Following the 100 day infrastructure review, the plan for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games has been released with Independent Member for Noosa Sandy Bolton MP seeing many positives for Queensland, including the spread of events.
Venues are now proposed for upgrade and use on the Sunshine Coast and in Cairns, Maryborough, Toowoomba and Rockhampton among others with upgrades to associated infrastructure including the Bruce Highway, from Brisbane to Cairns, to improve safety, flood resilience and capacity.
“This will deliver benefits for regional Queensland as sought by the crossbench in its united statement of May 2023, and even though it is not in the realm of the equal spend with the majority remaining in Southeast Queensland, it is better than what was proposed previously in terms of ‘legacy’,” Ms Bolton said.
The hosting of the Olympics in Brisbane has brought excitement and opportunities to so many, however as the Noosa MP has raised previously, government must get the basics right.
With many pressing needs throughout Queensland including recovering from disasters and the COVID pandemic, with ongoing housing, rental and cost of living stress, health care shortfalls and crime impacts, substantial extra resources are required to address.
“These cannot be overlooked in the state budgets over the next years, nor infrastructure commitments already made. Queenslanders always must be top priority,” Ms Bolton said.
The Noosa MP welcomes the upholding of other requests in the crossbench statement, such as the halting of the Gabba rebuild and the continued commitment to adhere to the $7.1 billion budget.
Even though announcements that any athlete accommodation, including in Maroochydore, will be utilised for housing after 2032, concerningly the words ‘affordable’ were absent in the government’s statements.
This was also sought in the crossbench statement requesting that all built accommodations be transferred to either social or community housing providers.
“This is essential as part of making available genuine affordable housing for our working families, and I and no doubt the rest of the crossbench will be seeking that the government give reassurances regarding all athlete accommodation and villages,” she said.
“In addition, the entire Host City contract and all relevant business cases need to be made public.”
Sandy will continue efforts on requests from the community for the Noosa Shire to be utilised for team training activities to bring new and upgraded local sporting facilities, as well as infrastructure and services to manage the volume of games visitors that will be staying and visiting Noosa, some many months in advance.
“That list is well known and included in submissions to the Northern Sunshine Coast Public Transport Strategy, the 100 day infrastructure review, and Destination 2045. Examples such as better train and transport from Gympie North to Nambour via Cooroy, hinterland bus services and of course, the completion of the Tewantin Bypass,” Ms Bolton said.
Included in the games announcements was a $250 million ‘Games On!’ program to invest in local grassroots sporting clubs with funding so far being released to four clubs in Noosa.
“Congratulations to the Noosa Pirates, Noosa Touch Association, Noosa Little Athletics and Noosa Tennis Club, and we look forward to more announcements in the coming rounds.”
The Olympics plan has been generally well received from initial feedback locally, which is a good start to what will be an intense time in the preparation phase.
“We must ensure the legacy of the games is one we will all be proud of. One that will deliver to our community and all of Queensland, and that future generations can look on as an exemplar in multiple realms, including sustainable practices and ensuring that the basics are not overlooked in the excitement,” Ms Bolton said.
The state government’s outline of their plan is available at www.delivering2032.com.au. A full copy of the united Crossbench statement and updates on many local matters Sandy is working on are available at www.SandyBolton.com/Noosa360.
