Category: MIL-OSI

Source: New South Wales – News

Southern District CIB detectives searched the Maslin Beach property on Saturday 26 July and allegedly located 7.5 litres of 1,4-Butanediol (liquid fantasy), 23 steroid vials, 81 suboxone strips, various prescription medications, cannabis products, $5550 in cash and drug equipment.

A 35-year-old man and a 24-year-old man, both occupants of the address, were arrested and charged with trafficking in a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug and other serious drug offences.

They were refused police bail and will appear in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court today.

Anyone with information about illicit drugs can report it anonymously to police via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

CO2500030688

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested two youths in relation to a robbery that occurred in Katherine on Friday.

Around 7:20am, three male youths allegedly followed a 90-year-old man from Railway Terrace to Katherine Terrace, where one of the youths grabbed the victim’s keys from his pocket. All three fled the scene on foot back towards Railway Terrace.

Witnesses flagged down nearby police who arrested two male youths aged 13 and 14 nearby.

The victim was assessed and did not require medical attention.

Investigations remain ongoing to identify and locate the outstanding offender.

Police urge anyone with information to contact police on 131 444. Please quote reference NTP2500074944. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au.

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Assistance with your application

You can apply onlineExternal Link or on a paper form for early release on compassionate grounds.

We’re unable to process applications over the phone, but we can answer any questions you have about completing your application – phone us on 13 10 20.

We don’t charge for processing applications, but some third parties may charge a fee to assist with preparing and submitting an application on your behalf. These entities can only charge you a fee if they’re a registered tax agent. To check if a provider is a registered tax agent, use the Tax Practitioners Board registerExternal Link.

Your super can’t be released to cover the fees of registered agents that assist you to apply. Where you have paid a fee to a registered agent who assisted you to apply, you can’t claim this fee as a deduction in your income tax return.

Sharing myGov details

You should never share your myGov sign in details with anyone else, including registered agents or health practitioners. Doing so is a breach of the myGov terms ofExternal Link use, compromises the security of your records, and can result in significant consequences for you, including having your myGov account being locked, suspended, or deactivated permanently.

Where you share your myGov sign in details with third parties, you are responsible for everything they do with your account, including any penalties where false or misleading statements have been made.

Before you apply

Before you apply you should:

1. carefully review the information we provide here to
2. confirm you have a sufficient super balance to cover the expense and withholding tax
3. check if your super fund allows early release of super
4. collect all the documents and evidence required to support your application.

If you have a self-managed super fund (SMSF), you must still apply to us and get our approval before releasing any money from the fund.

Before submitting your application, you need to ensure that all the information you’re providing is accurate, including the content within medical reports and other documents you provide. Penalties can apply to anyone who provides inaccurate information in their application.

Common errors when applying

Applications need to be supported by the right evidence for the specific compassionate release ground. Failing to provide the right evidence will result in delays in processing the application or it not being approved.

Common errors when applying include:

• Attaching out of date quotes or invoices for unpaid expenses.
  • Quotes must be no more than 6 months old.
  • Invoices must be no more than 30 days old.
• Not providing the right medical reports to support your medical treatment.
  • You must obtain a medical report from the relevant registered medical specialist in the area of the medical condition that you’re applying for release to treat.
  • If you’re applying for treatment to alleviate an acute or chronic mental illness, the relevant medical specialist report must be completed by a psychiatrist.
• Applying to prevent the foreclosure or forced sale of your home from a mortgage lender and not providing all evidence requirements: default notice, letter from the mortgage lender and a utility bill.
• Applying for release to prevent foreclosure or forced sale of your home for ineligible expenses such as a personal credit card debt, outstanding rent, or other personal loans.
• Applying to purchase a vehicle for medical transport where the vehicle costs more than $20,000 and not including additional information that supports the need for the specific vehicle.
• Applying for the expense of a dependant and not including sufficient evidence to support the existence of an interdependent or substantial financially dependent relationship.

For more information on evidence requirements, see Access on compassionate grounds – what you need to know.

How to apply

Online application process

You can access our online application form via your myGov accountExternal Link linked to ATO online services.

From the ATO online services home page, select the heading option Super, then Manage, then Compassionate release of super.

Ensure you’re aware of the following information before completing your online application:

• You need digital copies of the required evidence. We accept photos of documents. Supported file formats are PDF, gif, jpeg and png. We don’t accept screen shots of text messages, emails or Google documents.
• Our system can’t accept more than 20 attachments.
• Each attachment needs to be smaller than 10 MB.

Applying to repay borrowed amounts

Our online and paper application forms currently indicate that paid expenses are not allowable expenses for compassionate release of super purposes, including where the expense was paid using borrowed money – such as through obtaining a loan, using credit facilities, or other borrowing of money, including from family or friends.

We’re currently in the process of updating these forms to be consistent with the information on our website. Until the forms are updated, if you’re applying to repay a borrowed amount that is still outstanding and can’t be paid via other means (in part or full), you’ll need to do the following.

