Who’s the bright spark

Council and government need to get it together when it comes to using infrastructure

Growing up down south, there was an unwritten rule for gals of a marrying age – do not, under any circumstances, book a September wedding.

It didn’t matter who you barracked for, how your team was going, or whether you were into footy or not; these dates were sacrosanct.

The AFL finals series and Grand Final were such sacred days, that if anyone received an invitation on heavy white parchment with a September date, it would be met with a groan, with half the wedding guests ending up either huddled around a TV in a nearby pub until the last possible moment, or listening covertly through a radio earpiece and occasionally forgetting themselves with an inappropriately-timed, “You bewdy!”

So it seemed crazy to me that the stadium purpose-built for the Cowboys, and to date used almost exclusively by the Cowboys, would have been offered to the only major music event scheduled since its opening, a date that would clash with the schedule of the priority tenant’s code.

Do Stadiums Queensland not have a calendar with the NRL finals dates blocked out, in case the team the stadium was built to showcase did their best, and were rewarded with a final?

That an almost empty stadium calendar can have a date clash, is a case study in wasted assets.

Speaking of under-utilised, could I again revisit the travesty of still not having the lighting upgraded at Riverway stadium?

Cricket season is fast approaching, and yet again we miss out on any number of interstate, national and international events due to the council saying they “can’t afford” the $10m required, despite promises to the contrary.

There is apparently no issue with paying $6.2m for a new boardwalk outside the museum, with $2.4m coming from the Queensland government’s Works for Queensland program – hello? Don’t we want income for the region?

A boardwalk, while desirable, is no match to sporting events that drive people to purchase flights, book accommodation, use taxis, and frequent local cafes and restaurants.

What do we have to do to make this stunning, under-utilised sports ground suitable for broadcast TV?

And if that doesn’t qualify for a Works for Queensland grant, what does?

“Under-utilised” example number three is in my very own neighbourhood.

Recently, the netball courts at my local park were transformed through a funding partnership between the council and the state government.

Four gorgeous courts, with spectacular lighting.

The problem is, they’re only turned on when the netball club is in residence.

Next to the nettie courts, the halfbasketball court is used every night by groups of youths playing under floodlights, while on the adjoining brandnew netball court, girls rollerskate, skateboard, and practice their netball goaling, in the growing darkness.

If our taxes are used to fund these projects, at least let the public utilise this asset by putting the two lights next to the basketball court on the same automatic timer that the sports-mad youths enjoy on a nightly basis.

So much money spent on massively under-utilised playing surfaces seems to be something we specialise in. Queensland, the Smart State? Sometimes, I’m not so sure.