Olympics venues to get private funding treatment

The Queensland government is moving to privatise infrastructure development for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, including the $3.7bn-plus main stadium that has bedevilled Games planning to date.

An artist’s impression of the $2.5bn Brisbane Arena, which was scrapped from the Crisafulli government's Olympic plan.

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The Queensland government is moving to privatise infrastructure development for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, including the $3.7bn-plus main stadium that has bedevilled Games planning to date.

The shift was quietly signalled on Monday when state Treasurer David Janetzki announced without fanfare the creation of a “dedicated unit” in his department to lock in infrastructure investment from the private sector.

This opens the door to the public-private partnership deals that were rejected by the previous state Labor government under Steven Miles to fund major Olympic venues, including the showpiece stadium at inner-city Victoria Park.

It confirms that a PPP for the stadium is now on the cards, potentially sparing taxpayers billions in outlays for the Games.

In addition to the proposed 63,000-seat facility, joint funding deals with private investors could also cover construction of a nearby aquatic centre to host water sports including swimming. This has been costed unconvincingly at $650m by Swimming Australia – a figure disputed by industry sources as well as the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority, charged with delivering 2032 venues.

The Cross River Rail site opposite the Gabba, which may become the home of the Brisbane Arena for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Picture: Patrick Woods

The actual cost of the aquatic centre is considered to be at least twice that, potentially blowing the $7.1bn funding cap agreed between the Queensland government and Canberra. Premier David Crisafulli is adamant that spending on venues must be contained within that envelope.

His Liberal National Party government has urged that the proposed Brisbane Arena, a 17,000-seat concert hall adjacent to the existing Gabba cricket and AFL stadium, be built as a PPP even though the federal government had covered the $2.5bn cost under the original cost-sharing deal with the state.

Anthony Albanese is yet to sign off on the change.

Unveiling the new “transaction team” to pump outside cash into infrastructure, Mr Janetzki told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch on Monday: “I’ve tasked Queensland Treasury to establish a dedicated unit to attract private capital to help deliver infrastructure projects needed for a growing state.

“Treasury’s transaction team will be up and running by August 1, to explore different models to deliver commercially for investors while delivering for taxpayers.

“Well-directed and efficient capital investment ultimately reduces operating costs over time, and it is important it is directed where it needs to go.

“We know capital goes where it’s welcome and stays where it is needed.”

Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

State government sources said Mr Janetzki’s thinking primarily went to new gas and hydro-electric power-generating projects, but could extend to Olympics infrastructure.

Last week, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie affirmed that Brisbane Arena would be delivered as a PPP.

The saga of the Olympic stadium has sapped public confidence in the state’s handling of the Games since Mr Miles’s predecessor, Annastacia Palaszczuk, showcased a rebuilt Gabba when Brisbane was awarded Australia’s third Olympics in 2021.

On succeeding her as premier in 2023, Mr Miles dumped the plan in favour of the cheaper option of shifting the Games hub to the 1982 Commonwealth Games-vintage Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre at suburban Nathan, deep in Brisbane’s south, despite the stadium’s distance from the CBD, its age and lack of a direct rail connection. The proposal was widely panned.

On coming to office in October, Mr Crisafulli commissioned GIICA to investigate alternatives, resulting in the decision to go with the new build at Victoria Park on the northern lip of the CBD.

The state government has since taken market soundings on the stadium from major construction groups and other industry players, but is yet to say whether it will be financed wholly by the taxpayer under the original intergovernmental agreement with Canberra or as a PPP requiring a sign-off from the Prime Minister.