When completing our:

• online application, you need to select the tick box advising ‘The expenses have not been paid’ because the unpaid expense is the outstanding balance of the borrowed amount
• paper application, the question ‘Have the expenses been paid?’ needs to be answered ‘No’ because the unpaid expense is the outstanding balance of the borrowed amount.

You will also need to provide additional documents to support the borrowed amount, including a paid invoice or receipt, statutory declarations and financial documents.

Benefits of applying online

• Online applications are generally processed more quickly than paper applications, which can take up to 28 days to process.
• You can view your application and the documents you provide at any time.
• You will receive a receipt ID that confirms we have received your application and can be used to discuss it with us.
• You don’t have to make copies of your evidence or send them via post.
• You’ll receive the outcome of your application quicker via your myGov inbox.
• Our online application includes a help function to help you apply correctly.

If you can’t apply online

If you don’t have access to our online services to submit your application, request a paper application form by:

• phoning us from within Australia on 13 10 20 (8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday AEST).
• phoning us from overseas on +61 2 6216 1111 (8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday AEST) to request a paper application form.

If you apply from overseas:

More than one person applying for the same expense

You can apply for the same expense as another person if all people applying need to pay different parts of the same expense. If you and another person are applying for the same expense, each person will need to:

• complete and submit a separate application
• meet the eligibility criteria
• provide the applicable evidence (including documents showing the expense is in the names of all applicants).

The sum of the amount requested in the separate applications must not be more than the total amount of the invoice or quote.

What to expect after you apply

When reviewing your application, we will treat you respectfully and professionally. We will respond to your application fairly and in a timely manner as outlined in the ATO Charter.

We will assess your eligibility in accordance with the limited grounds for compassionate release of super. This normally occurs within 14 days (28 days for paper applications). You can check the progress of your application by using our self-help interactive voice response. You will need to provide your tax file number (TFN) and date of birth.

While assessing your application, we may contact you or third-party providers about the evidence you provided, particularly if there is incomplete or missing information. This includes validating expenses in the invoices and quotes, and the information provided in reports.

Once we have assessed your application, we will let you know the outcome by either phone or SMS and you will receive a letter in your myGov InboxExternal Link or via post if you apply on a paper form. You will also be able to access our letter on ATO online services under communication history. Our letter may take up to 72 hours to arrive (or more if it is sent by post).

If your application is successful, we will send a copy of the approval letter to your super fund. You will then need to contact them directly to release your super.

How to withdraw your application

You can’t amend your application after it has been submitted.

To withdraw an application, contact us and provide us with your application reference number.

If your application is approved

Release of your super

If your application is approved, once you receive our approval letter, you must contact your super fund to arrange release of your money.

You’ll need to provide your fund with a copy of our approval letter to process your payment. The letter can only be used to release one lump sum payment. You should wait for your approval letter before contacting your super fund to arrange for release of the approved amount.

Your super fund will automatically deduct the tax from your super account. See Tax on super benefits and Schedule 12 Tax table for superannuation lump sums for more information.

Super funds have their own processes and timeframes for releasing money from super. If you need to know how long it will take for your fund to release your money, you will need to ask them. We don’t have any role in determining how long this takes, and we can’t assist you in relation to the release after we send the approval letter.

After you have received your amount

After you have received your release from your super fund, you must pay the expenses that were approved with the amount released from your super fund.

You also need to keep your receipts for the paid expense as you may need to provide this information to us.

Your super fund will also issue you a payment summary that will display the amount released from your super balance and the tax withheld.

When lodging your income tax return for the relevant financial year, you need to include any taxable amounts shown on the payment summary. If any releases from your super aren’t pre-filled when completing your income tax return, you need to manually include these as per the payment summary. See Tax return instructions for more information.

If your application is not approved

You’ll receive a letter advising the reasons your application was not approved. We will also try to contact you via phone to explain our decision.

The reasons for non-approval generally fall into the following categories:

• You didn’t meet eligibility conditions. You or the expense you applied for are ineligible (because, for example, you paid the expense without borrowing money). Submitting further applications or a review request will result in the same outcome.
• If your application was not approved because you didn’t provide sufficient evidence, you need to submit a new application with all the required documentation. If you request a review of our decision without providing additional evidence, it will generally be unsuccessful.
• If your application was partially approved and you have new evidence, you need to submit a new application with the required documentation for the additional amount.

If you don’t understand our decision or believe we have made a mistake under the law, you can contact us so we can explain our decision.

Request a review of our decision

If after contacting us, you consider that we made a decision that was incorrect based on the information in your application, you can request a review of our decision.

Generally, you must submit your request within 14 days of the date of the original decision letter. In your review request, you need to specify why you believe our decision is incorrect.

For instructions on requesting a review, see Compassionate release of superannuation – request for review of decision.

Source: New South Wales – News

Just after 11pm on Saturday 26 July, police were called to a house on Stebonheath Road after reports of a disturbance.

A struggle has occurred between two men at the house after one of the men made threats with a firearm.

Patrols arrived and found a 53-year-old Taperoo man dead from a gunshot wound, believed to be from a gun in his possession.

The gun was recovered nearby.

