Queensland to repeal diversity quotas for Brisbane Olympics board

The Guardian

19-06-2025

The Queensland government plans to repeal a requirement that half the board overseeing the organising of the Brisbane Olympics be women and at least one member Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The change to the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) board is contained in an obscure clause in broad-ranging legislation sponsored by the deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, in May. It is not mentioned in either its explanatory speech or explanatory notes.
According to a written briefing by the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, made during consideration by a parliamentary committee, the bill would 'enhance efficiency and effectiveness' by 'removing certain requirements for the appointment of OCOG board directors'.
That includes 'that 50% of nominated directors be women' and 'that at least one of the independent directors is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander'.
The bill has yet to pass parliament but is certain to do so if all government members vote for it.
Renee Carr, the executive director of Fair Agenda, said 'women should be an equal part of making the critical decisions that shape its legacy'.
'There's been important progress in recognising women's contribution to sport – as athletes, coaches, and in leadership. We should be leaning into what's possible, not going backwards,' she said.
'Hosting an event of this scale will impact Queensland's economy, infrastructure and tourism. Women's voices and expertise must be an equal part of planning a games that delivers for the whole community.'
The executive director of QUT's Carumba Institute, Prof Chelsea Watego, said the plan to remove the requirement was an 'appalling decision'.
She said the Sydney Olympics was able to make decisions with a board that included an Indigenous representative, Lowitja O'Donoghue, so there was no case that excluding them would make it more efficient.
'It just tells you how far backwards Queensland has gone under an LNP government,' she said.
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Watego said that Brisbane, Queensland and Australia would be on the international stage.
'We're under a microscope, and we have to think very seriously about what this tells the world about who we are as a nation, who we are as a state, and the location of Indigenous peoples and women in relation to that.'
Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tim Mander said: 'The Crisafulli government has accepted the recommendation of the independent 100 Day Review of the Games to streamline governance arrangements.
'The act is currently before the state development, infrastructure and works committee.'
The Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment bill 2025 has a wide-ranging scope, and more than 700 individuals and groups made a submission during a parliamentary inquiry process.
Among other changes, the bill will reduce the size of the OCOG board from 24 to 15.
It also amends regulation of renewables projects to make them easier for opponents to challenge in court and exempts Olympic venues from legal challenge.
The OCOG board is appointed by multiple different agencies separate from the state government, such as the federal sports minister and the president of the Australian Olympic Committee.
A legal provision will still apply requiring consideration of the state government's policy on gender equity on boards. The policy sets a non-binding target for gender equity, and does not cover Indigenous representation.
The Brisbane Olympics will be held from 23 July to 8 August 2032, with the Paralympics running from 24 August to 5 September. Queensland has never held an Olympics but has hosted the Commonwealth Games, most recently in 2018.
A binding provision that the 2032 games be 'climate positive' has also been reportedly removed from the Olympic host contract. It will now aim 'at removing more carbon from the atmosphere than what the Games project emits'.