Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Acting Deputy President. I am absolutely respectful of the people concerned about this project in Brisbane. The quote, though, that I think really summed it up on ABC Brisbane this morning was: 'I've previously voted Labor at a state level in Queensland, but if the Gabba construction goes ahead my vote will go elsewhere. They need to listen to the people.'

Senator Chisholm, this is your home state, this is your Labor state government and this is your federal Labor government. I don't blame the Palaszczuk government. I blame federal Labor for stalling this and for the disrespect they've treated the Senate with by coming in and saying, 'We don't have to actually give you any information on this particular project.' Well, it turns out you do, because it's going to cost the federal taxpayer billions of dollars. People don't feel they're being consulted. They're concerned about a Gabba Redevelopment that wasn't even part of the Olympics bid.

What's concerning for the international community that I've been speaking to about the Olympics build isn't the Gabba Redevelopment; it's how we get hundreds of thousands of spectators out to events. There are road and rail projects that need to be built for these games to be successful, and we want them to be successful. But they haven't even been started. There's an eight-year lead time. They need to be planned. They need to be tendered. There needs to be construction. It's going to look like Rio if you don't get your act together.