Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate finally secures seat on Brisbane 2032 board – three years late

Despite the Gold Coast being home to seven 2032 Olympic venues, Tom Tate was left off the organising committee by Annastacia Palaszczuk in 2021. The Mayor is finally aboard.

• Editor’s view: A no-brainer

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate will join the board of Brisbane’s Olympic Games Organising Committee following years of scathing criticism about the city being left out of planning for the 2032 event.

The state government will appoint Mr Tate to the powerful 2032 board after a parliamentary committee recommended he be allowed to join due to the “resources and partnership invested” by the Gold Coast in the event.

Mr Tate has repeatedly criticised his omission from the Games planning board since it was established by Annastacia Palaszczuk in December 2021.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Then-premier Annastacia Palaszczuk addresses the Destination Queensland conference at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2022. Picture: NewsWire/Sarah Marshall

Premier Steven Miles described Mr Tate as a champion for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games since it was won in July 2021.

“He knows the value this event will bring to the region, and the legacy benefits that will flow from 2032,” Mr Miles said.

“We know the Gold Coast can put on a show – the 2018 Commonwealth Games is a prime example of that.

“It’s this experience and enthusiasm that I think Tom will bring to the Brisbane Organising Committee.”

In March, Mr Tate labelled the International Olympic Committee untrustworthy and said South East Queenslanders had been “conned” during the bid process for the Games.

Despite the Gold Coast being home to seven Games venues, Mr Tate was left off the organising committee, with the local government sector represented by Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and a nominee – currently Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding.

The committee’s gender equality requirements have pushed Mr Schrinner to select a woman as his nominee.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Mr Tate welcomed the government giving him a seat at the 2032 organising table.

“As always, I’m here to help,” he said.

“I note the recommendation of the committee, and I look forward to the formalisation by the parliament.”

The recommendation to include Mr Tate is contained in a review of legislation about how the government should establish its long-awaited independent infrastructure delivery authority.

For two years Ms Palaszczuk refused to relinquish control of infrastructure planning, but new Premier Steven Miles in December pledged to establish an independent agency.

It will be tasked with delivering venues in time for the Games, within budget allocations and co-ordinate the planning and delivery of state, commonwealth and local

government obligations.

State Development Minister Grace Grace.

A nine-member board comprising government and other stakeholders will be appointed by State Development Minister Grace Grace to oversee the work of the independent infrastructure authority, which will be given power to acquire land.

Within 18 months, the authority must have also established a transport and mobility strategy “that identifies critical transport infrastructure projects required in time for the Games”.

The Labor-aligned parliamentary committee also dismissed fears from Queensland’s Information Commissioner Joanne Kummrow that “more documents” could be excluded from the Right to Information Act due to the authority’s close relationship with the International and Australian Olympic committees.

The parliamentary committee said the exclusion was limited to specific information, instead of entire documents.

“To be clear, the authority will not be exempt from the RTI Act,” it noted.

Originally published as Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate finally secures seat on Brisbane 2032 board – three years late