A 31-year-old man from the house is assisting police with their enquiries.

As a result of ongoing investigations into the incident police today, Sunday 27 July have arrested two women and a man in relation to a report of a disturbance which occurred on the evening of Saturday 26 July at a hotel on Main North Road, Smithfield.

This disturbance is believed to be linked to the Munno Para West incident.

A 21-year-old woman from Blakeview was arrested and charged with affray and act likely to cause harm, a 22-year-old woman from Munno Para West and a 31-year-old man from Campbelltown were both arrested and charged with affray.

The group have all been served a three-month liquor licence barring order, excluding them from the hotel.

They have been bailed to appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on the 9 September.

The trio are continuing to assist police with their enquiries, and it is believed all parties are known to each other.

Source:

28 July 2025

The demand for ‘greener’ bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation is gaining traction worldwide, but operators should heed cultural differences when marketing their sustainable facilities, according to a new international study.

Led by Hong Kong Shue Yan University and the University of South Australia, the survey of 800 people from 37 countries examined how cultural values, age and education levels influenced tourists’ acceptance of environmentally sustainable features in B&Bs.

Previous global studies have indicated that many tourists are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly accommodation, but this is the first time that researchers have focused specifically on cultural attitudes towards B&B sustainable practices.

The study focused on five categories of sustainable facilities: water treatment systems (rainwater harvesting systems, greywater); greenery systems (sky gardens and vertical green walls); sanitation (hand sanitiser and air purification units); ventilation (natural air or air conditioning); and eco-friendly facilities (LED lights, organic composting bins).

Tourists from rules-based, autocratic and hierarchical countries such as China, India and Malaysia expressed the strongest support for all types of green features in B&Bs. Deemed ‘high-power distance’ cultures, citizens of these countries were more likely to use energy-saving products and choose natural ventilation over air conditioning, the survey revealed.

University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers Dr Li Meng and Professor Simon Beecham, who co-authored the study published in Consumer Behaviour in Tourism and Hospitality, say other cultural dimensions were less clear cut.

“Western cultures such as Australia, the United Kingdom and United States, appreciated rooftop gardens and vertical green walls, but these features were not strong factors in whether they chose a bed and breakfast,” according to the UniSA researchers.

Tourists from risk-averse cultures such as Japan, France and Greece were less likely to embrace B&Bs with natural ventilation, preferring to control their environment with air conditioning, the researchers say.

Highly-educated travellers rated sanitation and eco-friendly features more favourably, and younger tourists placed greater value on green systems than older people.

“These findings challenge assumptions that all green tourists are alike,” says lead author Professor Rita Yi Man Li from Hong Kong Shue Yan University.

“Many accommodation providers want to operate more sustainably, but few have considered how cultural values affect guest preferences,” Prof Li says.

“This research shows that guests from different cultural backgrounds respond differently to the same green features. Understanding these nuances can help B&B owners tailor their sustainability investments more effectively depending on their most important tourism markets.”

Dr Meng says younger guests may be drawn to visible features like rooftop gardens, while more educated visitors may look for practical elements like composting, LED lighting, or air purification systems.

The researchers say that governments also have a role to play in supporting the development of sustainable B&Bs.

By offering incentives, investing in sustainable infrastructure, and developing policies such as easing travel restrictions and visa policies, governments can help expand the international customer base for eco-friendly B&Bs, the study recommended.

‘Does culture really matter? A cross-cultural study of demand for B&B sustainable facilities’ is published in Consumer Behaviour in Tourism and Hospitality. DOI: 10.1108/CBTH-04-2024-0135. The study involved a cross-disciplinary team of researchers with expertise in economics, real estate, literature and environmental science.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

UniSA researcher contact: Professor Simon Beecham E: simon.beecham@unisa.edu.au
Hong Kong Shue Yan University researcher contact: Professor Rita Li E: ymli@hksyu.edu

Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au

Source:

Over the past 80 days, we have shared the pivotal moments, challenges and triumphs that have shaped our history as part of our 80th anniversary celebrations.

For the past 80 years and beyond, CFA has stood as a pillar of protection, resilience and community spirit across Victoria.  

Our story is one of service, dedication, evolution and unwavering commitment to those we serve.  

Our mission and vision have remained steadfast through the decades. While the future may bring change, our commitment will remain strong and continue to guide our work for years to come.

CFA Vision – Victorian communities are prepared for and safe from fire

We reaffirm our vision for a safer, stronger Victoria, where communities are empowered, supported and equipped to meet fire and emergency challenges through education, innovation, and collaboration.

CFA Mission – To protect lives and property

We honour the enduring mission that drives us – to protect lives and property, foster community safety and stand alongside Victorians in times of need.

Our focus remains on delivering a world-class emergency service through the strength of our volunteers, the dedication of our staff and the deep partnerships we’ve built within the community.

Here’s to honouring our past and embracing the future with that same spirit of commitment. 

 

Thank you for joining us for the past 80 days on our journey down memory lane. Catch up on the 80 in 80.

