What is our vision for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games? While the Games have the potential to deliver benefits to Queensland, the local social impacts and costs cannot be overlooked. What key priorities should we push for as a community to ensure that the Games deliver jobs, infrastructure, and social benefits to our community?
Based on community consultation so far, here are some key priorities:
- Full Consultation: A community ‘seat at the table’ for full consultation at every step of the process, and all aspects of the Olympics planning and running. What has been missing to date is any consultation with Queenslanders, and particularly those Queenslanders who live in the neighbourhoods surrounding the Gabba Stadium. I asked in the estimates hearing on 16 July what consultation has happened to date, and your response was that there has been a lot of media coverage in Brisbane’s bid to date. As someone who has professional experience in community engagement, and now in-depth experience engaging and consulting with the South Brisbane community on a range of issues, media coverage does not at all constitute consultation.
- First Nations Involvement: A commitment to engage with First Nations elders and communities in a meaningful way, including: seeking consent, meaningful jobs and employment.
- Ensuring Housing Affordability: Urgent measures to maintain affordability and cost of living in the surrounding neighbourhoods, including rate caps, rent caps, and investment in social housing, and a commitment to existing residents that they won’t be priced out of the neighbourhood.
- Protect and expand East Brisbane State School: A guarantee that East Brisbane State School will not only be maintained, but enhanced, and included as part of Gabba redevelopment planning.
- Protect and enhance Raymond Park: A commitment that Raymond Park be returned to the community as a park and sports facility as soon as possible after the games, and additional greenspace of an equivalent size and quality provided to the East Brisbane and Kangaroo Point community during any interruption to public access to the park due to the games.
- Expand greenspace: Investment in further greenspace for the Woolloongabba, Kangaroo Point, and East Brisbane community.
- CRR Woolloongabba delivers greenspace and social housing: Ensuring the Cross-River Rail station site in Woolloongabba is developed in line with community needs and expectations, including public greenspace, social housing and community facilities, and the whole site to stay in public hands.
- Development meeting community need: Any development in the neighbourhood must adhere to neighbourhood plans, with a focus on sustainable affordable housing.
- Public and Active Transport: Investment in public and active transport, including bike lanes, and cross-neighbourhood bus services.
- Public Ownership of all new infrastructure: Ensuring that new infrastructure stays in public hands, and is designed for ongoing public use, including housing and accommodation.
- Heritage protection: Protection of nearby heritage sites, including the Broadway Hotel and East Brisbane Bowls Club.
- Local jobs: Employment opportunities for local residents, with a focus on long-term, sustainable jobs.
- Fiscal Transparency: A commitment to ongoing reporting and transparency regarding investment of public money, and to monitoring regarding the ongoing social and economic impacts of Games' planning and implementation.
- Support for people experiencing homelessness: A commitment to sustainable, long-term housing for any people sleeping rough, rather than employing ‘move-on’ techniques as seen during the Commonwealth Games and G20
- Support Local Businesses: A commitment to provide opportunities that come from hosting the games to local businesses, as well as minimising any negative impacts on local businesses and their employees.
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