Press Conference – Brisbane | Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: This is a great day for Brisbane, a great day for Queensland, but a great day for Australia as well. This agreement of $7 billion shows what governments can do when they work together. And I’ve been working so closely with Annastacia and her team to get this done. When there was a change of government, it was very clear that there hadn’t been any money actually allocated in the budget for federal infrastructure support for the Games here in Queensland. And it’s quite clear that we needed to step up and do our part, not just to create the best Games, but also to leave a lasting legacy for Queenslanders and for all who visit this great state of Queensland. And that’s why I’m so excited by this. I know as a Sydneysider the difference that a Games can make. And here in Queensland, this will consolidate this great city as a global city, as a global powerhouse. But it benefits not just Brisbane as well. It will benefit the whole state of Queensland, but it will also benefit our national economy. That’s why the Federal Government has an interest in this. The commitment today of $3.435 billion from the Commonwealth will make an enormous difference. Two and a half billion dollars for the Brisbane Arena, a drop-in swimming pool that once it’s removed, will create a live venue for events in Queensland that will attract world-class entertainers. That will be a venue that will last for many decades into the future and that will create that economic activity here on an ongoing basis. In addition to that, up to $935 million for the minor venues: 16 of them, new and upgraded, shared between Queensland and the Commonwealth for funding on a 50:50 basis, making an enormous difference. Existing venues like the Blackwater Centre and Precinct for rowing, Sunshine Coast Stadium, Brisbane Aquatic Centre and Precinct, Barlow Park at Cairns making a difference, Toowoomba Sportsground. Brisbane International Shooting Centre, Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre, Anna Meares Velodrome and BMX Track making a difference and of course, the Tennis Centre here in Queensland as well, something I have a particular interest in. New venues as well at Breakfast Creek, at Chandler Indoor Sports Centre for gymnastics, Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre. I know my Treasurer is particularly excited about the Logan Indoor Sports Centre that is going to be built as well. The Redlands Whitewater Centre in canoeing, I know the difference that the Whitewater Centre in Penrith makes in Western Sydney, and as well the Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre. So can I congratulate the Queensland Government and the Premier in particular for the work that has gone into this. To have an Olympics and Paralympics held here will be an exciting time for Brisbane. But in the lead-up as well, what you’ll see is young and even some not so young athletes, training and working towards being able to compete at their home games, whether that be in the Olympics or the Paralympics. But on an ongoing basis, as well, what you’ll have is world class facilities that provide recreation, but also do a bit more than that, as well. You’ll see more and more events attracted to this great state of Queensland, not just here in the South East, but right throughout the state. And that’s why the vision that Queensland has for this, the forward looking optimism, is what we need in this country. This will deliver just that, and will make a major difference. It’s a proud day here today. And I think the athletes as well, including the legendary former resident of Grayndler, Dawn Fraser. We miss you Dawnie, but the pub is still going.
ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK, PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND: She is an honorary Queenslander now.
PRIME MINISTER: And is going very strong. I do thank everyone who has been involved in this, and this is just a next step. There is going to be many important milestones to be met in the lead up to 2032, but this will make an enormous difference to our economy, to our lifestyle, to how Australia is perceived in the world, which is why it is important that we get this right and I’m very confident that we have done just that.
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: Thanks PM, and it is wonderful to have the PM back in Brisbane and in Queensland. And it is a great day. We now see that intergovernmental agreements signed, sealed and delivered. I said that we were working on it, we were getting it right and the outcome is tremendous. It is absolutely fantastic to see the commitments to our big stadiums, but also to that infrastructure for the new and the upgrades that are needed. Don’t forget, over 80 per cent of our infrastructure is already there. For example, a lot of the infrastructure on the Gold Coast is already there, it is a great proud legacy of the Commonwealth Games. And today, the Prime Minister announced that there is going to be a brand-new Brisbane Live over the Roma Street Cross River Rail. But also as well, the state government will be re-building the Gabba. That is a commitment of $2.7 billion, and it is absolutely connected in with the Cross River Rail. While we are focused on the Gabba is because we will be declaring a PDA over the whole Gabba site leading into South Bank. This is absolutely critical for urban renewal. It will also be a fantastic legacy but also connectivity for everybody during the Olympics. Of course, this is about the future. This is about setting Queensland up, not just for the next 10 years, the 10 years thereafter. This will cement Queensland’s place internationally, but also as well, it is a lasting legacy for our athletes, our young people and also about creating a healthier lifestyle. As the PM said, we have got a shared commitment with the 15 new or upgraded venues. This is also a big infrastructure investment across our outer suburban areas, but also as well, with the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Cairns, and of course we have already the existing stadium in Townsville that was also built cooperatively between the two levels of government. So wonderful to be involved. As I have been saying, there has been a lot of work happening behind the scenes, and today is the day we have been able to announce this and I’m very pleased that the Deputy Premier is here and also Minister Hinchcliffe and I know the Deputy Premier has been very much involved with this intergovernmental agreement.
