Claims Victoria Park Stadium will be six months late for Olympics
A new report claims the Crisafulli Government’s Victoria Park stadium precinct plans are unlikely to be completed in time for the 2032 Olympic Games.
On Tuesday, the Save Victoria Park (SVP) advocacy group released their report titled Time for Plan B: A Cost Risk Analysis of Stadiums in Victoria Park Barrambin.
Time for Plan B examines financial risks regarding the dual stadium project outlined for Victoria Park. In the report, SVP advocates for alternative planning solutions that prioritize the community’s needs. The report also predicts the stadiums’ completion will be six months late for the 2032 Olympic Games.
The 63,000-seat stadium will reportedly cost $3.785 billion or $60,000 per seat. This is more than double per seat compared to North Queensland Stadium in Townsville, another recently constructed major venue, the report said.
On Wednesday October 8, SVP advocates were planning to protest the Olympics procurement program hosted by the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee. The protestors intended gathering at the William and Geroge Street entrances of The Star, Queen’s Wharf .
SVP spokesperson Sue Bremner said they wanted to demonstrate the community’s opposition to what they believed was the destruction of Brisbane’s largest parkland.
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“To those firms looking to get involved in this destructive project, we would say in the strongest possible terms: reconsider,” Bremner says.
“Not only is it [the project] fraught with practical and reputational risks, it drags our city backwards, both in terms of valuing our environment and reconciliation with First Nations peoples.”
Recently, two organizations lodged active legal applications under section 10 of the Commonwealth’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
The Federal Minister for Environment and Water would consider the applications that aimed to preserve Victoria Park, a site of significant cultural importance to First Nations peoples.
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Projections showed that the impact of the Victoria Park Stadiums would impact nearly two thirds of the 60-hectare park.
“Uniting the community behind the Olympics can never be achieved while such culturally destructive development is being pursued,” Bremner says.
“We were promised a cheap and cheerful Olympics, one that honoured our First Nations and the environment. The current proposals couldn’t get any further away from that if we tried. It’s time the government stopped this madness and outlined a Plan B,” she said.
Earlier this year, the Crisafulli Government introduced the landmark Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Ammendment Bill 2024. This bill plans to accelerate the delivery of Olympic infrastructure on time and on budget.
A spokesperson for the Deputy Premier, Jarrod Bleijie, said a Queensland Heritage Council decision saw further Victoria Park land added to the Queensland Heritage Register in September.
“It was also acknowledged that the park’s cultural and historial values would be preserved respected and celebrated through the site’s development,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the Australian Government has allocated a capped contribution of $3.435 billion to the $7.1 billion Games Venue Infrastructure Program.
“This landmark Intergovernmental Agreement was reached following project validation work, which determined the Australian Government’s final investment, assessing that these projects can be delivered on time and on budget, represent a good use of taxpayer dollars, and will benefit Queensland for decades to come,” the spokesperson said.
“The Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 provides a bespoke process that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage matters, incorporating engagement and consultation with relevant parties and preparation of a cultural heritage management plan.”
