1 June 2023
Open Letter to members of the:
Queensland Government, Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee, Brisbane 2032 Coordination Office, Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Committee, Australian Olympics Committee and the International Olympics Committee
We write in our capacity as representatives for the communities in Woolloongabba, East Brisbane, and Kangaroo Point.
The 2032 Olympic Games has the capacity to bring great benefits to Queensland - but also huge financial and social costs.
The planned Gabba Stadium redevelopment will force an active state primary school, East Brisbane State School, to close. This 124-year-old school, which currently nurtures over 304 children, will close for the sake of a single sporting event. The government currently has no plans for a new school within the existing catchment, despite the express preference of the school community to stay put, or relocate within the catchment. Consultation and communication with the school community has been extremely poor.
For the Gabba to host athletics, nearby Raymond Park will be cleared for a temporary warm-up track. Raymond Park constitutes about nearly half of all the parkland in Kangaroo Point. Despite initial assurances from the government that a warm-up track would fit in Raymond Park - something the local community always knew to be false - the government have since made clear that family homes will be cleared. Raymond Park is home to 100-year-old trees, an active soccer club, a playground, a basketball court, exercise area, a community garden, a cricket pitch and a dog park. All of this will likely be destroyed for a temporary track. Communication with the affected community has been extremely poor.
$2.7 billion, to redevelop a single stadium, in the midst of a housing and cost-of-living crisis, is an insult to everyday Queenslanders. Add to this the huge cost of the Olympic Games more broadly. Every Olympic Games since 1960 has run over budget, and in the majority of cases, have been money-losing ventures for host cities. There is little evidence of substantial net increases in tourism. Olympic Games drive up the cost of housing and rent, forcing people out of their neighbourhoods. Millions of people have been displaced due to Olympics developments over the past three decades, or as a result of being priced-out.
Our communities deserve to feel excited about the Olympics - instead, they are facing their one substantial park being cleared, family homes bulldozed, and their local state primary school closed. Is this the legacy each of you want for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games?
We invite you all to visit East Brisbane, Woolloongabba and Kangaroo Point, and hear from residents who will be directly affected by the decisions each of you will make over the coming months and years.
Trina Massey
Councillor for the Gabba Ward
Amy MacMahon
State MP for South Brisbane
Max Chandler-Mather
Federal MP for Griffith
Addressed to:
Queensland Government
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk
The Honourable Steven Miles
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe
Brisbane 2032 Coordination Office
Director General Graham Fraine, CEO
Organising Committee for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Cindy Hook, CEO
Andrew N. Liveris, President
The Honourable Anika Wells
The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Councillor Adrian Schrinner
John Coates AC, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee
Jock O’Callaghan, President of Paralympics Australia
Bronte Barratt OAM OLY
Matt Allen AM, Vice President of the Australian Olympic Committee
Matt Carroll AM, CEO of the Australian Olympic Committee
Brett Clark, BOC Board Director
Natalie Cook OAM OLY, BOC Board Director
Kurt Fearnley AO PLY, BOC Board Director
Rebecca Frizelle OAM, BOC Board Director
Patrick Johnson OLY, BOC Board Director
Sarah Kelly OAM, BOC Board Director
Graham Perrett MP, BOC Board Director
Shelley Reys AO, BOC Board Director
Rob Scott OLY, BOC Board Director
Robyn Smith OAM, Australian member of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board
Cr Clare Stewart, BOC Board Director
Tracy Stockwell OAM OLY, BOC Board Director
Australian Olympic Committee
Matt Carroll AM, CEO of the Australian Olympic Committee
Ian Chesterman AM, President of the Australian Olympic Committee
Evelyn Halls, Vice President of the Australian Olympic Committee
Mark Arbib BA MA, Australian Olympic Committee Member
Cate Campbell OAM OLY (Chair - Athletes' Commission), Australian Olympic Committee Member
Alisa Camplin-Warner AM, Australian Olympic Committee Member
Craig Carracher LLB (Hons), BCL(Hons), Australian Olympic Committee Member
Kitty Chiller AM OLY, Australian Olympic Committee Member
Catherine Fettell, Australian Olympic Committee Member
Michael Murphy BCom LLB(Hons) MBA, Australian Olympic Committee Member
Elizabeth Scott OAM, Australian Olympic Committee Member
Ken Wallace OAM OLY (Deputy Chair - Athletes' Commission), Australian Olympic Committee Member
Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Committee
Georgina Richters, Deputy Chair, Legacy Committee
Sharon Boyce, Legacy Committee
Cameron Costello, Legacy Committee
Wayne Gerard, Legacy Committee
Danya Hodgetts, Legacy Committee
Diaswati Mardiasmo, Legacy Committee
Ashleigh Morris, Legacy Committee
Cameron Pegg, Legacy Committee
Ingrid Proud, Legacy Committee
Imogen Ruyg, Legacy Committee
John Wagner, Legacy Committee
Siwei Zhu, Legacy Committee
