Redland mayor Jos Mitchell ditches opposition to Olympic whitewater venue to tour France
Redland Mayor Jos Mitchell will take a 10-day ratepayer-funded international Olympic fact-finding tour despite publicly opposing a $100 million whitewater venue in her city during last year’s election campaign.
QLD News
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A bayside mayor elected after her stance opposing a $100m Olympic whitewater venue has faced backlash after using a mayoral minute to announce a 10-day international Olympic fact-finding tour for herself and a council executive.
Redlands Mayor Jos Mitchell will travel business-class to Singapore, the UK and France after running an election campaign last year opposing “wasteful” overseas trips and building a $100m Olympic whitewater venue in Birkdale.
She will be one of 11 South East Queensland mayors to travel on the tour, which leaves Brisbane on February 4 and is organised by the Council of Mayors South East Queensland.
The mayoral tour will be completed before the state government’s 100-day Olympic venue review is handed down on March 9.
Members of the Games Authority executive visited the Birkdale site on Wednesday as part of the 100-day review.
Ms Mitchell’s anti-Olympic venue stance was widely publicised in April after she and four other councillors unsuccessfully voted against building the 2032 Olympic whitewater venue on council community land at Birkdale.
Six other councillors successfully voted to proceed with the controversial bayside Olympic project prompting a $150,000 feasibility investigation into the project.
In May, the state government gave the council the green light for the $100 million venue, despite claims it might cost customers as much as $160 a ticket to use and no financial feasibility study.
The mayor pre-empted the backlash over her latest announcement by addressing the 10-day trip publicly via a mayoral minute in December, even though council approval was not required for the international tour.
“I was elected on a platform of being probative and proactive and I have been openly supportive of the Olympic Games and the impetus for infrastructure that (the Games) can bring,” she said in a statement sent to The Courier-Mail this week.
“ … In April 2024, five councillors voted against progressing the facility. I voted against because the community had provided strong opposition and we did not have access to a completed validation process.
“We have since had a change in state government and I am looking forward to the new government’s determination via the 100 Day Review, and the assurance that this will be a project that only delivers benefits for our community.
“I have been advocating strongly for infrastructure since I commenced, including the Metro and I want to ensure Redlands ratepayers get all benefits possible and not burdens.
“We need to be absolutely sure the proposed whitewater centre is viable and good value for money.”
This week, the mayor defended her new comments on the venue, claiming she voted against the project in April because there was no completed state government validation report available at the time.
The tour will include an 80-minute visit to the French Olympic whitewater venue, known as the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
Built in 2019, the venue hosted the Olympic rowing and canoe-kayak events and is 39km east of the heart of Paris by rail.
Along with Beijing and Penrith outside Sydney, it is one of three sites in the world with the facilities to host Olympic and Paralympic canoe-kayak and rowing events.
Ms Mitchell also defended her world tour claiming it would not cost ratepayers any extra money and would be cheaper than previous mayor Karen Williams’ $30,000 COMSEQ Olympic fact-finding trip in 2023.
Funding for Ms Mitchell’s trip has been set aside from a $106,000 annual fee that Redland ratepayers pay to the Council of Mayors South East Queensland.
Former Redland mayor Williams 2023 COMSEQ Olympic international trip cost ratepayers more than $30,000 as it included an additional five-day side trip across the US to visit whitewater venues.
Ms Williams also bolted on costs for business class flight upgrades in both directions, at a total additional outlay of $16,000.
Costs for Ms Mitchell’s selected council executive total $8500, which the mayor said was half the cost for the executive officer on the 2023 trip.
Ms Mitchell also pointed out that the six councillors criticising her trip had voted in favour of the previous mayor’s delegation and extra expenditures.
Redland ratepayers have expressed mixed reactions to the mayor’s international Olympic trip with some claiming it was an opportunity to advocate for Redland’s interests on a global stage, while others viewed it less positively.
“We elected her to shield us from these kinds of expenses,” one resident said. “This feels like a complete reversal of what she stood for.”
But a resolute Ms Mitchell said annual COMSEQ missions gave mayors the chance to build knowledge in areas important to civic administration and to promote their city and southeast Queensland while developing trade and cultural ties.
More Coverage
Originally published as Redland mayor Jos Mitchell ditches opposition to Olympic whitewater venue to tour France
State cautioned over ‘knee-jerk’ response to rogue gender clinic
The Queensland government is the first in the country to ban hormone therapies for gender diverse children but the state’s doctors warn against the ‘dangerous’ move
Landslides, 350mm deluge, cyclone threat as ‘tropical waves’ collide
A monster tropical low as formed off the coast of Far North Qld and four others could develop off northern Australia – increasing the risk of cyclones – with 350mm downpours closing roads and triggering landslides.