The proposed stadium at Brisbane’s Victoria Park. Photo: Qld Government
The Queensland Government wants to make 2032 Olympic Games projects exempt to planning rules to stave off delays caused by legal challenges.
And activists are vowing to fight the move.
The government claims a new bill that has gone before state parliament will “streamline” construction of sporting venues, villages and transport infrastructure.
The Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority (GIICA) would be empowered to ignore other acts including the Heritage, Environmental Planning, Local Government and Nature Conservation Acts.
Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie claims a new Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Arrangements (BOPGA) Act 2021 would streamline the approvals process.
“The 2032 Delivery Plan set a course of action; now we’re getting on with the job of delivering it,” Deputy Premier Bleijie said.
“We have time to deliver the games but we have to get on with it.
“Queenslanders voted for a fresh start to get the Games back on track and that’s what we are delivering.”
The government will also cut the number of directors on the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee Board from 24 to 15 and creating a leadership group for oversight of the different Games entities.
Olympic and Paralympic Games Minister Tim Mander says the move is part of efforts to cut back on bureaucracy.
“This will reduce bureaucracy and streamline processes, allowing experts to get on with the job of delivering the best Games yet,” he claims.
OPPOSITION TO MOVE
A spokeswoman for the Save Victoria Park advocacy group, Rosemary O’Hagan told the Brisbane Times that the move was a “slap in the face” for democracy.
She also vowed that legal challenges will be prepared.
“To the International Olympic Committee we ask: is this the promised ‘new norm’ legacy for Queensland? The demolition of one of Brisbane’s most significant First Nations cultural sites, and the gutting of our laws?” she told website.
The Queensland Conservation Council also opposed the move, telling the Australian Associated Press that the bill set a “really worrying precedent”.
“As a general principle we shouldn’t be overruling environmental protection,” council spokesman Dave Copeman says.
He also raised concerns about southeast Queensland’s endangered koala population; he says the site for the Redland Whitewater Centre planned for the games is a known habitat.