JOURNALIST: With the Sydney Games we saw delays of 20 years in the delivery of infrastructure promised. What is Queensland doing to make a difference in that respect?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: With the new norms, we already have over 80 per cent of the venues, which is fantastic. When we had members from the International Olympic Committee come out here and we showcased what was already in existence, they were so impressed. They said you can almost hold the Games tomorrow. So what we know is that we do need these extra facilities for legacy purposes, like the Gabba is used all the time. The Brisbane Live has been talked about for many, many years. We are going to drop that pool into it for the Olympics and it be utilised for decades to come. This is about changing the landscape of Brisbane, but it is also about the connectivity with the Cross River Rail as well. I am really excited. We have got timelines. We will be following the timelines, our agreement talks about those timelines as well. So I’m very, very pleased.
JOURNALIST: Why has the Gabba blown out by $1.7 billion?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: There has been a whole lot of factors taken into account. The prices have gone up for commodities and everything, we are going to be doing the demolition. But this is not unusual, this is happening for projects all over the world.
JOURNALIST: Have you had any discussions with the Brisbane Lions or Cricket Australia about what will happen?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: Yeah, we have been talking with them, and we are talking with them further now that we have these timelines and the funding. Can I say, this is absolutely critical to have this joint funding with the Federal Government. I signed up with the host agreement, but now this is concrete funding for the delivery.
JOURNALIST: What’s the logic behind the funding split?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: As I said, that priority development area, it is logical for us to look after the Gabba. But of course, the Federal Government and the State will be involved with the planning of the Brisbane Live. But that PDA, you can look over there and see the Gabba, it will go all the way around and connect with South Bank. It is pretty exciting.
PRIME MINISTER: We want to make sure with the Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, who is here and has done such an incredible job, the Sports Minister Anika Wells. It’s pretty handy having Queenslanders as the Sports Ministers and Treasurers, I have got to say, when Queensland is pitching up for a contribution. We wanted as well, because it is a defined area, to have the Brisbane Arena project as a Commonwealth responsibility so that the nation could look at this as well, and say, that is what we are contributing, because this is nation-building. This event is a great event for Queensland, but it is great for Australia as well.
JOURNALIST: How is Brisbane’s status is going to go in terms of its significance strategically and economically?
PRIME MINISTER: We are in the fastest-growing region in the world in human history, just to our north, and that is what drives my government’s agenda. It is why we are working with Queensland, not just on this, on the transformation in terms of clean energy. It is why we are driving the agenda on manufacturing through our National Reconstruction Fund that will particularly benefit Queensland. That is why we want to make more things here, but to see Australia as a centre for export and trade to our North. We have a stable, legal, political system, we have a multicultural community as well that is a bonus for us. Human assets is what we have here in Queensland. And Queensland is positioned to be a driving force, perhaps more than – got to be careful being the national leader – but it has advantages over the states to our South because of its geographical location, because of its decentralisation, because of its leadership. So I see this as being very important in sending that message in projecting the positive image of Queensland to our north, but indeed, to the world as well.
JOURNALIST: Will the Games still be cost-neutral or will you have to seek additional contributions from the IOC?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: No, we won’t be seeking any further contributions from the IOC, because the cost neutral in terms of the running of the games.
JOURNALIST: There has always been debate about how the infrastructure agency will operate, how it will run. I can’t imagine Mr Chalmers would be particularly pleased if every 12 months there was a request for an extra billion dollars. So how is infrastructure going to be funded: is it going to be some agency that’s going to do it? Or how will that be done?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: My understanding is that it is through the two departments under the agreement, so the Prime Minister’s relevant department and the Department of State Development.
JOURNALIST: So is it a 50-50 funding split on cost blowouts?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: My understanding is that in the agreement, as I read it, there is capacity there that has been built in for any contingency. So I am pretty confident that this is the envelope we are working to. They have done a lot of work on the projections.
