Analysis: We were a global embarrassment for 1343 days - Crisafulli can change it

David Crisafulli will today get his chance – maybe only chance – to stamp a meaningful legacy on Queensland. It comes after 1343 of being a global laughing stock, writes Hayden Johnson.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli can take a giant step forward for Queensland today. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Brisbane’s Olympic planning has been an embarrassing game of venue whac-a-mole played on a global stage.

Solving one problem venue only seems to create another.

We’re no longer going to force pole vaulters and 40,000 spectators out to Nathan’s laughable Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, but rowers should drag their carbon fibre craft into the crocodile-infested Fitzroy River.

WATCH LIVE: STREAM THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NOON

Premier David Crisafulli will today get his chance – maybe only chance – to stamp a meaningful legacy on Queensland.

He will say the views of independent experts justifies breaking his “no new stadiums” pledge.

However, he’ll struggle to justify listening to the experts on the stadium and explaining why they were ignored on the Brisbane Arena, rowing, swimming and sailing venues.

Mr Crisafulli was spot on in November when he lambasted the intervention of politicians, only to now allow his deputy and Infrastructure Minister Jarrod Bleijie to ignore experts and mould venues to his desire.

Despite this, it’s now critical construction begins on the major venues with lengthy lead times.

The smaller ones – like rowing in Rocky – can be moved later.

Overwhelmingly, Games organisers will welcome this plan as an opportunity to finally start building and realising the benefits the people of this state were promised in 2021.

It’s been 1343 days since a masked Annastacia Palaszczuk brought the Olympics home from Tokyo.

Queenslanders looking out their kitchen windows today will rightly question what we’ve got to show for it.

The golden shovel in the Premier’s office for ceremonial Olympic sod turning events is gathering dust.

Major public transport projects to extend Brisbane Metro and build heavy rail to Maroochydore are now under pressure to be delivered.

One third of Brisbane’s historic 11-year runway has elapsed.

Only Andrew Liveris and Cindy Hook’s organising committee has made the most of it – largely because of the restraining order they’ve had on politicians getting too involved.

The committee is chugging away with the unsexy tasks of creating governance, partnership and procurement frameworks.

It is critical work, but the bar of success in Brisbane’s Games planning is now so low that Mr Liveris celebrates this as delivering the “brilliant basics”.

Mr Crisafulli will on Tuesday plant a flag in the ground and Queensland can look forward to a proud Games.

Originally published as Analysis: We were a global embarrassment for 1343 days - Crisafulli can change it