Premier says decision time on Brisbane Olympic bid may be as early as July
Brisbane could find out as soon as July whether it has won the rights to host the 2032 Olympic Games, according to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
A pedestrian plaza would link a refurbished Gabba stadium to South Bank and the Cross River Rail network (Pic: Supplied)
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has agreed to a 50-50 funding arrangement for infrastructure including stadiums, venues and roads for the Games in 11 years time.
The deal was struck on Monday afternoon, just an hour before the 5pm deadline for guarantees to be sent to the International Olympic Committee.
Palaszczuk said guarantees had been sent and the IOC could award the hosting rights as soon as the Tokyo Games in July.
“That’s the next big step, there’s another big step in May and then of course there could be a decision as soon as Tokyo about awarding 2032,” she said.
As part of the agreement, a jointly owned, funded and run Olympic infrastructure agency will be set up to oversee all projects.
“Our offer is for a genuine partnership, with shared costs and shared responsibilities, working together to make this the best Olympics on record,” Morrison said in a statement.
“This takes the Olympics out of the day to day politics.
“It provides a platform for bipartisan support at every level of government and lets those who we will jointly appoint to get this job done, to just get on with it.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk backs an Olympic infrastructure agency, saying she’s just relieved to have sent the guarantees to the IOC in time.
She also welcomes the federal funding after calling for the arrangement for at least two weeks, saying both levels of government are great at delivering infrastructure.
“I’m opening a stage of the Ipswich Motorway in a couple of hours, and honestly, we built that together, I mean we actually get on with the job and build things,” she told Nine’s Today program.
“But you know, to get the letter (from the federal government ) at 3.57pm, the deadline is, you know, 5pm, you know, it says a lot.”
Palaszczuk said the IOC president Thomas Bach and lawyers had gone through the Brisbane bid’s guarantees on Monday night and the games would be “good to go”.
“I thank the prime minister for getting me such a prompt response,” she chuckled.
“He met the deadline, that’s the main thing. Just get on with it, come on.
“Anyway it is going to be great, it means that the Gabba redevelopment can happen, community facilities can happen and the road projects can happen that we need.
“So it will set Queensland up for decades to come. So Sydney had its time to shine, and in 2032, Brisbane, Queensland, it’s going to be fantastic.”
