Brisbane Olympics in ‘jeopardy’ if government fails to upgrade transport

Olympic supremo John Coates says if the federal government reneges on its transport infrastructure promises the Brisbane 2032 Games ‘won’t work’.

Olympic boss John Coates in the AOC offices in Sydney.

Olympic boss John Coates says the Brisbane Olympics will be jeopardised if the federal government insists on slashing investment in crucial Queensland transport infrastructure.

Coates issued an extraordinary warning stating the 2032 Olympics that the transport system “just won’t work” if the federal government fails to deliver on long-promised infrastructure upgrades which it is now planning to cut.

Earlier this month federal infrastructure minister Catherine King made a bombshell announcement that the government would axe $200m of Queensland infrastructure projects and cast doubt over a further $3bn worth of road and rail projects.

On Thursday, following lobbying from deputy premier Steven Miles and Queensland mayors, Ms King said the Sunshine Coast rail extension would now go ahead but other key transport upgrades remain in doubt.

“An 80-20 funding model will really jeopardise the games,” Coates said. “In fact the basis for [securing] the games was very much - with south east Queensland the fastest part of our population growing with another 2 million people expected to be living there by 2030/40 - we needed to provide better infrastructure.”

“Without a duplication of the Bruce Highway down to the Gold Coast; it just won’t work.”

“All strength to Annastacia Palaszczuk and Steven Miles in resolving this matter with Minister Catherine King. We certainly had all the commitments at the time when we went forward with this bid and they’ve been confirmed previously and I’m struggling to see how they can now renege on them.”

Coates, an architect of the Sydney and now Brisbane Olympics, cited a personal example of sitting in traffic for one hour and 50 minutes late afternoon when trying to go from Gold Coast to Brisbane recently.

“I am very, very concerned,” Coates said.

Renders of the Gabba Stadium ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Accelerated transport investment was the catalyst for Brisbane’s original Olympics proposal almost a decade ago but two weeks ago it was announced federal funding was to be axed for nine key Queensland projects which were key in linking planned regional venues to Brisbane.

During the 2032 Games the Sunshine Coast is set to host the marathon, basketball and cycling events and accommodate 1400 people at a “satellite” athletes village.

There was originally speculation the rail line would be axed after the Albanese government retracted funding for infrastructure projects as costs spiral out of control. Earlier this month federal Infrastructure Minister Ms King said the Sunshine Coast rail project had gone billions of dollars over what was “previously stated”.

But on Thursday Ms King confirmed to The Courier-Mail the Commonwealth had reserved $1.44bn for its construction. It is yet to be revealed what the funding split will be between the Queensland and federal government.

In a wide-ranging interview Coates with The Weekend Australian, who spoke about sports vying for selection at the Brisbane Olympics including the recent addition of cricket, said he will advocate for a second drug testing facility in Australia.

Coates said he will meet with Minister Annika Wells to discuss the need for a second lab to be established so that drug testing results can be turned around more efficiently.

“After a recent visit to the headquarters of the International Testing Authority in Lausanne for its five year anniversary, [I can see] that it’s probably too big a risk and not optimal for us to only have full drug testing in Australia at the Australian Government Analytical Laboratory at Pymble and that we need to be looking at accrediting another laboratory,” Coates said.

“So it is a matter that I will be talking to the minister Annika Wells about. She serves on the World Anti-Doping Authority. I’m sure she’ll be aware of this. She’s on that board and she actually is and she is an active participant in that. And so I don’t think she’ll want any criticism of us when it comes to our anti-doping.”