When the LNP came to Government in Queensland last year they inherited an Olympics plan from the Labor Government that had just two cities (Townsville and Cairns) outside of southeast Queensland hosting just one sport (football).
So, the involvement with the Games for most of us in regional Queensland would be limited to having to pay for it through our taxes, royalties and the like.
That Games was also a mess for other reasons. The former Government had swapped between the Gabba and the old QEII stadium as the major venue and there were major cost blowouts on the athletes’ villages.
So, the new LNP Government established a 100-day review to work out a better plan.
Here in Central Queensland, we had elected three new Members of Parliament, Donna Kirkland, Nigel Hutton and Glen Kelly. All of them were keen to deliver for our region.
So, we all got together, with the Council and the regional development bodies too, to get behind a plan to pitch for the Olympic rowing for Rockhampton. Many thought we were mad at first and thought we had no chance. The southern media mocked Rocky as “croc-infested”, even though the state school rowing championships are held here every year.
You are best not to die wondering and the LNP CQ team fought hard for our region. Donna Kirkland, as the Member for Rockhampton, stalked the halls of the Queensland Parliament putting Rocky’s case about why we were the best.
We never asked for a handout. We had a better case than the Labor party’s choice of Wyaralong Dam which was 2 hours southwest of Brisbane in traffic. Wyaralong is a great place for rowing but not so good to host a high-profile event. It is so remote that it is not even on the power or water grid. The course had to be moved to accommodate an event as large as the Olympics, so a new road was needed. And a specific athletes’ village would need to be built in a remote area which would not have provided much long-term legacy.
All up, these costs would have amounted to at least $130 million for a five-day event. In contrast, the Rockhampton rowing course is a just few kilometres from an airport, the national highway and accommodation in a major city. We believed that we could save at least $100 million by moving the event to a regional city.
This week David Crisafulli announced a new Games plan for all Queenslanders.
The CQ LNP team’s efforts have paid off and we have delivered gold for Rocky. The rowing and canoeing will now be in Rockhampton. This is an amazing opportunity for Rockhampton to showcase to the world the beauty of Central Queensland from our reef, to our bushland, to our farming and mining industries and our wonderful relaxed lifestyle.
We will also have a world class rowing facility that can host state, national and international rowing events in the future, bringing business to our region, and amazing sporting opportunities for our young people.
The LNP has also announced that the athletes’ village will be built at the old, disused railway yards in Rockhampton. While the details of this will be worked out, it is likely that about 1000 beds will be built that can be converted to housing after the Games. This will help deal with our housing shortages as well as revitalising the centre of our city.
And the Games plan includes holding events right throughout regional Queensland from Toowoomba to Cairns.
The LNP have delivered a Games for all of Queensland, and we can now all get behind them to take advantage of this opportunity that has been given to us in Central Queensland.
