Indigenous challenge to Brisbane stadium

Image: Government of Queensland

Plans for the main stadium for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games in Queensland, Australia have hit a bump in the road after a First Nations group applied to halt construction of the venue.

The Guardian said the Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation (Ymac) lodged an application with the federal government for permanent legal protection of Victoria Park, under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

The state and federal governments are planning to build an A$3.8 billion, 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park in inner-city Brisbane.

The stadium would be used to host the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics events at the Games, while the park would also house a 25,000-seat national aquatic centre, a warm-up track, and other infrastructure.

The Victoria Park stadium will be Queensland’s biggest stadium and will serve as the home of cricket and the Brisbane Lions AFL team.

Victoria Park is one of the most significant Indigenous sites in inner-city Brisbane and served as the town camp for up to 1,500 Indigenous people, who were victims of at least one massacre.

YMAC spokeswoman Gaja Kerry Charlton said, “We know this is a place of great significance and history, not only for Yagara people, but for other First Nations and non-Aboriginal people as well.

“We are very concerned there are ancient trees, artefacts and very important ecosystems existing there. There may be ancestral remains.”

A spokesperson for the federal government confirmed it had received the request to designate the site under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

He said, “The department is currently reviewing this application and will take all standard steps to progress it, including engaging with the applicant, the proponent and the Queensland government.”

In May Queensland parliament passed legislation on party lines exempting Games-related development from a number of state planning laws, including the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, and from legal challenge.

The decision lies with the federal environment minister, Murray Watt.

The LNP leader, David Crisafulli, had promised not to build any new stadiums for the Olympics, and not to build one in Victoria Park, before last year’s state election. It was also not mentioned during the May federal election campaign.

Crisafulli apologised for breaking the election promise in March, saying the choice was between Victoria Park and a temporary facility in the city’s south that wouldn’t have proven suitable.

Charlton said, “It was a complete shock when the premier came out with his stadium plans.

He said the park would be protected from stadiums; I thought the park was safe.

“Now the government wants to destroy it. We stand resolute in our responsibility to protect it.”

The federal government threw its support behind the Olympic stadium plan last month on condition that appropriate consultation was undertaken with stakeholders including First Nations groups.

Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said that there was strong support for the stadium.

He said, “Ultimately, this is going to happen. No doubt there will be attempts to thwart the project and slow it down.”

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