The LNP has promised an independent spending body as NQ reacts to more neglect

The LNP says it will set up an independent body to oversee spending on the 2032 games should it win power as fury builds over Labor’s newest stadium while regional arenas are shunned. DETAILS.

The LNP says it will establish an independent body to oversee spending on the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic games should it win the 2024 election.

Deputy opposition leader Jarrod Bleijie said am impartial authority would have avoided the spending frenzies, “political madness” and show-ponying currently playing out.

Mr Bleijie also took a swipe at the self-appointed Olympics Minister alleging Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was “building legacies and monuments for herself” and enjoying the “celebrity status” and red carpets.

The Olympic and Paralympic Infrastructure and Jobs opposition spokesman’s comments come after Labor announced a $45.7 million commitment towards an expected cost of $137 million to build a temporary stadium at RNA showgrounds.

It will become the makeshift home of cricket and AFL while the Gabba undergoes a whopping $2.7 billion rebuild.

Queensland Cricket, the AFL, the RNA, and Brisbane City Council are all reportedly unhappy they are expected to fork out $91 million to pay for the stadium.

Jarrod Bleijie speaking at a press conference in Mackay. Picture: Mitch Bourke.

Queensland Cricket further stated that it would get “little use” once the Gabba reopened.

One alternative to the RNA proposal is spending $30 to $40 million on Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena Stage 2. It’s a stadium which has already hosted international women’s cricket, Australia A men’s cricket, as well top-flight men’s and women’s domestic cricket and AFLW.

The proposed stage 2 would build upon the ground’s capacity to host AFL and international level cricket.

Jarrod Bleijie, Terry Doolan, and Adrian Young at Great Barrier Reef Arena. Opposition minister for Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure and jobs Bleijie was given a tour of the facility. Picture: Harrup Park Facebook

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert said she was “doing everything” possible to secure cricket opportunities for Mackay but would not say whether she supported Mr Bleijie’s call for an independent authority to manage Olympic spending.

Mrs Gilbert added there was $180 billion in procurement funding that she hoped to share with Mackay-based businesses.

Dawson MP Andrew Willcox said the RNA stadium was a “waste” when the GBRA was “ready to go”.

How Great Barrier Reef Arena could look following its proposed stage 2 development plans.

Senator Matt Canavan, who recently chaired a senate inquiry into regional opportunities for the Olympics, said “just use GBRA ... or give us a state of North Queensland and you (south east Queensland) can fund your own damn games”.

Mr Bleijie, who visited the GBRA on Tuesday, agreed Stage 2 was a “fantastic project” and called on Mrs Gilbert to advocate to her Labor peers to make it happen.

He added the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region made vast contributions to the state’s budget, including through the amplified coal royalties, but it was yet to benefit as much as one dollar from the Olympics.

He called on Labor to show it had the interests of all Queenslanders at heart by investing in “homegrown talent” across the state and upgrading facilities instead of just building new stadiums.

“Queensland taxpayers are paying for (the games), they should be exposed to the openness and transparency of all the (spending) deals and documentation,” Mr Bleijie said.

Originally published as The LNP has promised an independent spending body as NQ reacts to more neglect