Beattie silence on Games contracts not a good look

LUCRATIVE contracts, the majority signed and sealed unknown to the general public before the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games is only now seeing the light of day (GCB Friday 4/5/2018), but with no comment surprisingly available from GOLDOC chairman Peter Beattie.

Known affectionately by the media and public as a self-confessed “media tart”, Mr Beattie has no statement to make with regards to the abundant amount of money paid to himself and Games CEO Mark Peters and other Games committee members.

Before and during the Games it was hard to get that egotistical smile away from the press and television cameras.

The true heroes of the Games were both the athletes and volunteers.

Unpaid, the athletes from across the Commonwealth would have spent many hours, and money, training for events, and the massive army of 15,000 volunteers giving up no doubt valuable time and, in some cases loss of income, to make sure the city provided a smooth transition at events and assistance to our thousands of visitors.

The venues were brilliant and events well organised – but tainted by costly and embarrassing mistakes by management and senior Queensland politicians.

Millions of dollars made from some dodgy contracts (only 8.2 per cent of the “pie” awarded to Gold Coast companies (GCB 4/5/18), most going to interstate or international companies. So much for the majority of contracts going to Gold Coast companies!

Compared to the efforts put into the Games by the athletes and volunteers – the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games organising politicians and committee appeared inattentive to detail and apathetic judging by their occasional statements such as to Gold Coasters to “suck it up” and other reported derogatory remarks.

It was gold for the athletes who won their individual events – and it appears it was gold for Mr Peters and Mr Beattie.

Mr Beattie is off to a new contract with the National Rugby League with the obvious approval of the Australian Rugby League Commission.

With a track record of mistakes as the Premier of Queensland, also Queensland Trade Minister for a few years in California, and now a number of incompetent decisions as chairman of the Gold Coast Commonwealth 2018 Games, one has to wonder how he gets these lucrative employment contracts.

As the self-confessed “media tart” would tell us – to bad, just “suck it up”.

TERRY STOLLERY, SOUTHPORT