Submitted by	CFA News

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

The City of Greater Bendigo is preparing to commence a $5.68 million project in mid to late October to remove and replace a 660-metre section of the ageing dual tram tracks in High Street and Pall Mall between Short Street and Mundy Street.

The City will be undertaking preliminary survey work this week from Tuesday July 29 until Thursday July 31 along High Street and Pall Mall. These works will require temporary lane closures at various times.

City of Greater Bendigo Engineering Manager Ian McLauchlan said this section of the tram track has not been renewed since the 1930’s and is now in need of replacement to ensure Bendigo’s famous talking trams can continue to operate.

“Bendigo Tramways is a much valued and loved local attraction for both residents and visitors and this work is necessary to help preserve one of Greater Bendigo’s most important heritage attractions into the future,” Mr McLauchlan said.

“During the works period this section of High Street and Pall Mall will be reduced to one lane on either side of the tram tracks and a reduced speed limit of 40 km/h will be applied through the work zone.

“The City strongly encourages motorists travelling between White Hills and Golden Square and beyond to avoid the area where possible and use Weeroona Avenue / Lucan Street / Barnard Street / Don Street as alternative routes to avoid any potential delays.”

Project works will include:

• Establishment of site and works storage compound in Sidney Myer Place, installation of temporary fencing, traffic barriers and signage
• Protection of the existing infrastructure including heritage poles and utilities
• Removal of existing historic granite cobble stones and existing track
• Earthworks to subgrade level and disposal of all excess material
• Installation of new track and associated infrastructure and reinstatement of cleaned granite cobble stones and asphalt road pavement to centre of adjacent traffic lane
• New line-marking

When the works are underway there will be no right turns allowed into Forest, Mitchell, View, Williamson, Bull, and Mundy Streets and Easter Fair Way from High Street and Pall Mall. Sidney Myer Place will be used as a work site compound and will be closed to traffic.

Right hand turns will be available at Short Street and Chapel Street.

Left hand turns will be available into High Street and Pall Mall from Forest, Mitchell, View, Williamson, Bull, and Mundy Streets and from Easter Fair Way.

The southernmost pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Pall Mall and Williamson Street will remain open during the works.

The northernmost pedestrian crossing at Mitchell Street will remain open for the majority of the project. However, the remainder of the intersections will be closed to crossing and right turning vehicle traffic.

Providing the project runs according to plan, the Forest Street and Mitchell/View Street intersections will be reopened in early November once this section of track replacement works have been completed.

Works are anticipated to take place between 7am and 7pm, seven days per week with the possibility of some night works. The project is expected to be completed by late November subject to weather conditions and the availability of supplies and materials.

The tourist trams will not operate while works are underway. For more information on the operation of the trams, visit: 

Source: New South Wales – News

Police were called to a cafe on Newton Road, Campbelltown about 8pm on Sunday 27 July by reports of a collision.

A woman had been sheltering inside the cafe during an altercation with the driver of a silver Holden sedan.  It will be alleged that he reversed into the front of the cafe causing damage to the windows.

Luckily, no one was standing near the windows inside the cafe at the time and there were no injuries.

The man drove off.

The 35-year-old Plympton Park woman was wanted for other matters and arrested.  She did not apply for bail and will face court today.  It is believed the pair are known to each other and this was not a random incident.

A Dog Operations patrol spotted the Holden sedan on Main North Road, Prospect about 8.45pm and followed it into the car park of a fast-food restaurant.

The driver then allegedly rammed the Dog Operations patrol vehicle and crashed into a Ford Ranger parked in the car park.

The Holden drove off and was abandoned in John Street, Prospect.  The driver ran off and despite a search of the suburb, he has not yet been located.  The Holden was seized by police and is suspected of being stolen.

A police officer sustained an injury to his hand, believed to have occurred while smashing the window of the Holden Commodore in an attempt to stop the vehicle in the car park at Prospect.

Inquiries are continuing to locate the suspect.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

Source: Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Queensland Media Club Speeches and Q&A here: https://youtu.be/f2DeHcivspg?si=guNHL0f1ZCkMWhwz

 

JOURNALIST: It’s been 100 days since the Government’s 100-day review. When can Queenslanders expect to see tangible shovels in the ground, concrete rising in Victoria Park? Because as you’ve touched on in your speech, we don’t have a lot of time.

JARROD BLEIJIE: Well, yes, you’re right, [Journalist], we don’t. And that’s why today we’ve- [Indistinct] have authorised now to start a little preliminary work. So all the geotechnical work that’s got to take place, the soil testing that’s got to take place, is going to be starting from, I would suspect, next week you can start seeing some work. I wouldn’t say the excavators are going to be there next week, but certainly all the prelim work has to take place in terms of the soil testing. Now, that has to happen because each of them have to work out the best location for Victoria Park once they do the testing of the park.

JOURNALIST: One thing you mentioned in your speech but didn’t touch too deeply on was Brisbane Arena. It sounds like we’re not going to get Brisbane Arena before 2032; can you make a guarantee that we will?

