Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our date with destiny has been set. On 21 July session members of the International Olympic Committee will decide if Australia will be the host—again—of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will be a decision about the games of the 35th Olympiad, a games we hope to be announced as Brisbane 2032. But securing the games won't be a win just for Brisbane, nor just the south-east but for the entire state of Queensland—indeed, the entire nation. It will be the people's games, and its value will lie not just in two weeks of sport but in two decades of benefit—a decade in the lead-up to the games and a decade following the games. The Olympics is the biggest show on earth. At the opening ceremony alone, you have half the world's eyeballs fixated on the screen. If we're to secure the rights to host the 2032 games, it will provide an opportunity for us to reimagine the future of our local communities and then to use the games as leverage to deliver on that vision. But, right now, we're in the hands of the IOC and—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded.