A First Nations group has applied to halt construction of the main stadium planned for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
The state and federal governments plan to spend $3.8bn on a 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park in inner-city Brisbane. It will host the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics events.
The park will also contain a 25,000-seat national aquatic centre, a warmup track, and other infrastructure.
Victoria Park is one of the most significant Indigenous sites in inner-city Brisbane, according to historian Ray Kerkhove. It served as the town camp for up to 1,500 Indigenous people, who were victims of at least one massacre, and is on a songline, he said earlier this year. It is also known as Barrambin.
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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.
On Tuesday, the Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation (Ymac) lodged an application with the federal government for permanent legal protection of the park, under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. The decision lies with the federal environment minister, Murray Watt.
“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,” said Ymac spokesperson and Yagarabul elder Gaja Kerry Charlton.
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.
Used as a golf course since 1931, Brisbane city council developed a master plan for the site in 2020, converting it back into a park. Local elders participated in a four-year consultation process for the scheme. The plan has been scrapped.
Part of the park is heritage listed and the relevant department recommended in April that the protection be expanded to cover the entire area. May’s legislation exempts Olympics development from the state Heritage Act.
“It was a complete shock when the premier came out with his stadium plans,” Charlton said.
“He said the park would be protected from stadiums; I thought the park was safe. Now the government wants to destroy it. We are very concerned there are ancient trees, artefacts and very important ecosystems existing there. There may be ancestral remains.
“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.
The deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, and the federal infrastructure minister, Catherine King, were contacted for comment.
“Once Victoria Park is gone, it’s gone forever,” Yagara elder Uncle Steven said.
“Will photos be our only memory? Are we going to have to say to our children, our grandchildren: ‘this is what your grandparents experienced, but it’s not here for you any more?’
“We have so little left of our history, our culture, our social life that we cling to it. And we want to share that with non-Aboriginal people as well.”
When built, the Victoria Park stadium will be Queensland’s biggest stadium and will serve as the home of cricket and the Brisbane Lions AFL team.