JARROD BLEIJIE: Oh, we absolutely will get there before 2032. The Gabba will come down in 20- after 2032, but the Brisbane Arena, we are actually- so the document that I just came back from the United States to be part of Brisbane’s next iconic destination which is the Brisbane Arena. We’ve had over 2,200 expressions of interest put in through the website already on that. We are talking to the market at the moment about the Go Print site and then the secondary site which is the Gabba location, about whether it should be combined or two separate sites, depending on what the private sector want to do. But we absolutely will partner with private sector. We will go to procurement on the Brisbane Arena by the end of this year. So I would suspect in the next couple of months my Department, Department of Infrastructure and Planning, will actually formally go and procure them to build the arena. And then next year will be the planning, and I suspect you’ll start seeing it being built from end of next year and into 2027, and it will be built absolutely before 2032. 

JOURNALIST: You mentioned in your speech too you’d like to see more transport investment from the Federal Government. Minister King, are you open to that? How much money will Queensland provide? Perhaps we can just get our GST back. 

[Laughter]

CATHERINE KING: I knew someone would mention that, I just wondered if that would happen. Already the Commonwealth is investing, I think it’s over $27 billion in transport infrastructure here in Queensland. I think in the equivalent states, it’s- I think you’re the highest amount. Every other state is less than that, believe me. So that is the first thing I’m saying. I think also, there are issues around capacity. We can only build so much at any one time. Our priority has absolutely been Bruce Highway. You saw us come in January with the Prime Minister, acknowledge that that is an unfinished piece of business for all of us, and we’re very determined to get that done. That being said, we’re already investing over $12 billion in [Indistinct] infrastructure. We will look at new requests that come through, and they come from every state and territory pretty regularly, I can say. They come through for Queensland in our normal budget processes. We don’t have a budget yet until next year, but really, we’ve been very determined to make sure, you know, we put planning money in, we put planning work in, we get a good idea about what the costs are and then we progress from there. And I’m sure Queensland will do what every other state does and ask for its share of funding. 

JOURNALIST: Might I come to the working media table for the first question? Is there a microphone here to [Indistinct]…?

CATHERINE KING: I think we’ve stolen them. We’ve got three up here now. 

JOURNALIST: Deputy Premier, Fraser Barton from the Australian Associated Press. I asked you when the delivery plan was announced in March about workers and construction and how we’re going to get all these workers. How has the government progressed that? Is- are we still going to quote ransack New South Wales and Victoria for people? And where will all of these workers live given housing shortages in the state?

JARROD BLEIJIE: Well thank you, great question. I don’t think I used the word ransacked. I said beg, borrow and steal. And now that I’ve signed the deal with the Federal Minister, I guess I can trash Victoria because, who would- do you want to live in Victoria or Queensland? So, interestingly, yesterday I had the Infrastructure Partnerships- I had a meeting with Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, and we talked about the very issue about the workforce and where they’re going to come from. It’s going to be mixed. It’s going to be home-grown talent with the apprenticeships and traineeships coming through the system. It’s going to be new businesses coming into Queensland. It will be looking to New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and getting businesses to relocate to Queensland. Unashamedly, we need to do that. It’s going to be looking at migration, the school migration sector. So that’s how we’ll get the workforce. The second question I always get about the workforce is where are you going to house them? Well, 20,000 in Logan, because I’ve just given the Mayor 135 million, but that 135 million is- pales in- is insignificant compared to the rest that I’m about to announce over the next two weeks, which is the Residential Activation Fund. And that’s a catalytic infrastructure fund designed to help councils get the infrastructure to build the houses. So Mayor Raven at Logan, he said in the media last week that the Logan Council would stop approving buildings if they didn’t have the new wastewater treatment plant. So the $135 million the state are co-contributing with the Council will allow that wastewater treatment facility to be put in place, opening, unlocking 20,000 homes. 

Now that $2 billion infrastructure fund is happening all around Queensland, and over 50 per cent of that is going to be in regional Queensland. So we’ve got to make sure that we support councils to unlock the land. And as I always say, the issue of the housing crisis is supply, supply, supply. It is the biggest inhibitor at the moment for building houses in Queensland. We’ve already abolished the tax. We abolished our [Indistinct] for first homeowners buying or building their first home in Queensland, so that’s great. We’ve got a better taxation regime. We’ve increased the first home owner grant to $30,000, 15 to 30, we kept that in the budget last week, so that’s a good incentive as well. So we’ve got to build the houses, but you can’t just do it in isolation. You’ve got to look at all of it at the same time.

JOURNALIST: Deputy Premier, Alex Brewster, ABC News. You’ve refuted reports about the infrastructure around Victoria Park Stadium this morning. When can we expect to see the detail of things like a potential train station, pedestrian bridge, and even a warm-up track around that stadium?

JARROD BLEIJIE: You used the word refute, Alex, I used the words – I think TMR may have done some brainstorming on where they would like to see certain things and stations. Government have not made decisions on that connectivity yet. And GIICA now, as part of legislation we passed last week, a big proportion of that is transport and mobility. So, those plans now- because the legislation has been put in place, those plans now have to get out to GIICA with Department of Transport and Main Roads.

And I’ll repeat, on the transport front, it’s the state’s responsibility, a rail between the Gold Coast and Brisbane. The way [indistinct] Sunshine Coast with a Federal Government are giving(*), 50 per cent funding in stage one of that project. So, look, it’ll happen fairly quickly now, I anticipate, that GIICA have the Victoria Park, they’ll have a CEO in a very short period of time, and they’ll be able to get on with the job and work with TMR to find the best location for Victoria Park. And that’s why you can’t put the cart before the horse, because you’ve got to do all the geo tech, which we are now doing on Victoria Park to understand where the best location for the stadium actually is, and then look at the transport hub. 

Incidentally, I would note that if you look at Victoria Park, Centenary Pool, which is going to be the new National Aquatic Centre, and the Ekka, we just opened Exhibition Station, over at the RNA; there is three or four hubs within 15 minutes of walking already around that. If we can increase it, that’s great, but we will now get to work with the Brisbane City Council and TMR. 

JOURNALIST: Deputy Premier, Harry Clark from Sky News. How committed are you to holding Olympics rowing on the Mighty Fitzroy in Rockhampton given resistance, including that which is coming from the International Olympics Committee?

JARROD BLEIJIE: Very committed. It’s in our delivery plan and I spoke to the IOC. Look, I’ve got to say that the International Olympic Committee were very good with us in our discussions with that. As Minister King points out, [indistinct] alterations before. Like any of the venues, we have to go through the PVR process, the project validation process. The five projects that have already been validated, that’s what we’re going to procure on from today. But all of the minor venues obviously have to go through project validation. We did a lot of the project validation whilst the Federal Government was in caretaker mode from my department to look at the costings and all of that. 

We believe it’s vitally important for Rocky and the kids in Rocky to have a facility, and there has been a lot of public commentary about it. But my God, if you go to Rocky, which I think I’ll be there in a couple of days, if you go to Rocky this time of year, in July, where the Olympic and Paralympic Games are going to be held, the Fitzroy River is a mirror. It is the most beautiful thing, hence why they do state championships and national championships on the Mighty Fitzroy River. 

And I respectfully said to the International Olympic Committee when they were over here, I said, if it’s okay for Rocky kids and Australian kids to row on the Mighty Fitzroy River, it’s okay for Pierre from Paris to row on the mighty Fitzroy River. And look, the IOC took that well.

[Laughter]

JOURNALIST: Has anyone contacted Pierre and asked him? It is the [indistinct].

JARROD BLEIJIE: I know we did- someone was in a crowd and he did jump up and he said, I’m actually Pierre from Paris. He said, but I’m not a rower. I said, well, maybe you should be. 

JOURNALIST: Deputy Premier, it’s serious though. The Government has been staunch. Your Sports Minister colleague said he isn’t certain Olympic rowing will be held in Rockhampton, but do you acknowledge that it is not only the Government’s decision? It’s the IOC, the International Federation. And, is there a plan b if they say it’s not good enough? 

JARROD BLEIJIE:  Well, okay, but is the IOC paying for it? If they don’t want it in Rocky then they pay for it, but they’re not, it’s the State Government and the Federal Government. So, I’m not sure the IOC- we had put it back a little bit on the IOC, but we’ve done it very respectfully. Because we wanted the games to be about regional Queensland and we committed to the people of Rockhampton, who have a great rowing facility, and they’re going to have a better rowing facility. 

And Minister King and I, and I hope I’m not breaching confidence, we’ve had this discussion about rowing. It’s got to go to the International Olympic Committee Rowing Federation who are actually over here in July. They’ll do all their technical assessments. But that happens with every venue. And in LA the rowing facility does not meet the International Olympic Committee requirements. It’s too short. But do you know what they did? They just said, for the LA it’ll be okay, and they signed off on it. So, they do bend the rules for other venues, including rowing in LA which does not meet the requirements for international rowing. 

JOURNALIST: Deputy Premier, hi. Jess Bahr here from SBS World News. Just a couple of questions from NRTV. Are you consulting with Traditional Owners to reach an agreement on preserving cultural heritage at Finn Park? And do you think you’ll reach an agreement, or will you override cultural and heritage laws? 

JARROD BLEIJIE: I think we’ll reach an agreement. Two points, observations I’ll make on that. In the legislation that we passed in Parliament last week, there were two elements to the overriding provisions. One was dealing with environment laws, heritage laws, planning laws, local government laws, and there was a complete override, but we actually did carve it up with cultural heritage provisions for First Nations Australians. So, we actually will still go through a process of consulting with First Nations about Victoria Park. 

Now, ultimately, if an agreement can’t be reached then the laws have to override. But we actually have put a special provision pursuant to the cultural and heritage legislation that exists in Queensland at the moment, to still go through that process. And part of the deal that we’ve struck with the Federal Government, it was one of the requirements from Minister King and the Federal Government, is that consultation does take place, which we’ve committed to. And that’s in the legislation, that will go through a process through Minister Fiona Simpson’s department, as it does with existing legislation.

