Annastacia Palaszczuk apologises for taking boyfriend to Olympics meeting
The Queensland Premier has admitted it was a mistake to take her partner to an official meeting to discuss the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Annastacia Palaszczuk has apologised for taking her partner to an official meeting to discuss the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
The Queensland Premier has been criticised for the “weird” inclusion of her partner of less than a year, surgeon Reza Adib, at the meeting in Sydney on Sunday, which was organised by the Australian Olympic Committee.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Ms Palaszczuk admitted her judgment had been off.
“I appreciate that there have been views expressed about this catch-up,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I recognise that I have made a mistake and I should not have taken my partner to that meeting.
“I apologise. It was never intentional to cause any distress to anybody and like I said it was an informal catch-up.”
Ms Palaszczuk said she felt “guilty” that her partner had been caught up in the issue.
“I am very lucky and very blessed to have someone that supports my role,” she said.
“It is a big role to run this state.
“My partner will be coming with me to various functions, but he will not be coming to any meetings or catch-ups.”
Ms Palaszczuk said nothing discussed at the meeting was confidential and no taxpayer money was used to fund Dr Adib’s trip.
The furore over Dr Adib’s attendance at the meeting comes as IOC executives tour potential Games venues in southeast Queensland.
Queensland Sports Minister Stirling Hinchliffe visited venues with the IOC executives on Monday and they were joined on the Sunshine Coast by Deputy Premier Steven Miles on Tuesday.
Ms Palaszczuk will take them on a tour of the Gabba and the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
IOC chairman Thomas Bach will be in Brisbane on Saturday.
“Over this week, we have the opportunity to show Queensland, the southeast, to the IOC, they are in town,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I have asked my ministers to personally show our wonderful venues to senior executives of the IOC.
“The Olympics is an enormous opportunity for this state. There are going to be a lot of meetings.”
Liberal National Party deputy leader Jarrod Bleijie said the inclusion of Mr Adib without any official role was “weird”.
“No one else had their partners at the meeting,” Mr Bleijie said. “The Premier’s fobbing it off today, or the Premier’s spokesperson is fobbing it off today, by saying it was an informal meeting.”
Mr Bleijie said Mr Adib’s attendance was “inappropriate”.
“If he was there, he didn’t have to be at the official table,” Mr Bleijie said.
A source with knowledge of the weekend’s plans said there were “eyebrows raised” by Dr Adib’s attendance at the meeting. “It was a proper meeting across the table, there was a list of attendees and he wasn’t on it,” the source said. “It was not an informal kind of thing. It was in everybody’s diaries.”
The meeting followed a less formal dinner for Mr Coates on Saturday night.
Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, who was not invited by Ms Palaszczuk to attend the meeting, criticised the Premier for failing to invite Paralympic Australia boss Jock O’Callaghan, or Indigenous representative Patrick Johnson, but finding a space for her partner.
He said he was surprised Dr Adib had been invited ahead of the federal government, Indigenous and Paralympic representatives.
“Let’s say I was bemused, but for me it was more that there are a number of vice-presidents, and you’re aware of who all those are, so Jock wasn’t there as a representative of parasport and of course they are an important part of the overall 2032 sport event. There was no indigenous representation there,” he said.
“It did draw a bit of stark contrast when I saw that (photo of Dr Adib) in the papers this morning.”
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