James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Sport, Senator Colbeck. Can the minister advise the Senate of what the recent announcement by the International Olympic Committee about the 2032 Olympics means for Queensland and the rest of Australia?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians and Queenslanders, in particular, are excited by the International Olympic Committee announcing that South-East Queensland is the preferred bidder for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics. This decision means that we are now a step closer to hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the IOC entering into exclusive negotiations with Queensland for the 2032 event. The announcement is a game-changing development for the bid, which has long been supported by all levels of government. Since the government announced its support for the bid in 2019, we've been working with the Queensland government, the councils of South-East Queensland as well as the Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia to put forward the best possible bid for South-East Queensland in 2032. Not only will this event add a new chapter in Australia's sporting history, as it did with Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000; it will also deliver an economic boost for jobs in Queensland and in Australia.

The announcement from the IOC is a positive development, but we still have a lot of work to do. The Australian government will, over coming weeks and months, continue to work closely and cooperatively with the bid partners during the exclusive negotiation period. We want to make sure that we don't miss this golden opportunity for South-East Queensland, for all of Queensland and, indeed, for all of Australia.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McGrath, a supplementary question?

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain how securing the 2032 Olympics will build on the work done by the government to showcase our nation to the world?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia has a rich history of hosting world-class international sporting events. The 1956 Melbourne Olympics and Sydney 2000 were enormously successful and gave significant confidence to our nation. In recent years Australia has hosted the AFC Asian Cup, in 2015, the 2018 Invictus Games, the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the ICC Women's T20 World Cup. Next year we will host the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and the UCI Road World Championships. In 2023 we will co-host the FIFA Women's World Cup and, in 2026, the UCI BMX World Championships. We're also in with a great show of securing the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McGrath, a final supplementary question?

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline the next steps in securing the 2032 Olympics for Queensland?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator McGrath, for the question. While the IOC announcement was very welcome news, there remains a lot more work to be done to secure the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics for Australia and Queensland. The Australian government is continuing to work with the Queensland government, the South-East Queensland Council of Mayors, the Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia as the exclusive negotiations, or targeted dialogue, with the IOC occurs over the coming weeks and months. The targeted dialogue specifically addresses our capacity to host the 2032 Games and conveys our preferred host status. Only the South-East Queensland bid has this status. We are very clear that we must continue to work hard to outline our vision for a successful 2032 Olympics so that our bid can be successful when the winning bidders are announced later this year.