What if Putin hosted the Olympics today? Would we hesitate to boycott?
It's hard to see today's federal government, backed by public opinion, allowing Australians to go, but in 1980, after the USSR had invaded Afghanistan, the Fraser government recommended a boycott but let athletes and their governing bodies make up their own minds.
Nearly all took the view that sport existed outside politics. Most countries in the Olympic community were going (as they would now, led by China and India, which still trade freely with Russia; indeed, Russia has hosted a Winter Olympics and a FIFA World Cup since its first invasion of Ukraine in 2014). The athletes who had dedicated their lives to this goal didn't want to lose their one and only chance.
Subsequently, some of them were made to feel ashamed of going. There was no ticker-tape parade, though this was not unusual; there had been no such parades in 1972 or '76, and they did not become a regular event until later.
Forty-five years after the Moscow Games, Australia's 1980 Olympians have been officially recognised. Hearing Michelle Ford, Peter Hadfield and others speak of how they were shunned after Moscow is saddening, and if recognition lightens the burden they have carried, then it is warranted. Anthony Albanese said, in parliament, 'Today, on the 45th anniversary, we recognise all that you have achieved and acknowledge all that you have overcome. Take pride in both. You are Olympians, you are Australians, and you have earned your place in the history of the Games and our nation. Welcome to parliament, and welcome home.'
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What if, 45 years from now, a prime minister were to say to our athletes, 'Russia's invasion of Ukraine cast a dark shadow over what should have been your shining moment'. Those few words (but replace 'Ukraine' with 'Afghanistan') were Albanese's only reference to the invaded nation.
In the war that the Soviet Union started in 1979, nearly half of the country's 13 million people were killed, injured or displaced. The Soviets suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. Their self-inflicted debacle in Afghanistan was, along with Korea and Vietnam, the most horrific of the Cold War stalemates. Its scale dwarfs what Russia has done, so far, to Ukraine.
We would have no hesitation boycotting Russia today for the 500,000 dead and injured in Putin's war. Yet the many more killed in Afghanistan were forgotten even as they died. Little or no independent media were allowed to report from the conflict. On Wednesday, Sussan Ley, to her credit, spoke empathetically about the Afghan refugees who resettled here and the rightness of Australia offering them a home.
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As it happened: Brisbane on Tuesday, August 5
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Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has just held a press conference to reveal the Metro and new bus network has cut bus congestion on the Victoria Bridge — a previously notorious bottleneck — by 30 per cent. Loading We asked whether the Lord Mayor thought the new network might allow Brisbane buses to hit that 90 per cent on-time figure again. 'We're just over a month into the new network but there's already some evidence that some buses are actually running ahead of the scheduled timetable because there's far less congestion,' he said. 'So we're going to have to continue to tweak the timetables to make sure that they're as accurate as possible.' 2.50pm Today's headlines Thanks for joining us today for live coverage of news in and around Brisbane. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more live updates but in the meantime, here are some of the stories making headlines today: A local Aboriginal corporation has lodged an application with the federal government for permanent legal protection of Victoria Park, where the state plans to build a key Olympic stadium. Thousands more Queenslanders are using public transport as the state marks one year of 50¢ fares, but passenger numbers have still not cracked pre-COVID levels. Long-serving public servant Sir Leo Hielscher, who facilitated the development of Griffith University and helped deliver the first Gateway Bridge, Expo 88 and the 1982 Commonwealth Games, has died at the age of 98. A 26-year-old man has been found alive after seven days lost in the remote desert west of Alice Springs thanks to the persistence of his community, after police called off their search. 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I can confirm that the briefing advice that was provided to the Attorney-General back in … mid-December last year, actually, only whilst it listed that there was the opportunity for the attorney to consider either the director-general of the Department of Justice or the director-general of the Department of Planning, the only one that we actually recommended in the brief was the head of the Department of Planning. 1.00pm Consumer confidence grows to highest level in three years By Shane Wright A fall in inflation and expectations of an interest rate cut have pushed consumer confidence to its highest level since Anthony Albanese won the 2022 election. The ANZ-Roy Morgan weekly consumer sentiment report, released this morning, showed a 3.9 percentage point lift over the past seven days. Across every measure, including current and future financial conditions, consumers were more upbeat. It followed last week's consumer price index report which showed a drop in both headline and underlying inflation measures, with financial markets locking in a rate cut when the Reserve Bank meets next week. 'Confidence in future household finances rose sharply after CPI data last week showed an easing in underlying inflation and raised the likelihood of an RBA rate cut in August. We expect the RBA to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points at its August meeting,' ANZ economist Sophia Angala said. 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'There's always some people that might have preferred it to have a one-seat journey, I understand that, but we need to grow up as a city, and we need to move to multi-seat journeys, because that allows us to service more destinations and allows us to have a more reliable system as well.' 11.32am Council opposition says Lord Mayor 'sat on his hands' over green bin rollout By Catherine Strohfeldt With the green bin rollout expected to span from this week until Christmastime, Brisbane City Council opposition leader Jared Cassidy has slammed the council's decision to roll green waste collection into its base waste services. Cassidy said some residents would be left waiting months for a green bin, despite the council's almost $50 waste utility fee increase already coming into effect. 