We’ve also committed to Minister King and the Federal Government that community consultation, looking at the precinct plan; looking for as much green space, open space that we can retain in Victoria Park, and we’ve committed to that. So, I’m confident that we will secure support, and we’ll just go through the motions as it is. But we did carve out a particular provision in that, recognising the significance of that issue. 

JOURNALIST: Andrew from The Guardian. This is a question for both of you. Both of you have gone through elections in the last year, in fact, one two months ago. And in no case was this plan, the Victoria Park plan, brought to the electorate? In fact, at that state level it was explicitly ruled out. Should the electorate have known about this before they voted on that? It’s a big old stadium in the middle of a suburb. Surely, the people would have liked to know that before the decision was made. 

JARROD BLEIJIE: Well, thank you. I’ll start and, thankfully, you’ve got a question I’ll be able to build you up to divert all the questions to you. Look we were, when we announced the delivery plan, the Premier and I were pretty up front. We apologised, we said sorry. We took the position to the election of no new stadiums. We did the 100-day review and there was also the former government did the [Indistinct] review that recommended Victoria Park. We did take it to the elections about the stadiums.

But it became apparent during the GIICA review and the 100-day review that there was just no other option, alternative. There was no time now to knock down the Gabba and rebuild the Gabba. The displacement of AFL and cricket was too great and too costly. So, we were pretty up front. I think we said in a room of a thousand people and journos, we stood up and apologised and we said we’ll cop that. It’s not the position we took to the election but it’s the position now that we think is in the best interest of all Queensland, and particularly for the 2032 Games, particularly for AFL, the Lions, the Mighty Lions, and cricket.

So yeah, I’m not hiding behind the fact that we had a different position from the election, but I think we tried as best we could to explain ourselves and why would we change our position, and why we put in the delivery plan and accepted the recommendations from GIICA. Because if we hadn’t of, you would end up with a Government making political decisions again, and it would’ve gone around in circles, and you would not be in a room today with the Federal Minister and a State Minister, having done the deal, struck the deal to deliver the 2032 Games. You’d be talking about temporary stadiums [Indistinct] spending $2.25 billion, and no procurement process underway. 

I think it is a different position we took to the election, but we’re pretty up front with it, we apologised. And we said to Queenslanders, this is now our job to explain why we took that position to the election, and explain why because it is now in the best interests of Queenslanders to get on and proceed and do the best that we can.

CATHERINE KING: Thanks. I’d say, equally, from our point of view is that the delivery plan was provided and the Queensland Government’s response to that in March of this year. We wanted to take some time to look at it and to get the details about what are the costs of new venues, what does that look like. You know, publicly I’ve been very upfront about that. It’s been [Indistinct] as has the Prime Minister, that we’re really keen to see the arena. 

It’s why we put the Commonwealth’s money there. We know the Prime Minister’s a pretty big fan of live music and we felt, from our point of view, that was good legacy. But that project has now being procured by the private sector. That is a decision the Queensland Government has made and we’ve been faced with the decision, well, given that it is no longer a Games venue and the agreement is about Games venues in terms of funding, what do we do about it? 

And that’s why we’ve taken our time. We’ve looked at the finances. We have put conditions around the stadium. We recognise that it is a challenging issue for First Nations people, for local green space. We want to make sure that it’s got right and that it is a precinct that everybody can enjoy, and that’s why we’ve taken our time to do that and we’re making this an [indistinct] too.

JOURNALIST: Deputy Premier, Alex Brewster again. Have you turned your mind to what you might like to see the stadium called? I know you’re a proud monarchist. Would you perhaps like to see it named after a royal name?

[Laughter]

JARROD BLEIJIE: Actually, thinking about that, Minister King did not put in her letter of agreement anything about how- King’s Stadium in honour of either Charles or Catherine. Thank you. Food for thought. Thank you, Alex. 

No, look, we joked in Parliament that it would be the John Sosso Stadium. Well, some people in Queensland have a big fascination with my Director General. He just wants to get on with the job and stay out of the press. But, look, GIICA recommended it be named the Brisbane Stadium – iconic. Just travelling back from the States, all the stadiums over there are named- they do funding deals. Incidentally, all the stadiums are built by the private sector, so if there’s anyone in the room today who wants to chip in as well and help Minister King and I balance our budgets a little more and invest. Because I kept asking all the other- I went to SoFi, I went to AT&T, and I said, how did that level of investment from Government in having all these? And they said, oh no, the building heads of the sporting teams just build these things – and jeez, wow. Lions have got to put in a bit more I think, in cricket. 

But no, we had I haven’t turned our minds to that yet. We’ll just get shovels in the ground and start building it and then we’ll work out the name of it.

JOURNALIST: Minister King, can I just jump in there and ask you, when you were negotiating with the State Government, did the Commonwealth put to the state that rowing could be held in Penrith?

