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Good afternoon everyone,

I'd like to begin by acknowledging the Yuggera people and the Turrbal people as the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet. I pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, as well as recognising all First Nations Australians joining us today.

Thank you to the Queensland Media Club for accommodating this surprise addition to today’s program. Thank you also to the Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie for sharing the stage. 

On September 15, it will be twenty-five years since Sydney showed the world what Australia could do. Sydney 2000 didn't just give us weeks of incredible sport - they gave us a generation of champions.

Think about the athletes who are competing today, winning medals, inspiring kids across the country. Athletes who watched Cathy Freeman light that cauldron as children and thought, "I want to do that." Athletes who saw our swimmers dominate the pool and decided to join their local club the next Monday morning.

The way I see it, the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games has the potential to do all of that again - and so much more.

But here's what we know now that wasn’t fully realised in 2000: the real legacy of an Olympic and Paralympic Games isn't just the sporting moments that fill us with pride. 

It’s the potential it ignites.

The lasting legacy that it builds.

The infrastructure that changes a city, a town, a community for the better, and provides possibilities for the way people live and play in their hometown. 

It's the expanded transport networks that will move tens of thousands of spectators, from every corner of the city to the venues, that will then continue to serve communities for decades. 

It’s the public spaces that mean even if you don’t score a ticket, you’ll still visit to soak up the incredible atmosphere and decades later, you’ll go back to remember how it all felt.

It's the sporting facilities where the world’s best competed, and are now where the next generation learns to swim, to run, to dream big.

And that's why the Albanese Government is making an unprecedented investment in Australia’s next games. 

And today we have reached an agreement with the Queensland Government to do just that. 

Let me put this in perspective for you. For Sydney 2000, the Commonwealth Government contributed less than $300 million towards the Games. That was significant at the time, and it helped deliver a Games we were all proud of.

For Brisbane 2032, we're investing $3.435 billion - the single largest contribution any Australian Government has made towards sporting infrastructure in this country's history. 

And our agreement with Queensland will see both governments work together to deliver 16 new and upgraded venues across the state, and a new Brisbane Stadium at Victoria Park.

For us, this is about ensuring that when we hand the keys back after the closing ceremony, Queensland has the infrastructure it needs to build on its incredible legacy for decades to come.

Our most decentralised state, will be home to a more decentralised games. The key infrastructure projects we're funding for Brisbane 2032, won’t be limited to the state capital. 

These investments will stretch from Cairns in the far north right down to the Gold Coast. They include venues in Logan, in Moreton Bay, on the Sunshine Coast. These aren't just Games venues - they're community assets that will serve families for generations.

When I drive through regional Victoria - my own patch - I often see and experience the infrastructure our parents and grandparents built. The roads, the bridges, the community halls and swimming pools that are still serving us today. That's the test I apply to every infrastructure decision: will this still be making a difference in fifty years' time?

Every single project we're funding for Brisbane 2032 passes that test. Take the new 60,000-seat Brisbane Stadium at Victoria Park. Yes, it will host the opening and closing ceremonies. Yes, it will be the centrepiece of the Games. But more importantly, it will be the home of AFL and cricket in Queensland for the next century. It will attract major international sporting events and concerts that might otherwise bypass Brisbane. 

The venues we're funding under the Minor Venues Program tell an even deeper story about lasting legacy.

Our joint funding will deliver the National Aquatic Centre, an expanded Queensland Tennis Centre, the Toowoomba Equestrian Centre, and a Parasport Centre at Chandler.

It will also see procurement work get underway today on projects including the indoor sports centres at Logan and Moreton Bay, Barlow Park in Cairns and Sunshine Coast Stadium.

The new Logan Indoor Sports Centre will become one of South East Queensland's largest, fully accessible, multi-purpose sports centres. Logan's population is expected to reach 500,000 by 2041 - this facility will serve that growing community for decades. Nine courts across two halls, capable of hosting everything from local school competitions to national championships.

The Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre will be one of the largest multi-use indoor sports facilities in South East Queensland. Twelve indoor courts, capacity for 10,000 spectators during the Games, but afterwards it becomes a community hub where local kids learn to play basketball, netball, volleyball.

