‘Clock is ticking’: Olympic venues to skirt state laws
Fraser Barton and Lloyd Jones |
Brisbane 2032 Olympic sites will be exempt from planning laws as officials race against time to get the Games venues built.
But the Queensland government’s move to help ensure infrastructure is completed has come under fire, with an advocacy group describing it as a “slap in the face”.
The clock is ticking for the Games after the state government finally confirmed its venue blueprint in March, more than 1300 days after Brisbane was named host city.
A bill will be introduced to state parliament on Thursday, giving the Games infrastructure authority power to override 15 planning laws, including the Environmental Protection, Queensland Heritage and Nature Conservation Acts.
The laws covering all venues and the athletes villages are set to ensure construction is not delayed by potential legal challenges, with the final planning sign-off given to the state government – not local councils.
However, advocacy group Save Victoria Park said it would still be exploring legal action against the construction of the Brisbane 2032 centrepiece.
Victoria Park is expected to become the Brisbane Games hub, with a 63,000-seat main stadium and a nearby national aquatic centre set to be built.
“We are outraged but not deterred by the Crisafulli government’s plans,” Save Victoria Park spokeswoman Rosemary O’Hagan said.
“It’s a slap in the face to the community and to democracy.
“Save Victoria Park remains committed to protecting this precious parkland, our city’s green lungs, for generations to come.”
The advocacy group has raised about $70,000 via GoFundMe for a legal challenge exploring the impact on the park’s heritage status and environment.
The group has argued Olympic venue construction would destroy valuable green space at a site of significance to First Nations communities.
A major construction body has backed the bill, indicating the legislation is necessary to deliver venues on time.
“We can’t afford a business-as-usual, step-by-step approach” Australian Constructors Association chief executive Jon Davies told AAP.
“The clock is ticking and delivery depends on co-ordinated action starting now.”
The state government said it did not make the decision lightly.
“The overwhelming comments from Queenslanders is ‘get on with it’, and that’s what we need to do,” Olympic Minister Tim Mander said.
“We’ve got seven years to go. We have time but we haven’t got time to muck around.”
The bill also reduces the Games’ organising committee board from 24 to 15, with the likes of golfing great Greg Norman reportedly on the chopping block.
The Queensland Conservation Council also took aim at the laws, saying the bill set a “really worrying precedent”.
“As a general principle we should’t be overruling environmental protection,” the council’s Dave Copeman said.
“When we are doing something like the Olympics we shouldn’t be taking shortcuts.”
He raised concerns for southeast Queensland’s endangered koala population, saying the site for the Redland Whitewater Centre planned for 2032 was a known habitat.
AAP