PRIME MINISTER: We are very confident that we have actually worked through the detail. This isn’t something that has been done on a coaster. This is something that has been worked through by our respective governments. That is why we will obviously account for this in our budget. We wanted to get this done well in advance as well of our May Budget, because the truth is that the former government didn’t have this allocation, a line in a letter isn’t how you fund projects. This is how you fund projects: getting the detail, being very specific about what we are doing, including even for the temporary international broadcasting centre, on top of the 15 sports projects there, included in the agreement that we have signed up to today.
JOURNALIST: What is that total expected to be now?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: The $5 billion earlier was without the full costings done. So the total now is $7 billion.
JOURNALIST: $3.7 billion for the Gabba now, are we getting more than we were originally promised? How much social and affordable housing will there be? Is it more of an area upgrade or is it just the cost of those quantities?
PRIME MINISTER: The Deputy Premier will be talking more about that tomorrow in terms of that PDA.
JOURNALIST: The Federal Government is not contributing to the Gabba, is that acknowledgement that you don’t want to be associated with what’s the controversial project in knocking it down?
PRIME MINISTER: Not at all. What that is is an acknowledgement that we want to be responsible for the Brisbane Arena project. We wanted to have something that was the legacy being left by the Commonwealth Government for that project. And the Gabba redevelopment is of course about more than just the stadium, it is about the way that the city functions, and it is all about urban redevelopment as well, making the city function, making it more liveable, the way that it works with the Cross River Rail project. I said to the Premier, earlier, this isn’t the first agreement we have been a party to. We were both the Infrastructure Minister, if it wasn’t for the Newman and Abbott Governments getting elected, people would have been riding on Cross River Rail for the last three or four years.
JOURNALIST: This contribution from the Federal Government to Queensland dwarfs that of the funding received by Sydney from Canberra, multiplies it dramatically. To what extent in negotiating almost a 50:50 split the Federal Government factor in some form of compensation for Queensland, given your emissions target for 2030 and beyond and the fact that only last week we saw the Environment Minister put the line through a proposed new mine in Queensland. Did that factor into your thinking at all, that we’ve got to some somehow offset those impacts?
PRIME MINISTER: Our climate change policy is going to benefit Queensland. The transition of lower emissions and use of cleaner energy here will be of enormous benefit for Queensland. It is no accident that our plans that have been announced in that area have usually been announced in Queensland. For example, Rio Tinto wants to transform its Gladstone refineries using clean energy, developing hydrogen in the medium-term. They see the enormous prospects that are there. The business community get it. The Queensland Government get it. We get it. The only people that don’t are Peter Dutton and the Coalition, who are standing in the way of a safeguards mechanism that’s before the Parliament that is supported by the Business Council of Australia, the Minerals Council, the Australian Industry Group of Manufacturers, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the individual businesses who contribute and create jobs here in Queensland. Queensland, of course, have argued a good case for support. And the Commonwealth is very happy to partner with Queensland, because we think that this is a part of the transformation that Australia needs over the next 10 years. There’s no state better than Queensland. We need to make sure that we maximise the opportunity that’s there for growth, and this is a part of it – making it livable, providing an opportunity for people. And I think this is a very, very exciting day, and a proud day for myself and my team, as well as Annastacia and her team. The Sydney Olympics was largely driven from New South Wales rather than from the Commonwealth. This is a great example of what is happening in the National Cabinet, which is sitting down, not looking for arguments.
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: That’s right.
PRIME MINISTER: Looking for solutions. Looking for outcomes. Looking for how we work together. That’s what Australians want. Now, Peter Dutton can go into a corner and argue with himself, and I know that he’ll find some reasons to be critical of this because he’s critical of everything. People are over it. People voted for optimism. They voted for hope. They voted for a positive plan. And that’s what we’re delivering today.
JOURNALIST: How do you justify an extra $2.7 million spend for an extra 8,000 seats?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: Because this is about a legacy. This is about a stadium that is continuously used throughout the year. And the whole PDA linking in with the Cross River Rail is going to set this state up for the future.
JOURNALIST: On the Raymond Park site: is it part of the planning? Has there been enough consultation with people in that area?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: I’ll let the Deputy Premier address that tomorrow, he’ll be talking more about that. Raymond Park is absolutely needed as part of this. Let’s not forget, this is what we presented to the International Olympic Committee. This is where we’re going to have the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony over at the Gabba. Many people go to the Gabba. I mean, people go to Suncorp. People will go to Brisbane Live. This is setting up a transformational place for people to come around the world.