'That's like paying a Netflix subscription but not being able to watch anything for three months,' Cassidy said. Cassidy said Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner had been 'warned' about the state government's waste disposal levy – introduced in 2019 – which charges councils $115 for every tonne of general waste sent to landfill, and will increase by $10 each year through to 2028. 'Instead of planning years in advance, he sat on his hands until the last minute and now all of Brisbane is paying for his mistake,' Cassidy said. Schrinner said today the almost 160,000 additional green bins were expected to save the council, and ratepayers, between $2 million and $3 million in waste charges in the first year. The rollout has also been subsidised by the state's food and garden organics waste disposal grant program, which awards south-east Queensland councils with $65 for each household that receives a green bin. 10.50am Your bus timetable might be about to change again By Felicity Caldwell Brisbane's new bus network is so efficient, some services are running too early and the timetable might need to be tweaked. As the state marks one year since 50¢ fares we revealed Brisbane buses have not hit 90 per cent on-time running for two years. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has just held a press conference to reveal the Metro and new bus network has cut bus congestion on the Victoria Bridge — a previously notorious bottleneck — by 30 per cent. Loading We asked whether the Lord Mayor thought the new network might allow Brisbane buses to hit that 90 per cent on-time figure again. 'We're just over a month into the new network but there's already some evidence that some buses are actually running ahead of the scheduled timetable because there's far less congestion,' he said. 'So we're going to have to continue to tweak the timetables to make sure that they're as accurate as possible.' 10.40am Labor questions political links of top Justice department bureaucrat By The second week of state parliamentary estimates has kicked off again today, with Attorney-General Deb Frecklington facing questions about her portfolios. But the first section of questioning from the opposition has focused on her director-general Sarah Cruickshank and her links to the Liberal Party. Loading Referencing Premier David Crisafulli's desire for a public sector that was independent and 'free from political interference', shadow attorney-general Meaghan Scanlon questioned Cruickshank about her work and political donation history. 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Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation lodge federal application to halt Olympic stadium in Victoria Park, Brisbane
A last-ditch bid to halt the development of a 63,000-seat Olympic stadium in the heart of Brisbane has been lodged with the Federal government, over claims the area is among the city's 'most significant' First Nations sites. The Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) lodged the application on Tuesday, asking for the Commonwealth to declare long-term protection of the area. Such a move could undermine the LNP State Government's plans for the stadium in Victoria Park – earmarked as one of the centrepieces of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. YMAC spokeswoman Gaja Kerry Charlton told the ABC the court action was necessary to protect the site. 'We are very concerned there are ancient trees, artefacts and very important ecosystems existing there. There may be ancestral remains,' she told the outlet. YMAC's court action has been lodged under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHP). The legislation effectively allows the Federal government to protect the area if the Federal Environment Minister is satisfied it is a 'significant Aboriginal area' or is 'under threat of injury or desecration'. Such legislation would trump laws passed by the State Government in June, which made Olympic projects like the Victoria Park stadium exempt from heritage and planning laws. In a statement, a State Government spokeswoman said the government was committed to 'ensuring the Games deliver a generational infrastructure legacy across Queensland'. 'The Crisafulli Government's new laws underpin the delivery of Games infrastructure on time, on budget, and with a clear legacy for communities beyond 2032,' the spokeswoman continued. 'The new laws provide a bespoke process that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage matters, incorporating engagement and consultation with relevant parties and preparation of a cultural heritage management plan.' Advocacy group Save Victoria Park worked has been vocal in their campaign to permanently protect the area, with the group's spokeswoman Sue Bremner speaking on 4BC Radio on Tuesday about the uphill battle they were facing. 'The State Government has pretty much suspended all relevant legislation, or certainly curtailed, anybody's ability to have an impact on the planning of the Olympic stadium,' she told the program. Ms Bremner said the group were working in partnership with YMAC on the legal action. She countered questions about why the legislation was being used now to oppose the stadium's development, in light of Victoria Park's history of being used as a golf course, rifle range and encampment for WWII American soldiers, by saying the current redevelopment plans were vastly different. 'The park has grown up with Brisbane, and it's gone through various stages,' Ms Bremner said. 'One thing about a golf course … is that it doesn't change the topography as much. The ridges where the First Nations people camped for thousands of years are still there,' she said. 'That is not going to be the case if this stadium build goes ahead. 'Make no mistake, there's no way you can have a platform flat enough and big enough to build one of these things. They're 14 stories high, they're massive, massive places.' The office of Murray Watt – the current Federal Environment Minister who will decide on the protection of Victoria Park – has been contacted for comment. Major hurdle cleared for 'best Games ever' In July, a landmark funding agreement between the Federal and State Governments unlocked $3.4bn in federal contributions, confirming a combined $7.1bn Games Venue Infrastructure program to deliver 17 new or upgraded sporting venues across Queensland ahead of the games. The Victoria Park stadium was one of the promised projects and set to host the Games' opening and closing ceremonies, as well as athletics events. Major sporting teams such as the Brisbane Lions, Brisbane Heat and Queensland Bulls have also expressed interest in calling the stadium home in the future.
