Games deadline must leave lasting Coast legacy

The Mayor said her focus was firmly on what the region would have when the crowds had gone home.

THE 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games should be viewed as a deadline for delivering long-needed Sunshine Coast infrastructure rather than simply a two-week sporting event, Mayor Rosanna Natoli says.

Speaking after Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki at the Nambour Chamber of Commerce breakfast on September 3, Cr Natoli said the Coast faced an enormous construction task in the years ahead.

She pointed to rail and road projects, an athletes’ village, sporting venues and other infrastructure required before the Games. “That’s a short time to get that enormous build done,” she said.

But the Mayor said her focus was firmly on what the region would have when the crowds had gone home. “It’s not about the Games. It is about the legacy,” Cr Natoli said. “When the party is over, what are we left with on the Sunshine Coast? For council, for me, that legacy is what this is all about. The Games are a deadline. They’re a trigger.”

Treasurer David Janetzki said the Sunshine Coast had a major infrastructure program ahead after having been neglected in some areas in the past.

He told business owners the Government was determined to invest in the roads, rail and community infrastructure required by the rapidly growing region. “We will never take the Sunny Coast for granted,” he said.

Mr Janetzki said Queensland’s State Budget had to balance those infrastructure demands against enormous recurring costs.

About a third of State spending went towards health and around a fifth towards schools, he said, before expenditure on roads, dams, bridges, police, fire services and other areas was even considered. “There is a significant burden on every State Budget that I deliver,” Mr Janetzki said.

Nevertheless, he said the Coast was receiving significant infrastructure investment and stood to benefit substantially in the lead-up to 2032 and beyond.