JOURNALIST: Can you see why some Queensland are concerned about the cost? It’s already going up $2 billion and it is nine years away.
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: What I say to Queenslanders is that they know my commitment to infrastructure in this state. My investment in health is over $9 billion in capital. We’ve got a fund of over $2 billion in
housing. And I know that, federally, there’s more money in relation to housing as well. And we have a $62 billion energy and jobs plan which is basically in regional Queensland. So everyone gets to benefit with the capital spend that we are putting across the state.
JOURNALIST: A $7 billion Games in a $2.7 billion stadium. How realistic do you think it is that that will that would be the final price tag?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: Well, I’m very confident because we delivered a very successful Commonwealth Games. Now, the Olympics are the next level up, but we have so many of the existing infrastructure and the existing facilities. And this is going to set this state up for decades and decades to come.
PRIME MINISTER: Can I make this point about the Comm Games? There were two projects there where I, as Infrastructure Minister, worked with the Queensland Government to make a difference. One, of course, was Gold Coast Light Rail, which everyone who looks at that says that that was a precondition for people to get around the Gold Coast and for that Games to be such a success. In addition to that, the upgrades that we did to the Pacific Motorway, but also to the stadium there, funded out of the Regional Local Community Infrastructure Program. We put $37 million in which was the largest single grant out of that program. It made a difference. All of that was opposed by the LNP at the time. At the time they opposed – even the local members – opposed that infrastructure. What we actually need to do, and one of the things about this vision that I can see, as someone who doesn’t live here, is how livable it will make this city. The transformational nature of all of the developments put together, along with the transport infrastructure that’s been fully funded, it’s got to be said, by the Queensland Government with Cross River Rail, because it was rejected by the Newman Government, the funding that was actually in the budget. So I just think this will make an incredible difference. And as people get closer and closer to 2032, the level of excitement will go up and it will be a great Games, but a great legacy as well.
JOURNALIST: Will this be offset by the ticket sales, the sponsorship and the contribution from the IOC?
PRIME MINISTER: No, that’s about the actual running of the Games itself.
JOURNALIST: So that will be an extra $4.5 billion?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: No. We’ll get the figures for you, Lydia. But, no. The cost neutral is the operational aspects of the Games.
JOURNALIST: Do you have a message for the students of East Brisbane Primary School?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: So, some good news there. We are going to build them a brand new school. So the school will be located less than 2km from where the current school is. Minister Grace is currently speaking with the principal at the moment and will be coordinating communication with the parents. Years 4, 5 and 6, I’m advised, will complete their schooling at East Brisbane, and the school will be relocated in 2026.
JOURNALIST: Is there other infrastructure that will be needed for the Games? Does that $7 billion include any transport projects, any rail projects? Anything like that?
PREMIER PALASZCZUK: Cross River Rail is already being built. That’s already underway. That’s fully funded by us.
JOURNALIST: One of the things that has been suggested is upgraded rail.
PREMIER: Well, both the State and the Federal Government have forward infrastructure plans in excess of $40 billion or $50 billion over four years. And those specific transport plans will be mapped out as part of that continuation of the infrastructure funding.
JOURNALIST: The RBA Governor noted risk the board has gone too far. Are you worried more interest rate hikes could push the economy further into a recession?
PRIME MINISTER: The RBA Governor gave evidence this week. We know that the issue of interest rates and cost of living is placing pressure on Australian families. And that’s why we’re seeking to take that pressure off, firstly through relief. And that relief consists of the cheaper medicines, the cheaper childcare that comes in, the fee-free TAFE as well. He’s also spoken about supply chain constraints that are having an impact. He estimates between half and two-thirds of the pressure that’s there on inflation in the economy, in part, arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And that’s why we’re dealing with skills shortages. That’s why we have the National Reconstruction Fund as well. The third element of our response is restraint. Our fine Treasurer here put 99 per cent of the revenue gains that had come through in the budget went back into paying off the debt that we inherited, the trillion dollars of debt that we inherited along with skills shortages, along with no economic plan and not enough actual infrastructure investment. I mean, this issue that we’re debating today is a classic example of something that we inherited. A thought that the Commonwealth was going to make a contribution. But you don’t actually fund and build a stadium or build Brisbane Arena on a thought. You build it with real dollars. And that’s what we have allocated.