Queenslanders will go to the voting booths on October 26th, as the political campaigns ramp up for the final weeks, below are the outlined sporting election promises from major parties.
A big issue for voters at this year’s election is the growing development for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games and the expensive ordeal that comes with hosting one of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Outlined below are the promises and plans made by the differing parties.
Queensland Labor Party
The Queensland Labor Party is focused on the 2022 Activate! Queensland Strategy Accelerated its 5-year plan to 2025 and has recently brought out several sporting grants for next year to assist Queenslanders in grassroots sport.
The Minor Infrastructure Fund utilises 45 million dollars to make local sports grounds safe, easily accessible and encourages more inclusivity in the sporting environment.
Fair play vouchers under the new premier Steven Miles have been revamped with vouchers being upgraded from $150 to $200 to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. The Number of vouchers has also been upgraded number from 50,000 to up to 200,000.
The Community and Recreational Assets Recovery and Resilience Program, assisted by the federal government is a 75-million-dollar project to help sporting facilities damaged by the natural disasters of 2021-22.
The Labor party made headlines when it was decided that it wouldn’t build new venues for the 2032 Olympics, however, they did invest to restructure current venues.
Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP)
Recently the Liberal party leader at Pine Rivers Football Club committed to investing 3.8 million dollars to the local facility. This launched the party’s proposed sports program Games On!
Up to 250 million dollars dedicated to grassroots sporting clubs up to the 2032 Olympics. This funding will help deliver new or upgraded fields and courts, clubhouses, changerooms, or lighting.
David Crisafulli running state premier for the LNP has also said they will do a 100-day review on the infrastructure for the Olympic games and if there is a need for private and public funding for a new stadium for the Olympics.
The Queensland Greens
The Greens have been more vocal about sporting options announcing a $2.53 billion sporting package aimed at getting every young Queenslander into the game.
The Free Season pass plan will offer every Queenslander under 18 one free sporting program and a $150 equipment bonus costing $381 million on a four-year program.
Local sporting clubs are set to receive a major boost with $25,000 annual grants for registered clubs. The Greens are investing $50 million yearly to accommodate an expected surge of 110,000 new players.
Additionally, 200 million dollars will be dedicated to securing new sporting fields, with a strategic focus on flood-prone areas and high-growth suburbs facing space shortages.
Overall, all parties mentioned have delivered a range of plans to continue to support the sporting community in Queensland.
The Labor Party, as the current government is maintaining their original strategy from years past till 2025, more expansive plans will have to come later, though not expressing them leaves questions for their future endeavours.
The Liberals have announced their major funding but haven’t presented the promise with much detail to the public, it’s an exciting endeavour and if they win the majority in the coming election, the public will demand more understanding of how this funding will work out.
The Greens have outlined a comprehensive strategy to help sport but their position as a minor party puts them in a difficult place for gaining any power to deliver.
Elections at the state level focus on the big issues at heart and sport, especially football, has many times taken the backseat.
However, football, the state’s most participated sport, holds great importance in the local communities and their reliance on government funding does not go unnoticed by the general public.
With the Olympic games putting the spotlight on the state, will these parties keep their promises to promote Queensland sports and football? Time will tell.
