Redlands - Planning our Future

Our objective is to cause a rethink of the plan for the Olympic Whitewater Venue to:-

Bring economic commonsense now and ongoing
Support Redlands Community expectations
Save an historic and environmental gem from compromise
Support the Olympic Games Principles

With the excitement of the announcement that Queensland had won the right to host the 2032 Olympics, came the surprise revelation that the Redlands would be the location of the venue for the whitewater events.

The majority of residents surveyed are against the proposition
There is no publicly-available business case
Other Olymic whitewater facilities around the world are a cost burden on their citizens, or defunct eyesores.
The 4 events involved could be held at the Penrith, NSW facility, in line with the Olympic objectives.
We believe it's a waste of around $100 million that could be better used to relieve hardship for so many in the wider community.

What you can do:

Send a strong message to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Venues Review Panel that an Whitewater facility, by any name, is unecessary, unaffordable and just not wanted in the Redlands!

Please note: By sending this email, your details will be added to Redlands2030's mailing list. If you don't want that to occur, please click on the opt out checkbox.

Our objective is to cause a rethink of the plan for the Olympic Whitewater Venue to:-

Bring economic commonsense now and ongoing
Support Redlands Community expectations
Save an historic and environmental gem from compromise
Support the Olympic Games Principles

With the excitement of the announcement that Queensland had won the right to host the 2032 Olympics, came the surprise revelation that the Redlands would be the location of the venue for the whitewater events.

The majority of residents surveyed are against the proposition
There is no publicly-available business case
Other Olymic whitewater facilities around the world are a cost burden on their citizens, or defunct eyesores.
The 4 events involved could be held at the Penrith, NSW facility, in line with the Olympic objectives.
We believe it's a waste of around $100 million that could be better used to relieve hardship for so many in the wider community.

What you can do:

Send a strong message to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Venues Review Panel that an Whitewater facility, by any name, is unecessary, unaffordable and just not wanted in the Redlands!

Please note: By sending this email, your details will be added to Redlands2030's mailing list. If you don't want that to occur, please click on the opt out checkbox.

No Olympic Whitewater Elephant for the Redlands

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In ten points.....

1. The proposed new $100 million Redlands Whitewater Stadium is unwanted, unnecessary and an irresponsible waste of taxpayer funds; the people of the Redlands were not asked if they want a Whitewater Centre (nor the latterly added 'Rescue & Resilience Training Centre'); it is an idea entirely of Redland City Council’s own making, championed by Mayor Karen Williams under the auspices of the South East Queensland Council of Mayors.

2. Redland City Council is publicly divided, with five sitting (5) Councillors voicing concern about process and financial viability; indeed Mayor Karen Williams has had to use her casting vote to secure majority agreement to proceed; Mayor Williams has recently announced that she will not contest the 2024 Local Government Election.

3. Mr Don Brown, State Member for Capalaba is publicly advocating to designate the Penrith Whitewater Stadium in New South Wales the Brisbane 2032 Canoe Kayak venue, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) 'New Norm' policy to use existing facilities; further, Ms Jos Mitchell, a 2024 Mayoral candidate who has been consulting and campaigning for twelve months, has declared that if elected in March this year, she will not support the building of a Whitewater Stadium.

4. The recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into Australia's Preparedness to Host Commonwealth, Olympic & Paralympic Games - December 2023 say "If it is feasible to host the events at the Penrith Whitewater Centre in New South Wales, including with refurbishments, this option should be prioritised over building a new facility."

5. The International Olympic Committee's own Feasibility Assessment - IOC Feasibility Assessment Olympic Games - Brisbane 2032 - February 2021 (p31) - identifies the Penrith Whitewater Stadium (which notably has a significantly larger seating capacity) as an Alternative Existing Option; the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 will host the Canoe Kayak events at the Riversport Rapids Whitewater Centre in Oklahoma City.

6. The track record of the last six (6) Olympic Whitewater Stadiums shows that the 2032 Olympic legacy left to the people of the Redlands will likely be long-term disadvantage, either as an abandoned stadium or an ongoing burden of operating debt - for a facility they don't want.

7. There is no suitable/ adequate water supply on the proposed site in Birkdale, Redland City; valuable drinking water from the Town Water supply would have to be piped in, stored and continuously sanitised at great ongoing expense; compare this to the huge Penrith Lakes system surrounding and supplying the Penrith Whitewater Stadium.

8. The Birkdale land's natural values, together with its fascinating and unique Aboriginal Cultural and European Heritage values, should take precedence over a whitewater stadium to become the 'Redlands Wild Koala Refuge & Cultural Heritage Precinct': this is the intergenerationai legacy the people of the Redlands want to create.

9. A change in the proposed Brisbane 2032 Venue Plan is entirely acceptable: Mr Andrew Liveris, Chair of the Brisbane Organising Committee for the Olympic & Paralympic Games (BOCOG) said on 05.10.22 - "If a change is needed ... the binding agreements are great but they aren't perfect. I'm sure that people responsible for looking at the cost, which is the government, will come eventually and say: 'This is the better plan'.”

10. There are far more urgent things to spend $100 million of public money on - starting with the housing crisis; reinstating community infrastructure damaged or destroyed by natural disaster after natural disaster (with more to come); and ambulance ramping as Queensland hospitals fail to meet demand.

Accordingly, I ask that the Review Panel advise the Queensland State Government to abandon the idea of a new Whitewater Stadium in Redland City, and in lieu, seek to use the existing Whitewater Stadium in Penrith, NSW as the Brisbane 2032 Canoe/Kayak venue.

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