James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Hansard source

Queensland is embarking on a bold and ambitious vision for Brisbane 2032 with the construction of the new Brisbane Stadium at Victoria Park, an investment that's going to shape our capital city and our state for generations. This $3.6 billion project will be the centrepiece of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, delivering a 63,000 seat stadium and transforming the Victoria Park precinct, including the creation of a national aquatic centre. Together, these projects will leave a lasting legacy for all Queensland athletes, all sports fans and the broader community. Not only will the new, state-of-the-art stadium cater for the Olympics but it will also serve as the new home for AFL and cricket in Queensland.

As the federal shadow minister for the games, I congratulate Premier David Crisafulli, Sports Minister Tim Mander, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and the entire LNP government for acting decisively to put these plans in place. Their $7.1 billion Games Venue Infrastructure Program will ensure Queensland is ready to host the world's best athletes at what will be one of the world's best Olympic and Paralympic Games. This progress stands in stark contrast to the previous Labor government, whose years of inaction and indecisiveness cost us three years of preparation and placed the very future of the games at risk. After more than 1,200 days of Labor chaos, the LNP government has moved swiftly to select the Victoria Park site, secure funding and get on with the job at hand.

I need to mention another broken Labor promise—and there are so many. This one goes back to March 2021, when Anthony Albanese said a Labor government would produce an annual state of the cities report. Nearly four years after they were elected, Labor is yet to publicly release a single report. This is despite the fact that Labor's own National Urban Policy relies on a 2024 report that remains under lock and key in the minister's office. The Australian public deserves access to this report so they can understand Labor's policy decisions and how they are affecting urban Australia. As shadow minister for urban infrastructure and cities, I call upon the Minister for Cities to get on with the job and release this report. If she doesn't, I have an order for the production of documents before the Senate this afternoon, demanding the report's release. This is another broken promise from a prime minister who leads a government that is defined by broken promises.

As acting shadow minister for local government, I would like to give a shout-out to the many councils, councillors and council workers across Far North Queensland, North Queensland, Central Queensland, the gulf and the peninsula, who are currently dealing with the impacts of recent flooding. Over the past few months, these regions have endured extreme weather conditions that have destroyed infrastructure, property, lives and livestock. Communities in my home state have been ravaged.

At times like this it is important that Queenslanders come together and do all that we can to support each other. I do want to praise the response of the Crisafulli LNP government, who came so quickly to the aid of those affected and continues to come to the aid of those affected. Much of the clean-up and rebuilding will be the responsibility of local government. Local governments across Queensland have been working overtime to get their communities back on their feet, and there is still much work to do. Dealing with such devastation is a gruelling job that's both physically demanding and emotionally draining.

To all the local government workers, councillors, mayors and emergency service workers who've been coming together to help rebuild their communities, on behalf of the LNP and on behalf of the Senate, I would like to say thank you. Your efforts will help us build back bigger and stronger and make sure that Queensland is an even better place to live in.