CATHERINE KING: So, what we’ve done as part of the agreement is we’ve provisioned money for Rockhampton, but that is conditional or dependent on the federated body for rowing determining that rowing can go forward there. Obviously, we’ll await that decision, but we’ll provision money for Rockhampton for that to occur. And again, that’s the decision that the Queensland Government has done, and that’s what it wants to do. And obviously, if there’s a different decision taken, we’ll work with the Queensland Government on that. But the Deputy Premier is pretty determined that’s where rowing is going to be.

JOURNALIST: We’ve also had the Prime Minister suggest Penrith. What’s your view?

CATHERINE KING: Again, I think that the Prime Minister is a problem solver and I think he knows that there are some challenges with Rockhampton, but we’ll let the Rowing Federation go and have a look at those and make a decision from there. And we’ll provision money for that venture as part of the Minor Venues Program and we’ll work through the processes. And there’s a [indistinct] plan B, then that’ll be a matter for discussion with the Queensland Government. But as I said, the Deputy Premier’s pretty determined and that that’s where rowing’s going to be. We’ll let the Federation do its work.

JOURNALIST: Mackenzie Scott here from The Australian newspaper. Obviously, you’ve looked into this $7.1 billion deal today but the Treasurer, David Janetzki, has launched his team to start privatisation of certain large infrastructure projects. How much do you expect the public- sorry, the private sector to give in a monetary sense into Games infrastructure?

JARROD BLEIJIE: Well, we have provisioned for $7.1 billion, that’s the deal. That was the Federal Government that have got to account for that as well. So, it equates to, if you look at the 7.1 billion, it’s not 50-50. It’s nearly 50-50. We’ll call it 50-50. It’s a couple hundred million less than the Federal contributions, a couple hundred million less than our contribution. We’ve stuck to that $7.1 billion figure. 

Now, that doesn’t include private sector investment. We’ve budgeted on a provision that that is what it’s going to take for the state and the Commonwealth to get those venues, the major venues and minor venues done. If the private sector come into the market and assist GIICA with the stadium develop, minor venues, then that’s a bonus. That’s a bonus for the Federal Government and for the State Government. Those discussions have to take place with GIICA, but that will go through the procurement process.

So, it’s not that we’ve announced that the private sector will build Victoria Park. We haven’t announced that at all. We have budgeted the money. As I said, our budget is $5.15 billion over the next four years for Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure. So, it’s state and Commonwealth funding, and we’ve kept it at 7.1.

Catherine and I were talking about this before we came in today, and there’s a lot of people talking to us, oh, but blowouts, blowouts, blowouts. And I said: don’t be guided by the 10 years of blowouts from previous governments in Queensland. There are businesses in Queensland and nationally that actually deliver things on time and on budget. We can’t be in that mindset that everything is just going to blow out. We’ve got to make sure we try and do it on time and on budget. And our budget is 7.1. We’ve not shifted from that. 

JOURNALIST: Deputy Premier, Rosanna Kingsun from Seven News. Can you rule out whether there will be a new train station at the Olympic Park there as in the paper, or is that not a consideration at all? And a question for Minister King. What would you like to see the State Government and Brisbane City Council include in their new precinct plan?

JARROD BLEIJIE: Rosie, thank you for the question. I’m not really anything in or out about the transportation. Because what we need to do is work out what will be the best public transportation system around RNA, Victoria Park, the new stadium, and also the National Aquatics Centre. So, I’m not going to rule anything in or out. I’ll be guided by the experts. They’ve got a job to do now to work out what that transportation plan looks like – new stations, no stations. So, we’ll be open to any of the suggestions that come forward, but it’s got to be in the best interest of the commuters to get people around all the venues.

CATHERINE KING: And that’s really what we will dig for in terms of the transport and mobility plan and not just obviously how people are going to move around the venues, and obviously, the IOC and Australian Olympic Committee will also be interested in those issues.

In terms of precinct overall, I think what you will see across the globe at the moment is that where stadiums are being built- we’re not the only country that is facing challenges of people being concerned about the cost of those, loss of green space, all of those things. And what you’re seeing- and I think there’s some really interesting examples in the US, in Queens for example. I had the incredible privilege of being able to go and have a look a couple of years ago now, at Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium and what they did around there around being able to provide education opportunities for a really incredibly disadvantaged community. 

As I said in my speech, really I’m interested in more infrastructure [indistinct], not just in sport. We can see what that legacy looks like. But really, the opportunity we have here is to really shape cities, and to shape the way people live and dream about and enjoy those cities. And really, that’s what we’re looking for in the precinct plan. Because we know, long after the Games have finished, there’s people who live in these communities and we want them to be able to utilise those facilities, utilise the green space, be able to utilise transport and love where they live. And that is challenging. 

As I said, that we’re not the only country in the world who might be aware there’s an election in Tasmania at the moment, and the issue around that there. In the same way, as we’ve said, we’ve funded Macquarie Point Precinct. We just haven’t funded just a stadium, what the life is going to look like down in that particular part of the world. So that’s really the sort of thing we’ll be looking for from both the transport and the precincts point of view.

MC: Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, that’s where we’ll have to leave it, but I’m sure we’ll have many more of these events in the lead up to 2032. Please join me in thanking the Deputy Premier and Minister King.

[Applause]