Editorial: Experts must make the call on stadium

There is a lot of wriggle room for David Crisafulli in his choice of an Olympic stadium option, and the details matter, writes the editor.

New Premier David Crisafulli will await a 100-day review of stadium options. Picture: Lachie Millard

To say those advocating for a new stadium for Brisbane are suddenly optimistic is an understatement.

The election of LNP Premier David Crisafulli has marked the consignment to history of one of the worst ideas in Queensland’s history – to set fire to $1.6bn on a temporary upgrade of the old QEII Stadium to host athletics at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The Courier-Mail took a strong position against that brain-fart from former premier Steven Miles for a very simple reason: it promised not one iota of legacy – even, ironically, for the sport of athletics.

The QEII Stadium is already the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre. It boasts not one, but two world-standard running tracks, the National Throws Centre of Excellence, and a refurbished Queensland Academy of Sport gym and training facility that taxpayers just recently paid for.

If Mr Miles was genuine about legacy for athletics, he would have allocated that $1.6bn to installing synthetic running tracks across the state, so all talented kids had the chance to train on the good stuff. But he wasn’t. He just wanted a political fix to a thorny problem.

Anyhow, that’s all history now. Mr Crisafulli has made no secret of the fact that he is not at all into the stupid idea, and so we need not speak of it ever again. But in its place we have a new conundrum.

Mr Crisafulli has been consistent for months in saying that he will make the decision about venues that will be used for the 2032 Games the job of experts, not a politician.

His idea has been to task the job to a venues review team, which he has promised to recruit and ask to come back to government with a plan within 100 days.

This is a solid idea. The experts should always be the ones whose recommendations we follow on these critical matters.

But the challenge here is that Mr Crisafulli’s promise has always been “no new stadium for the Games”.

There is some wriggle room in that pledge, as every suburban lawyer can see at a glance.

For instance, “for the Games” is a statement that gives plenty of leeway because of the fact no stadium would ever be built solely “for the Games”. It would be built in time for the Games to be a tenant, but then host football and cricket and concerts into the future.

The bigger issue is with the “no new stadium” part of the new Premier’s promise. Again, though, this means he could be referring to an upgrade or even a rebuild of the Gabba – which Mr Miles swore was the best idea when he was deputy premier and responsible minister.

It will be up to Mr Crisafulli to set the terms of reference for the review team, and that is why his previous promises here matter so much.

The Courier-Mail’s position on the stadium debate is consistent with our broader view of the Games – that this is a once in forever legacy opportunity for Brisbane and for Queensland. Whatever decisions are made, they must be made with one eye on that legacy – of not missing this opportunity of a set deadline to deliver infrastructure that will make Queensland better.

More generally, we also always back the wise use of taxpayer cash. And so our ask of Mr Crisafulli is that he keeps the terms of reference for that expert review as open as possible, to ensure they can focus on the best possible outcome for Queensland, rather than a proposal constrained by politics.

PANDEMIC RECKONING CONCERNING

There is always a reckoning. And so it has come for those overeager state premiers and their in cahoots chief health officers who went way too overboard in their response to the pandemic, now four years ago.

It is seriously concerning that the first official major review of government handling of the Covid public health emergency has raised concerns that, as a result, we are all at far greater risk when the next big emergency comes along.

Firstly, that public trust is so badly eroded that people will now be unlikely to follow necessarily imposed restrictions – such as lockdowns – in the next crisis.

But far more worryingly, that the over-reaction from figures – such as Queensland’s then-chief health officer, now governor, Jeannette Young – to the risk posed by the AstraZeneca version of the Covid jab has led to a serious decline in the number of Australians being vaccinated against other diseases.

That only about 80 per cent of children in Queensland are now being vaccinated against polio, for instance, is more than worrying.

And then comes the other key report finding: the “significant impact” of government-mandated lockdowns on the mental health of young people – causing “changes in brain biology in children and young people”.

Former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk might have “kept us safe” and so won state Labor another term in government (after which Ms Palaszczuk appointed Ms Young as governor). But the potential damage done might end up being far worse than a virus.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Experts must make the call on stadium