Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) | Hansard source

And the Paralympic Games, of course—the member for Fisher reminds me. It is absolutely going to be a highlight, and it's going to be an event that is of such massive significance to all our communities but also the whole nation. It will be the third Olympics that Australia has hosted. We talk about these great sporting events and we talk about the legacy that they might lead. We're hoping for great sporting achievements—we're hoping to take a whole swag of medals across both games—but what I think we're all particularly keen on is ensuring that these games leave a lasting infrastructure legacy across all our communities.

The deadlines that come with these games help focus the minds of policymakers. Bureaucracies move a little faster when they've got a deadline to work towards. If you're anything like me, Mr Speaker, you've been watching the World Cup, and you've been seeing these amazing stadia across North America. I've been doing a bit of research into what some of the cities that have helped host that World Cup have been able to achieve in the lead-up to these important fixtures. Los Angeles was able to accelerate the construction of the metro D Line subway. Seattle completed the final section of its Link Light Rail network. Atlanta redesigned its whole bus network and launched a new bus rapid transit corridor and completed a $5 billion Centennial Yards redevelopment. Vancouver expanded the bus, SkyTrain and Seabus services across their city. Houston delivered a major active transport corridor, linking the stadiums to fan zones and other downtown precincts.

None of those projects are really about delivering sporting infrastructure, although I am looking forward to having the white-water facility built within my electorate for the 2032 games. These are about setting these cities up for future success, not just for a few weeks of competition but for a broader economic uplift. The major project that I want to try to realise before the 2032 games arrive in greater Brisbane is the extension of Brisbane's metro system out to Capalaba. That would take us through the Sleeman Sports Complex, which will be hosting a number of Olympic events, and through to the Birchdale whitewater facility, which will be set up near Capalaba. This project is one that has been identified by the state government and by Brisbane City Council as a key bit of legacy infrastructure that they want to deliver before 2032. We were very pleased in the lead-up to the last federal election to get a bipartisan commitment for federal funding, $50 million, for the study of a business case for those extensions, not just Capalaba but some of the other extensions that are being looked at.

Brisbane City Council's games transport legacy plan, which I'm advised is about to be released, is going to list the Capalaba extension as a priority project, with a target of having it operational by 2031. Hopefully that gives us enough time. Of course these things blow out a little bit, but I'm hoping that that will be achieved by the time that the games arrive. The key hurdle that we're going to be facing over the next 12 to 18 months is if we can get federal funding to complete that project. The study's under way. We've seen this federal government commit $6 billion to the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne before the sort of work that we're undertaking for the Capalaba extension has been completed. That commitment's already been made, and my community want to know why we aren't seeing that same level of commitment for Brisbane Olympic legacy projects. Why aren't we seeing that same level of appetite from this government to try to ensure that we get some of these important projects, which aren't just important for the Olympic Games but are important for the broader economic outlook of our entire South-East Queensland region? As I said, the next 12 to 18 months are going to be absolutely critical. The opportunity is there. Councils are on board. The state governments on board. We need a federal government that's prepared to be on board as well. We cannot afford to miss the bus as we head into 2032.

House adjourned at 20:00

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Mascarenhas ) took the chair at 10:30.

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