ROW TAINTS OUR GAMES

THE Commonwealth Games Federation is right. The opening ceremony of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games should not be politicised.

But as contradictory as it may seem, that should not stop Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk from being included among the speakers so she can represent her state.

Queensland has, after all, funded the Games to the tune of $2 billion and it has fast-tracked much-needed infrastructure.

The stoush that has blown up over whether Ms Palaszczuk should speak - and the Commonwealth Games Federation has ruled it out as part of the ceremony - is undignified.

With just six days to go, the timing is appalling and is tainting our Games.

This should have been resolved long before now.

There is a suggestion the federation might reconsider, but it may be too late.

At the heart of the matter is the federation’s lingering embarrassment at comments made by First Minister Alex Salmond four years ago in Glasgow - he shattered any hope of a politics-free event when in the lead-up to the Games he declared Glasgow would be “freedom city’’, in the campaign for its residents to back the Scottish independence vote.

But why should this have spoilt Ms Palaszczuk’s opportunity to represent Queenslanders and speak on their behalf and offering a rousing welcome to the state and city?

Queensland has no pressing political issue that Ms Palaszczuk might want to use to score points on the global stage.

Given the furore over Mr Salmond’s utterances and the unfortunate argument now over Ms Palaszczuk’s apparent snub, it is unlikely she would inflame the situation.

Mr Beattie, who was premier from 1998-2007, has told the Bulletin he went into bat for her in his role as GOLDOC chairman, asking last year that Ms Palaszczuk be part of the speaking program.

He’s even suggested he would give up his speaking part so it could happen.

Evidently the federation responded in October with a speaking line-up that excluded her – and that raises the question why this matter has festered until now, with less than a week to go. Some on the Government side have questioned how hard Mr Beattie tried.

Two things are very clear in this debacle. The bottom line is, you put yourself in danger when you get between a politician and a microphone. How unfortunate that politicians should be bickering over this when we should be showcasing our great city and state to the world.

The other point is this should have been put to rest months ago. It’s likely too late for Ms Palaszczuk to be included.

It appears Ms Palaszczuk’s consolation will be an invitation to be part of the closing ceremony – and that runs the risk of detracting from Mayor Tom Tate’s role, when the host city leader usually hands over to the mayor of the next city to run the Games, in this case Birmingham in 2022.

The speakers’ line-up at the opening ceremony next week appears set to be devoid of any Gold Coast or Queensland representative, unless one emerges for the oaths to be taken on behalf of the athletes, coaches and technical officials.