Ex-MP Don Brown warns heritage farm at risk under Olympic Bill

Former MP Don Brown has condemned a proposed Olympic planning law, warning it enables irreversible damage to heritage sites without community input or environmental scrutiny.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie at the Olympic site at the Birkdale precinct with Capalaba MP Russell Field; Redlands MP Rebecca Young and Queensland Fire Department Commissioner Steve Smith. Picture: LNP Facebook

A former state MP has issued a scathing submission to a planning committee condemning legislation that would allow Olympic infrastructure to override Queensland’s heritage protections.

Former Labor MP for Capalaba Don Brown lodged the formal submission opposing key provisions of the new state government’s proposed Bill, warning it could lead to irreversible damage to heritage-listed sites at a community precinct at Birkdale, earmarked for an Olympic whitewater venue.

Mr Brown’s submission, published by the State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee on Monday, targets plans to override environmental and heritage protections at the Birkdale site, home to a heritage farm and a World War II Radio Receiving Station.

One of the buildings at the Birkdale precinct. The site was where special radio antennae once received the news of the fall of Singapore and the end of WWII. Picture: Judith Kerr

The radio station was where the southern hemisphere first received the news of the fall of Singapore and also General Douglas MacArthur’s signal announcing Japan’s surrender at the end of WWII.

The Planning Social Impact and Community Benefit and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 was introduced to parliament on May 1 by Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie.

It gives the state power to bypass normal planning rules for Olympic projects.

Mr Bleijie said it would empower the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority, known as GIICA, to fast-track necessary works and “get on with the job”.

But he also promised there would be appropriate checks and balances.

“With the largest infrastructure investment in Queensland’s history, it’s important there are clear pathways to delivery, with the appropriate oversight of government in the right places,” Mr Bleijie said.

Mr Brown warned that, if passed in its current form, it would allow major developments such as the Birkdale whitewater facility to proceed without public consultation, environmental review, or accountability over impacts to sites of state and national significance.

Mr Brown expressed alarm that Redland City Council had already dismantled one of the heritage radio station’s towers and said the new legislation would remove further restrictions.

He also criticised plans that may encroach on Willard’s Farm, one of Queensland’s oldest surviving agricultural properties, established in the 1860s.

Redland City Council has paid for works to restore the historic Willard’s Farm, which is within the same precinct as the Olympic whitewater venue. Picture: Judith Kerr

“These are not just local landmarks, they are irreplaceable parts of Queensland’s cultural and wartime history,” Mr Brown’s submission said.

“This is a permanent heritage loss with no path to recovery … this undermines years of local community consultation and advocacy.

“This legislation strips away community voice and replaces it with unchecked executive discretion.

“We do not build a better future by demolishing the past.”

His submission, one of 44, follows a series of public briefings to the parliamentary committee examining the Bill.

State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee met on Monday to discuss the Bill. Picture: state parliament

It also follows the release of the 2032 Olympic Games Delivery Plan and a post-100 Day Review restructure of Games governance.

Mr Brown said although no longer holds office, his intervention echoed growing concern from residents, heritage advocates, and environmental groups, particularly in Redland, where opposition to the whitewater venue has remained strong since it was first proposed.

Public submissions on the Bill are open until Tuesday, 20 May.

Originally published as Ex-MP Don Brown warns heritage farm at risk under Olympic Bill