Scott Morrison agrees to 50-50 Brisbane Olympics funding

Scott Morrison has agreed to a 50-50 funding split for the potential 2032 Brisbane Olympics, but is yet to agree to pay for half of the $1bn Gabba refit.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Tara Croser.

Scott Morrison has demanded an equal say in the planning of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics as a condition of the federal government splitting the costs with Queensland to build the infrastructure for the Games.

It comes a week after the federal government was blindsided by Annastacia Palaszczuk’s major Games announcement that a rebuilt Gabba would serve as the Olympic stadium if Brisbane won the right to host the event.

The Prime Minister wrote to the Queensland Premier and International Olympic Committee on Monday, agreeing to a 50-50 infrastructure funding split.

It hinges on a shared governance model and the establishment of a federal and state-“owned, funded and run” Olympic Infrastructure Agency “with full oversight of all projects from the planning, scoping and design phase through to contracting, construction and delivery”.

The federal government’s share of the funding will be significantly more than its contribution to the Sydney 2000 Games, where it contributed $150m towards infrastructure.

“We have always believed in the potential of the 2032 Olympic Games for Queensland and Australia and it’s important we maintain momentum to win this bid,” Mr Morrison said.

“Backing the Queensland bid means more jobs, better infrastructure and more tourism dollars. Just like the Sydney 2000 Games, the Queensland bid has the opportunity to reshape our country.

“But all levels of government must work together and take the politics out of each decision. This needs to be the People’s Games.”

Ms Palaszczuk last week said time was running out to meet a deadline on Monday to provide assurances to the International Olympic Committee, which has identified Brisbane as its preferred bidder.

She had asked for the federal government to fund 50 per cent of the cost to host the Games, similar to an agreement for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Ms Palaszczuk said Mr Morrison’s commitment was a “huge win for Queensland”.

The funding is dedicated to critical infrastructure needed to host the Games, but is yet to be guaranteed for the $1bn bill required to demolish and rebuild the Gabba.

It is understood Mr Morrison wants the established Olympic Infrastructure Agency to maximise investment from local governments and the private sector to reduce the cost to taxpayers.

Mr Morrison said all of the guarantees required by the IOC had been signed and sent off and that the funding commitment and joint partnership would take the Games out of day-to-day politics.

“Our offer is for a genuine partnership, with shared costs and shared responsibilities, working together to make this the best Olympics on record,” he said.

“It provides a platform for bipartisan support at every level of government and lets those who we will jointly appoint to get this job done, to just get on with it.

“I was pleased to be one of the first movers on the proposal for a 2032 Games in Queensland, taking our bid directly to the IOC president on two occasions on my visits to Japan.

“I back it because I believe it is good for Australia and the future of the Sunshine State.”

Mr Morrison’s Olympics representative, Fairfax MP Ted O’Brien, said the joint body would ensure only infrastructure crucial to the delivery of the Games would receive funding.

“The Gabba will be treated like any other project — its business case is yet to be tested,” he said.