Up in Cairns, we're upgrading Barlow Park Stadium - currently home to the Northern Pride rugby league team and Cairns Athletics. The upgrade will see the existing 1,700-seat west stand increase to 5,000 permanent seats. But what I’m really excited to see is this venue continuing to support Far North Queensland's continued growth as a regional powerhouse of community-driven sport into the future.

On the Sunshine Coast, we're upgrading Sunshine Coast Stadium to more than 10,000 permanent seats, and funding a new Mountain Bike Centre that will feature international-standard competition trails set against the backdrop of national rainforest. These facilities will drive local tourism and support local businesses long after the Olympic flame has been extinguished.

We, of course, are not just giving Queensland a blank cheque (though I know you would like me to.)

For Brisbane 2032, this will mean robust project validation before we commit final funding. We're doing our due diligence to ensure projects can be delivered on time, on budget, and represent good value for taxpayers.

For Brisbane Stadium, as part of our funding conditions, the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council will develop a new Precinct Plan for the area with a focus on access to green space, a stakeholder engagement plan, as well as a Transport Connectivity Plan.

Appropriate consultation will also be undertaken with stakeholders including impacted communities and First Nations groups.

We've already seen this approach work. Five projects I mentioned - Logan Indoor Sports Centre, Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre, Barlow Park Stadium upgrade, Sunshine Coast Stadium upgrade, and the Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre - have all passed our validation process and with the agreement we have reached, are now moving to procurement.

But venues are only part of the story. The Commonwealth is also investing $12.4 billion in transport projects that will support the Games, in addition to our record $7.2 billion in the Bruce Highway Targeted Safety Package.

This includes critical upgrades to the Bruce Highway, faster rail from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and Stage 1 of Direct Sunshine Coast Rail providing a link between Beerwah and Caloundra. 

These aren't just Games infrastructure projects. These are the transport networks that will connect Queensland communities for the next fifty years. They'll get people to work faster and safer. They'll move freight more efficiently. They'll open up new opportunities for regional development.

None of this happens without strong partnerships, and I want to acknowledge the collaboration we've built with the Queensland Government.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and I haven't always agreed on everything - that's democracy - but we've worked together constructively to get this delivery plan right. We've listened to expert advice. We've made tough decisions when projects weren’t going work.

The establishment of the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority provides the governance structure we need to deliver these projects successfully. 

The Intergovernmental Agreement that underpins this collaboration is, now that we have reached an agreement, being redrafted and will be signed by the two governments shortly. 

Queensland has also taken decisive action to streamline approval processes while maintaining appropriate safeguards. This will help ensure projects are delivered on time, which is critical when you have a fixed deadline like the Games.

As I wrap up, I want to come back to Sydney 2000.

Sydney gave us Cathy Freeman's golden moment. It gave us the triumph of our swimmers and cyclists and sailors. It showed the world that Australia could host a Games with warmth, professionalism, and that uniquely Australian sense of fun. 

It was those 46,000 volunteers greeting everyone who made the difference.  

Brisbane 2032 will do all of that again. It will also leave behind a significant change to the landscape of Brisbane and beyond. 

When the last Games visitor goes home, Queensland will have transport networks that is more frequent, more reliable and connects more places. It will have sporting facilities that are the envy of the world. It will have grassroots infrastructure that gives every child the opportunity to discover their passion for sport.

Most importantly, it will have shown that Queensland, including regional Queensland - can host the world's biggest sporting event and do it better than anywhere else.

The Commonwealth Government is proud to be Queensland's partner in this once-in-a-generation opportunity. We're bringing an unprecedented level of investment because we believe in Queensland.

To the young athletes who are watching today, dreaming of representing Australia at a home Olympic and Paralympic Games: we're building the facilities where you'll train. We're building the transport networks that will get you there. We're building the legacy that will inspire the generation that comes after you.

To the communities across Queensland who will host these facilities: we're not just building venues for four weeks in 2032. We're building the infrastructure that will serve your children and your children's children.

The countdown to Brisbane 2032 has begun in earnest. The hard work of delivery starts now. And I couldn't be more excited to see what Queensland - what Australia – can do together.

Thank you.