Palaszczuk backflips on stadium name after public backlash

Annastacia Palaszczuk has scrapped the naming of a football stadium stand after late Labor heavyweight Terry Mackenroth.

Mr Mackenroth was the driving force behind the redevelopment of the stadium.

Annastacia Palaszczuk has scrapped the naming of a football stadium stand after late Queensland Labor heavyweight Terry Mackenroth, blaming a public backlash that upset his family.

The Queensland Premier said today that she and Mr Mackenroth’s widow, Mary, were surprised, hurt and disappointed by the adverse reaction.

“I will no longer name a stand at Suncorp Stadium after the late Terry Mackenroth,” Ms Palaszczuk said in a statement, announcing the backflip. “His widow Mary and I believed the honour was fitting, but we have been surprised, hurt and disappointed by some of the reaction which has caused the family great distress.

“Anyone who knew Terry knew how much he gave to the community in general and rugby league in particular over 28 years of public service.

“He was like so many in sport whose contributions off the field made it possible for the champions who perform on it and for the thousands of others to enjoy. That service is bigger than politics and deserves recognition.”

Criticism of the move was led by the Liberal National Party, with state Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington branding the decision to name a Suncorp stand after Mr Mackenroth as hubris on the part of the Premier. Ms Frecklington said the honour should go to a sporting identity, not a politician.

Her position was backed by an online poll last week in The Courier-Mail, which found that 70 per cent of respondents were against Mr Mackenroth’s name being put up in lights at Suncorp.

Mr Mackenroth, a former Labor deputy premier and treasurer of Queensland, was the driving force behind the redevelopment of the stadium that made it the premier rugby league venue in the country. He died in April of cancer on April 30, aged 68.