‘We were excluded’: Lord Mayor hits back at Palaszczuk over Games plan
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has hit back at former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, accusing her of politicising the 2032 Games bid and treating the council as “outsiders” in the planning process.
On Thursday, Palaszczuk torched her former deputy and successor, Steven Miles, as well as the current LNP government and mayors over preparations for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“I’m absolutely shocked at the state of this. If I was at the IOC [International Olympic Committee] at the moment, I would be saying, ‘What is going on, Brisbane?’” she told Nine’s Today show.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner – pictured with councillor Krista Adams – said the former Palaszczuk government treated Brisbane City Council like “outsiders”.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt
“When I left, we had a plan, we were sticking to the plan, and the tenders would have been out now for the Gabba.”
Palaszczuk said her plan to rebuild the Gabba had been picked apart like it was a woollen sweater, undermining the Olympics and the city, and she feared Victoria Park would be “ripped up” for a new stadium.
But Schrinner later accused her of blindsiding the LNP council when she unveiled plans to rebuild the Gabba for the Games.
“We’ve always been keen to be team players when it comes to [the] Games, and I think we demonstrated that when the original proposal was to build a new stadium at Albion and the former premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, changed that plan without notice and without consultation to the Gabba,” he said on Thursday afternoon.
“We got told literally the afternoon before [the Gabba plans were revealed], and we got told after the media had already been told. But we wanted to be team players, so we tried to make the best of it.
“There wasn’t a lot of thought and rigour in the process, and there certainly was never a business case for the redevelopment of the Gabba. And if there was a business case, well then, none of us had ever seen it.”
While Palaszczuk pulled no punches on Thursday morning, Schrinner said the former Labor government hadn’t treated the LNP-led council as equals.
“While we strived really hard to be team players, it became increasingly difficult when we weren’t treated as members of the team,” he said.
“We were treated as outsiders, we weren’t involved in key decisions, we were excluded, and we were kept out.”
Schrinner, who has made a submission to the Games venue review initiated by the LNP government, said he was confident the current process was being upheld to a satisfactory standard.
“I’ve also had a chat with the chair of that body, Stephen Conry, as well, effectively reiterating what was in my submission,” he said.
“The impression I got from that meeting was that all options would be considered, that it would be a rigorous process, that it would be based on business cases, it would be based on detailed assessments, and it certainly wouldn’t be based on politics.
“That gave me a lot of heart.”
Schrinner said he “wasn’t sure” whether Palaszczuk’s claim that the committee had already chosen Victoria Park for the stadium was accurate.
“I haven’t heard that the committee has made up their mind,” he said.
“Obviously, I’m very interested in the outcome, but I think that a stadium was always part of the plan when it comes to the Olympics.
“In a very short period of time, we’ll get certainty.”
With the resignation of councillor Krista Adams as deputy mayor and chair of the council’s Economic Development, Nighttime Economy, and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Committee, Schrinner vowed to take more of the Games responsibilities himself.
“Obviously, I’m a member of the organising committee myself – being a vice president – but will also have a councillor to assist me in that role,” he said.
The venue review is due to report back to the Crisafulli government in March.
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