Well, thanks very much, Jonesy, for the invitation to celebrate with you 10 years, a whole decade of dealing with Future Brisbane and being such a strong advocate for this great city and the way that the Courier Mail plays such a strong role. I'm sure that the Premier, David Crisafulli and I would agree, as would the former Premier Steven Miles, who's with us today as well, that when the Courier Mail put their should...
Well, thanks very much, Jonesy, for the invitation to celebrate with you 10 years, a whole decade of dealing with Future Brisbane and being such a strong advocate for this great city and the way that the Courier Mail plays such a strong role. I'm sure that the Premier, David Crisafulli and I would agree, as would the former Premier Steven Miles, who's with us today as well, that when the Courier Mail put their shoulder to the wheel as advocates for this city, then it's appropriate that we listen and that we respond. Not always in total agreement, but always in agreement that the motivation of the Courier Mail is positive and it's about lifting up this great, now global city. I've seen this city transformed in the 30 years that I've been in public life. And the Olympics in 2032 – that from day one I was a strong supporter of – I think it will just transform Brisbane again. What a lineup we have today. Not just the Premier, but Astrid Jorgensen, the head of Pub Choir. I got to meet Astrid when on Spicks and Specks hosting. You've got something really in store there. The nation's bestselling author Trent Dalton is here. Joe Brumm, the creator of Bluey, no less. And now I find there’s Powderfinger royalty as well. It says something about cultural life. I got asked the other day, I'll just pitch up now, openly and transparently, I got asked did I get tickets to Powderfinger? I reckon I can probably get in a side door or somewhere, but if not, I appreciate getting your number later on. I've got Bernard's. So, I'm really looking forward to next year, as I'm sure any genuine rock and roll fan in Australia will be. Before our panel discussion, there are a few things I want to mention and some brief announcements to make relating to the city and the state. Queensland is different. Brisbane is the capital city, but it of course is the most regional of states as well. Very different from dealing with the southern states. When you talk to Queensland and increasingly, Brisbane of course is the capital of the state, but also the capital of greater South East Queensland, where the lines between the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Brisbane are blurring because you have such strong economic development right along that corridor. And that's something that I'm working constructively with David's Government on. And I must say I want to thank David very publicly for the constructive relationship that we have together in dealing with things. I was thinking as well this morning that a little fun fact to leave you with. On Tuesday, I was in Melbourne. On Wednesday, I was in Sydney. And today I'm in Brisbane. Three Olympic cities. Now, we are the only country, when the Games begins, apart from the United States of America, that has three Olympic cities. And it says something about us, a country of just 27 million people, that we punch above our weight. And there is no doubt that whilst we have eight capital cities that all have distinctive character, they all have a shared Australian character as well. And the whole of Australia is looking forward to celebrating with Brisbane when the Olympic Games are held. We are often friendly rivals, of course. I often say I'm a friend of Queensland 365 days and 362 nights a year. But we get the balance right with the nation, state and cities supporting each other. We are all looking forward to the Olympic Games. And my Government's working very closely with the Minister and members of the Government. We're contributing $3.4 billion to the Olympics, almost half of the total estimated cost. If you go back and have a look at the contribution that the Commonwealth made to the Sydney Olympics, it had an ‘m’ in front, not a ‘b’. It was overwhelmingly funded just by New South Wales. And we have had a different approach to this because we see that at a time where you have so much social division – and our thoughts remain with Helen Haines today – one of the things that sport does is bring people together, it unites us, it recognises our common interest rather than any differences that people might have. And that's why I'm unashamedly a supporter of the role of governments to back sport. And whether it be rugby league or AFL or any other sport – I remember being here for that amazing game of the Tillies during the World Cup. Sydney will forever be changed and remember the 2000 Games. And of course, I'm a Sydneysider and had the privilege of being there at the opening ceremony. I watched Cathy's run on a big screen outside, couldn't get a ticket. The feel that was there during that city – there are only two sorts of people in Sydney, those who participated in the Games – one of the things that you could do, and I'm sure the same thing will happen here, a sport that I've been to only twice, both during the Olympic Games. Weightlifting. Not on my bucket list. It wasn't. But we went because the tickets I think were $10. And you went to the Sydney Convention