicians as possible. That is because a successful event and legacy from it must remain as free of politics as possible.

We have previously noted that a well-functioning co-ordination authority is not just a nice thing to have, it is critical. The co-ordination authority traditionally sits level with the Organising Committee in terms of its importance.

After the Sydney 2000 Games, the International Olympics Committee awarded its Gold Order to only two people – the chair of the organising committee and the chair of the co-ordination authority. That was how important both were to staging what was then described as the “best Olympic Games ever”.

It is clear this sorry mess must be sorted out if Brisbane 2032 is to avoid a far less flattering verdict.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Games should be quarantined from political ambition