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A bid to stop construction on Brisbane’s Olympic stadium site in Victoria Park on Indigenous heritage grounds has been rejected by federal Environment Minister Murray Watt.
Five applications for the site have been made under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984, requesting the federal government’s assistance in protecting a significant Aboriginal heritage area that is under threat of injury or desecration.
An artist’s impression of Brisbane Stadium.Credit: Queensland government
One of the applications was withdrawn.
Watt revealed on Wednesday afternoon he had rejected one of the applications, which centred on drilling and drilling-related infrastructure within the proposed Olympic stadium and National Aquatic Centre site.
Environment Minister Murray Watt has rejected an application to declare the Brisbane 2032 stadium site in Victoria Park a significant Aboriginal heritage area under threat of injury or desecration.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“In accordance with federal cultural heritage law, I have decided not to make a declaration under section 9 of the act,” the Queensland-based minister said.
“However, I have instructed my department to appoint an independent facilitator to work with the relevant parties.”
The independent facilitator would support pragmatic options that protected cultural heritage, Watt said.
“The purpose of the dedicated facilitator will be to avoid harm to cultural heritage, and inform any future decisions relating to the specified areas.
“This decision follows consultation with interested parties and acknowledges the area is of particular significance to the Turrbal and Jagera people in accordance with their traditions.”
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Watt’s department was still assessing three applications to make declarations under the heritage protection act.
The design of the centrepiece stadium for Brisbane 2032 was revealed earlier in January.
Save Victoria Park spokeswoman Rosemary O’Hagan said the renders’ “latest tranche of greenwashed computer imagery” was not real.
“What’s real are the ancient trees, rolling hills and native wildlife the government intends to obliterate for what could become one of history’s most environmentally disastrous Olympic Games,” she said.
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Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has described the Save Victoria Park group as “loopy”.
“The Save Victoria Park group are just a bunch of NIMBYs that don’t want anything to happen,” he said.
“They believe this park has been activated for years. It wasn’t. It was a golf course. Before it was a golf course, it was a dump, for goodness’ sake.”
Bleijie said earthwork would begin midyear and the stadium’s planned 63,000-seat capacity could be increased – if it could be delivered within the existing budget.
“If we can squeeze more out of the budget, add a few more seats, make it happen,” he said.
“But the budget’s not changing.”
In September, Arup was announced as the firm behind the master plan for the precinct, which would take in Victoria Park and the nearby RNA Showgrounds.
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