Olympic backlash begins: As Brisbane is confirmed as host of the 2032 Games some are already slamming the event as a '$5billion vanity project' - and local MP Bob Katter makes an explosive protest at the cost
- Brisbane announced as the host of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games
- Pauline Hanson and other QLD MPs have expressed their fury at the win
- The Games will cost $5billion but rake in $17billion for the Aussie economy
- But Hanson said money should instead go towards roads, hospitals and schools
- Bob Katter blew up a box representing the 'Queensland economy' on Wednesday
Pauline Hanson has lashed out at Annastacia Palaszczuk claiming she's sending Queensland into economic ruin after it was announced Brisbane would host the 2032 Olympic Games.
Thousands of Queenslanders erupted with joy on Wednesday night when the announcement was made, as fireworks lit up the sky over the Brisbane River.
Queensland was the only place on the ballot for the 2032 games, but that didn't stop jubilant Aussies as well as the Prime Minister and Queensland's state premier celebrating the milestone win.
Leaders hope that the Games will see Brisbane put on the global map in the same way Sydney was after the Harbour City's world-renowned effort in 2000.
But some MPs within the state, including Ms Hanson, have rejected the celebrations and say money that's needed for roads, schools and hospitals will instead be pumped into preparations for the Games.
It's estimated that $5billion will go towards hosting the sporting event, slammed as an expensive 'vanity project' by Ms Hanson.
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The leader of the One Nation party shared a mocked up poster for Queensland Ms Palaszczuk with the phrase 'let the games begin' being changed to 'let the waste begin'.
'It's official Brisbane will be holding the Olympics which means funding that could go to schools, hospitals, highways, water security, electricity generation, you name it, has been thrown out so Palaszczuk and Labor, with the backing of Scott Morrison and the Coalition, can waste billions on an Olympics vanity project,' Ms Hanson wrote on Facebook.
'Mark my words, we will be seeing cost blowouts and waste that will make your eyes water.
'And when it's time to pay the bill, it's every taxpaying Aussie who will be forced to pay the price.'
Bob Katter, Member for Kennedy, in far north Queensland, even went so far as to blow up a makeshift 'state economy' to demonstrate his feelings towards the state hosting the Olympics.
Sharing footage of the bizarre political stunt online, Katter is seen pushing down on TNT explosives as a box representing the 'economy' erupted into flames behind him.
'Premier Palaszczuk blows up Queensland's economy with her Brisbane Olympics,' he captioned the video.
'The Labor party doesn't want coal or the sugar industry, so I'm not sure what will be funding her 2032 party?'.
Mr Katter has been loud in his opposition to Brisbane hosting the Olympics saying it will drain money from regional areas of the state.
'The Queensland economy is being blown up before our eyes,' Mr Katter told the Townsville Bulletin.
'We should be focused on a vision for the state out of the pandemic, and I don't think a two-week sporting carnival is going to be the panacea.
'The rest of the world doesn't think so anyway because no one else has bothered to bid for the 2032 Olympics.'
George Christensen, federal member for Dawson, also said he wouldn't be supporting the games.
'Roads, dams and local services should come before a big sporting event,' he said.
After the ballot revealed Australia would once again be hosting the Olympics, Scott Morrison was seen throwing a fist into the air via video link in his office in Canberra as coloured fireworks were set off across Queensland.
'How good is Brisbane, how good is Queensland and how good is Australia?', he said, adding the city was 'really shooting for the stars'.
'The whole world's going to see it again and we're just absolutely stoked about this.
'Congratulations to everyone involved.'
'It's a 50/50 partnership, we're sharing everything in doing this together, that's what we said we'd do', the Prime Minister said of the cost of the Games.
'Share the decisions, share the cost, doing all of this for the people of Australia and the people of Queensland and Brisbane and south-east Queensland.
'That's what these Games are going to be about, Australians doing it together.'
Mr Morrison said it was an historic day not just for Brisbane and Queensland, but for the entire country and said Australians should feel proud.
'It also marks an important leap forward for Australia as we look toward major events that lock in economic growth and social benefits that will echo for years to come.
'We know the impact on Sydney more than two decades ago was transformative. We can now expect a repeat for Brisbane and communities across Queensland.'
Ms Palaszczuk told her state that Wednesday evening was their night to enjoy, tweeting: 'Queenslanders can be proud of this historic moment.'
'I'm so excited, I have so much pride in my state, for our people, never in my lifetime did I think this was going to happen,' she said following the decision.
'We've done it Queensland, we've done it Brisbane, this is fantastic, it's amazing.
Those behind Brisbane's successful bid cite an analysis conducted by KPMG which said the Olympics would deliver a 'quantifiable' economic benefit of around $8.1billion to the Queensland economy, $17.6billion into the wider Australian economy, and the creation of more than 100,000 jobs.
Perhaps Brisbane's biggest selling point is that despite the planned $5billion price tag, its Games are designed to be 'cost neutral'.
The Brisbane Olympics are hoped to be the first example of a leaner and more economically sensible approach to the event in a new strategy decided on by the IOC in 2019, with the host needing fewer new venues, a smaller athletes' village and less infrastructure built only for the event.
A redeveloped Gabba costing $1billion will host the opening and closing ceremonies but other stalwart venues of the Queensland sporting scene such as Suncorp Stadium, Ballymore, the Chandler Sports Complex and the Queensland Tennis Centre will also be utilised.
Proposed new venues such as a stadium at Ipswich, a whitewater park at Redland and the Moreton Indoor Sports Centre were to be built 'irrespective of the Games', to meet the needs of a fast-growing population, according to the IOC.
Around $690million will be spent on building new venues and upgrading existing ones.
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