Soon after Adrian Schrinner had unveiled a new countdown clock in Queen Street Mall, Brisbane’s Council Opposition had slammed the Lord Mayor’s Olympic Legacy Document.
Speaking to a packed lunch of the city’s political and business elite on Thursday, Adrian Schrinner had re-announced several ideas the Council have put forward to make the city ready to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, formalised in a new document titled “Beyond the Games – Brisbane’s Legacy Plan”.
The plan includes previously announced ideas such as the green and gold grid, shade over the Victoria Bridge, and water taxis along the Brisbane River.
However, Brisbane Labor Opposition Leader in Council Jared Cassidy said that with six years to go until the opening ceremony of the Games, Adrian Schrinner was simply reheating old announcements to herald the milestone.
“More missed bins, shocking roads, crippling congestion and a homelessness crisis are what this Lord Mayor will be remembered for.”
Cassidy was especially scathing of the Lord Mayor’s inability to fund simple projects without state and federal government funding, arguing that is a part of the reason why Council projects take years or even decades to complete.
“Adrian Schrinner can’t even leverage his relationship with LNP friends on 1 William Street to secure new transport projects for Brisbane such as the Brisbane Metro expansion, Story Bridge Renewal, or the Gympie Road Bypass Tunnel.”
“Brisbane needs a champion for 2032. Adrian Schrinner is not it.”
The comments come almost two months after LNP Premier David Crisfaulli turned the sod on the new Brisbane Stadium at Victoria Park and announced via Facebook that better public transport projects were in the pipeline for the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, but not Brisbane.
Since then, Brisbane’s LNP Council has called for the State Government to contribute just 10% of a whopping $3.65 billion bill for the Story Bridge Renewal, expected to take 20 years.
Additionally, other long-mooted public transport upgrades are in the lurch including the full Brisbane Metro Expansion and Gold City Glider.
During the Lord Mayor’s Speech for the 2026-27 FY Council Budget, Adrian Schrinner announced that despite promises made by the LNP during the Council and State elections in 2024, the Gympie Road Bypass Tunnel will not commence until after the 2032 Games.
When announcing Council’s legacy plan document, the Lord Mayor also reminded Brisbane of his target for 50,000 new homes. However, Labor warned that without affordable housing targets, “frontline workers will continue to be locked out of the city that they serve”.
