Suburban groups on both sides of Brisbane River at war over 2032 stadium location
Thousands of residents in well-organised community groups opposed to Brisbane 2032 are fighting to ensure their backyards don’t become the centre stage when the city is beamed to the world.
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Well-organised community groups on both sides of the river and in the suburbs are mobilising to fight against their backyards becoming the stage on which Brisbane is beamed to the world.
Time is ticking towards the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in Queensland for the first time.
Thousands of residents camped in a seemingly growing list of groups opposed to the Games are now fighting to ensure the cauldron isn’t hoist above a stadium in their backyard.
Save Victoria Park formed in 2020 ahead of the looming closure of the golf course and redevelopment as a major public-use parkland.
While active, its campaigning slowed until early 2024 when whispers grew louder Victoria Park was being considered for a new stadium.
Now, glitzy renders of a Melbourne Park-style sporting precinct combined with the backing of Brisbane 2032 boss Andrew Liveris, the Lions AFL team, Queensland Cricket and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner appear to have given the momentum to Victoria Park.
“We obviously think it’s a crazy idea,” Save Victoria Park spokeswoman Sue Bremner said.
Coupled with the drive to protect the “lungs” of Brisbane, the group argues difficult terrain, a lack of public transport options and busy traffic meant the park shouldn’t become the centrepiece of Brisbane’s presentation to the world.
With an application to heritage-list the larger western side of the park progressing through the state government, Ms Bremner said the extra overlay should scare any stadium developer away.
“To me it’s basically becoming way too hard and too costly for any feasible site for building
“The time that would be needed to try to build on a site as complex … I don't think it can be done.”
Infrastructure Minister Jarrod Bleijie’s hand-picked panel of industry leaders are nearing the end of a 100-day Games infrastructure review widely expected to deliver the final venue blueprint for 2032.
Ms Bremner acknowledged she was not a stadium expert, but indicated Save Victoria Park would not accept the panel’s opinion if it found the stadium could be built at the site in time for the 2032 Games.
“I don’t think there’s any experts, no stadium builders on the panel I saw … there wasn’t really any on the Quirk report either,” she said.
“They’d be making possibly a multi-billion dollar blue if they say we reckon it’s possible.”
Should the review recommend a new stadium be build at Herston, Save Victoria Park has pledged to step-up its campaign – backed by former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman.
“We’ve briefed a barrister on any legal action we might take, particularly through the heritage avenue, and we will be working really hard to keep the park safe,” she said.
A Victoria Park stadium was the favoured choice of last year’s infrastructure review authored by former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk – rejected by the government – and former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last week insisted this latest panel was leaning towards the park.
Ms Bremner argues it’s not about trees, but future social wellbeing and liveability of the area.
“I hate it when people say oh they’re just greenies,” Ms Bremner said.
“No there’s dollars, economics … not fluffy environment stuff.
“Nobody does this unless they really care.”
The grassroots volunteer group has 1700 Facebook followers, 3000 signatures on an anti-development petition signatures and a mailing list stretching to 2600 inboxes.
They’re not inner-city greens under the mantra of development, just not in my backyard, Ms Bremner insists.
“I reject the term NIMBY, it’s just not factual,” she said.
“People who do live near parks know more about them that other people who live away.
“We’re not a NIMBY group.
“We really feel like we’re up against pretty powerful lobbies … big sport, architects, builders.”
Unlike many other advocacy groups, Save Victoria Park hasn’t rested on the creation of a Facebook page and petition to parliament.
The group has secured small-donations, run art auctions, procured donated services and held several community rallies in opposition to the stadium.
The integrity of Premier David Crisafulli – based on his repeated declaration no new stadiums would be built – is on the line.
“That would be a major political flip, dare I say a broken promise,” Ms Bremner said.
“He does seem genuine in wanting to do what he said he was going to do.”
Across town, a trifecta of anti-Gabba groups celebrated one year ago when then-Premier Steven Miles capitulated to their demands and axed Annastacia Palaszczuk’s plan to knock down and rebuild the Gabba.
Rethink the Gabba, Save East Brisbane State School and Friends of Raymond Park – backed by then local Greens MP Amy MacMahon – successfully lobbied for the Gabba and nearby Raymond Park to be spared from Olympic-related development.
They even secured the attention of the top table at the International Olympic Committee, with vice president John Coates declaring the brand had been too damaged in Brisbane by the divisiveness of the Gabba development.
Instead, Olympic and Paralympic athletics would be held at Nathan’s existing Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre – becoming the smallest venue in more than 100 years.
As focus shifts to Victoria Park the groups have remained largely quiet during the 100-day review, but Rethink the Gabba took to social media with a call for people to lodge submissions.
“Write a paragraph about what kind of legacy you want for Brisbane from the Olympics venues,” it said.
“Would losing East Brisbane State School be a terrible shame?
“If having Stanley St closed off for a couple of years would ruin local businesses, say that.
“If you think that spending $3bn on a new stadium that’s going to be only slightly bigger than the current one is terrible value for money, you can write that too.”
Conjecture over a new centrepiece stadium remains the most mentioned topic, with most of the 5000 submissions lodged to the 100-day review touching on the location.
However, even the most viable minor venues have faced criticism.
In Redland city local advocacy group Redlands2030 is lobbying against the whitewater centre at Birkdale – which the Quirk review hailed as the Games’ most viable venue.
The group claims Olympic whitewater centres “end up as abandoned ruins” – despite venues used in five of the past seven Games still operational.
Only Athens and Beijing mothballed their Olympic whitewater centres.
Grace Grace, the minister responsible for the Olympic and Paralympic Games under Mr Miles’ government, said community opposition was natural.
“I don’t think there’s ever been an Olympic Games where there hasn’t been some groups opposing the Games or venues,” she said.
“It’s expected you’re going to get opposition to various individual projects.”
Ms Grace noted Mr Bleijie had protested her government’s plan to upgrade a stadium on the Sunshine Coast because the local soccer club would be affected.
“The issue is, we are going to hold the Olympic and Paralympics, we need venues and we need to work with those groups to demonstrate the community legacy.
“We need to say you may not want this but at the end of the day this is going to be a great community legacy, without destroying vital areas within their neighbourhood.”
Ms Grace maintains the plan to relocate East Brisbane State School to a new development at Coorparoo was a sound one for students and staff.
“It would have been a brand new school for them, that school would then grow,” she said.
“There will always be a group of people who will object … but you would not put a school where that current East Brisbane State School is because of the roads and a major stadium.”
Ms Grace is not critical of Mr Miles’s move to axe the plan but acknowledged “lots of parents” were supportive of the move to Coorparoo.
She argued the state government would do a “Pontius Pilate” and rely on the 100-day reviewers to justify a new stadium.
Like Ms Bremner, Ms Grace argues there are “no experts” on the panel.
“There’s a lot of opinions but let me tell you, there’s not one expert,” she said.
“It’s ridiculous to say this group is the be all and end all.”
A spokeswoman for Olympic and Paralympic Games Minister Tim Mander said the government “welcomes community feedback”.
“We remain committed to delivering a world class Games with generational infrastructure and long-term legacy benefits for rural and regional Queensland,” he said.
The 100-day review is due to report by March 8.
Originally published as Suburban groups on both sides of Brisbane River at war over 2032 stadium location
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