Centre. The great thing about weightlifting, I now know, is that everyone goes for every athlete. Everyone's wanting that weight to be lifted above their heads. So, it was the most euphoric celebration of those athletes that went forward. The wonderful support that will be there for our Paralympians as well. It will be a sensational Games and will leave a legacy as well in this great state. And I see the head of the AFL here, Andrew, here we are in a state as well. Congrats to the Lions on the three-peat. It's pretty amazing. Now, one of the great benefits of the Olympics as well, at a time where, along with the Courier Mail, we had campaigned very strongly on social media and on the under-16s ban that we put in place. And Australia is leading the world. And one of the things we want to see is for young kids to be off their devices and onto the footy fields or in the swimming pool, or on the netball court, on the tennis court. We want boys and girls, men and women as well, playing sport rather than being obsessed by these devices. And one of the things that the Olympics will do is to do that as well. And we're looking at a range of investments on top of our direct Olympics funding in order to do that. And as part of that, we're investing $15 million towards the Gold Coast Titans Community Hub and High Performance Centre in Carrara. What that will do is to house high performance programs of the NRL and NRLW in a fantastic new facility. But it will also have a significant spin-off benefit as well, to boost junior participation in League for both boys and girls, as well as support a broad range of Olympic and Paralympic sports in the lead up to 2032. It will benefit elite and community sports alike while creating around about 100 construction jobs and an estimated 146 ongoing positions. A real community boost for the Gold Coast, for Queensland and for Australian sport. One of the strongest features of our Federation is that we sit by each other, not just in the good times like the Olympics, but the bad. I received a call yesterday about rainfall and what was happening here in Brisbane. And I have been to every part of this great state looking at natural disasters, as Queensland, more than any other state, has to deal with. Today as well, what we're doing is announcing funding for the Disaster Ready Fund, a range of projects for Queensland in the fourth round. Some $37 million for community resilience projects. This is about making sure you actually save money if you get ahead and alleviate and make sure that you do things like build walls up to protect housing if you make a difference, making sure that bridges are built to the right standard, all of these projects will make an enormous difference. Second is enhancing emergency warnings through AusAlert, with substantial funding to ensure Queenslanders who rely on landlines can receive emergency messages to keep them safe after the old emergency alert system is retired. And finally, one other thing we're doing which is very much related to natural disasters concerns Cloncurry. I went with the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers and my Minister, Kristy McBain, up there after the floods that have impacted the whole way along that route, Julia Creek, all of those communities isolated, not just having a direct human impact, an impact on agriculture, an impact on exports and an impact on the nation. We had contributed $11.5 million towards the runway repair, but we're also going to put a further $10 million in towards additional repairing and upgrades, to make sure that it is permanently fixed in an appropriate way. A great thing for the Northwest. When I think of Queensland, what I think of is a great state that is driving our national economy as well. If you look at the strength of our national economy in resources and agriculture, Queensland and Western Australia are our two most outer states, the states that continue to drive the economy. And Brisbane and Queensland's future is even more secure when I look at what will drive the economy in this century. Critical minerals and rare earths present an enormous opportunity. And I'm working with the Premier on making sure that on transport issues as well, we can deal with those issues. And we'll be having more to say about that down the track as well. So, I look forward to coming back here to see the way that the Olympics infrastructure is being rolled out. Projects like Cross River Rail as well, when it's completed and open, will make an enormous difference for the way that this city functions. This city is now absolutely a global city, which is recognised why it was successful in the Olympic Games bid. But I think this city will lead the nation in the lead up to 2032, in part because of that global and international focus. And I thank the Courier Mail for the leadership that you provide. I thank Chris Jones for the engagement that I always have with Chris, which is always constructive and always talking about our common interest and common purpose going forward. And I think that's what people want to see, which is why I think it's so good that the three levels of government are going to be sitting on the couch talking about our common interest going forward. I think that is very much what Australians deserve, what they expect and what I'm sure we will deliver. Thanks very much.
Speech Brief