Mayors say Olympics need independent oversight
The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games need an independent oversight authority that can withstand changes in government and unforeseen circumstances, South East Queensland mayors are warning in a swipe at the Palaszczuk Government’s power grab.
The mayors are also calling for an urgent acceleration of pace for the Olympics preparation across the board to get the work done in time.
The South East Queensland Council of Mayors, in a submission to be lodged with the Senate inquiry into Australia’s preparedness to host the Olympic Games, warns that a quarter of the time to prepare for the global event has already passed.
The Palaszczuk Government scrapped plans for an independent oversight authority in favour of an Olympics Coordination Office, which will be located in the Premier’s department and overseen by a leader’s forum chaired by the Premier.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s office continued its defence of the move, saying it was backed by the International and Australian Olympic committees and would cut bureaucratic red tape.
The SEQ Mayors submission urges the establishment of an “independent, empowered and integrated coordination authority”.
“This is especially important for ensuring co-ordination between delivery partners (including all levels of government), but also across and within government departments and agencies to withstand successive governments and unforeseen circumstances,” it stated.
“With 25 per cent of the Games delivery timeline expired, it becomes increasingly clear that there is an urgency to accelerate pace to ensure that all necessary preparations, including infrastructure delivery, are completed in a timely manner.”
It stated that efficient delivery of infrastructure for a successful Games needed “effective and transparent collaboration and co-ordination among all relevant stakeholders”.
Ms Palaszczuk’s spokesman said the co-ordination office was recommended by the Deloitte report commissioned by the government and was backed by the AOC and IOC.
The spokesman said that 85 per cent of the Games venues already exist and that no major infrastructure was being built solely for the event.