Before the 2024 election, David Crisafulli promised Queenslanders there would be no new stadium. Then he won. Then he approved one.
The same government has cancelled and delayed hospitals and infrastructure across Queensland, citing cost pressures. The Cancer Centre. Rail to the Sunshine Coast. Too expensive, they said.
One standard for hospitals. Another for a stadium nobody voted for.
Pre-election promise abandoned · Full line cost estimate: $12B
Before the October 2024 state election, the LNP promised Sunshine Coast voters it would deliver heavy passenger rail all the way to Maroochydore by 2032. Jarrod Bleijie stood in Maroochydore and made that commitment explicitly, arguing Labor's shorter plan would turn Caloundra into a car park for the rest of the coast.
In March 2025, the government announced The Wave: heavy rail terminating at Birtinya, with a bus rapid transit connection substituted for the remaining distance to Maroochydore. Rail to Maroochydore by 2032 is no longer being delivered. Stage 1 from Beerwah to Caloundra is fully funded at $5.5B. Stage 2 from Caloundra to Birtinya has only $40M committed for planning and market readiness, with full funding subject to separate approval and not yet secured.
The same Deputy Premier who made that promise to Sunshine Coast voters cancelled the Gold Coast light rail on cost grounds and has not called for an independent cost review of the Victoria Park stadium.
The LNP promised heavy rail to Maroochydore by 2032 before the October 2024 election, with Jarrod Bleijie making that commitment explicitly.
The Wave terminates at Birtinya with bus rapid transit substituted to Maroochydore. Stage 2 funding is not secured. Stage 1 cost is $5.5B. Only $40M committed to Stage 2 planning.
Cancelled · Upper cost estimate: $9.8B
A 13km extension from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta and Gold Coast Airport had been in planning for years. When cost estimates grew beyond earlier projections, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie cancelled the project on 1 September 2025, citing financial risk to the state. The government said the numbers no longer stacked up.
Bleijie drew a line in the sand on transport costs here. He has not applied the same test to Victoria Park.
Bleijie cancelled Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 4 on 1 September 2025, citing financial risk. Upper cost estimate $9.8B.
Delivery date gone, no replacement date given · Original opening date: 2028 · Cost blowout: $1B+
In December 2023, the Qld Government announced the Cancer Centre with a budget of $1.125B, a 2028 opening date, construction to begin in the first half of 2024, Lendlease named as preferred contractor and Billard Leece Partnership appointed as lead architect. That commitment was reaffirmed as recently as July 2024 when the Miles Government released its Qld Cancer Plan. The project was shovel ready.
After taking office, the Crisafulli Government ordered an urgent review of the health infrastructure programme. That review, led by Klok Advisory and reported in April 2025, found the Cancer Centre had no evidence of planning work completed and that costs had grown by more than $1B, pushing delivery back by at least three years. The project is now sitting dormant.
The government's Hospital Rescue Plan, announced in April 2025 and updated in December 2025, provided confirmed delivery dates for every other major hospital project in the programme. The Cancer Centre was listed under a general "Cancer Centre of Excellence" heading with no opening date attached.
Queenslanders were promised a cancer centre opening in 2028. They now have no date and no confirmed funding allocation. A project that was shovel ready is sitting idle. Meanwhile a new stadium has been approved, funded and given a hard deadline of 2032.
The Cancer Centre was announced in December 2023 with a $1.125B budget, 2028 opening date, Lendlease as preferred contractor and Billard Leece Partnership as lead architect. Reaffirmed July 2024. The project was shovel ready.
Klok Advisory review, reported April 2025, found no evidence of planning work completed and costs had grown by more than $1B, pushing delivery back at least three years. The project is now sitting dormant.
The Hospital Rescue Plan gave confirmed delivery dates for every other major hospital project. The Cancer Centre was listed with no opening date.
Cost not disclosed
A new Cross River Rail station has been proposed to service the Victoria Park precinct, given its significant distance from the existing Exhibition station. That cost does not appear in the headline $3.785B stadium figure. The QAO has separately confirmed that Cross River Rail itself grew from an original budget of $5.4B to a confirmed final cost of $19.041B, with first passenger services now expected in 2029 rather than the promised 2024.
The true cost of the Victoria Park precinct is higher than the government is disclosing. An urgent review would establish the full figure.
A new Cross River Rail station has been proposed for the Victoria Park precinct. That cost does not appear in the $3.785B stadium figure.
Cross River Rail grew from $5.4B to $19.041B. First passenger services expected 2029, not the promised 2024.
The Commonwealth contribution to the Victoria Park precinct is capped at $3.435B. Under the Intergovernmental Agreement, every dollar above that figure is carried entirely by Qld taxpayers. Independent analysis projects the full precinct cost at $8.49B by 2032. On those figures, Qld taxpayers are exposed to more than $5B in cost risk on a budget that has never been independently reviewed.
The Commonwealth contribution is capped at $3.435B. Under the Intergovernmental Agreement, 100% of cost escalation above that figure is carried by Qld taxpayers. Independent analysis projects the full precinct cost at $8.49B by 2032, exposing Qld taxpayers to more than $5B in cost risk.
Arcadis estimated the total cost of the Victoria Park precinct at $5.998 billion (December 2024).
Arcadis, a global design and cost consultancy that served as cost consultant to the Paris 2024 delivery authority, released a 22-page strategic case discussion paper in December 2024 proposing a Victoria Park sports and entertainment precinct as the centrepiece of Brisbane 2032. The paper estimated the total precinct cost at $5.998 billion, comprising a 60,000-seat stadium ($2.641 billion), a National Aquatics Centre ($511 million), Brisbane Live/Arena ($881 million), and associated precinct development. The paper was submitted to the Queensland Government's 100-day infrastructure review.
Notes: This figure predates 2026 construction cost increases and should be described as a pre-inflation baseline. Arcadis is best described as a global design and cost consultancy rather than an independent body, as the paper was submitted during a government review process. Their Paris 2024 cost consultancy role supports the credibility of the estimate.
When cost pressure is convenient, the government cancels. When cost pressure is inconvenient, it asks Queenslanders to trust the number and pay the difference.
Cross River Rail was promised at $5.4B and will cost $19.041B. A pre-election promise of rail to Maroochydore was replaced with a shorter line and buses once the cost reality became clear. The Gold Coast light rail was cancelled outright. The Cancer Centre had a date, a contractor, an architect and a budget. It was shovel ready. It now has none of those things confirmed and is sitting idle.
The Arcadis precinct estimate already put Victoria Park at $5.998B before the current construction cost environment. Construction costs have risen approximately 7 to 7.5 per cent since the official stadium figure was set. Independent analysis projects a further $800M in inflation through to 2029, producing a conservative full precinct estimate of between $6.4B and $7B at today's prices. Accounting for projected construction cost growth through to 2032, independent analysis puts the figure at $8.49B by the time the Games begin.
We are not opposed to the Olympics. We are opposed to approving a project without knowing what it will actually cost.
Official stadium cost $3.785B (stadium only). Qld Government budget and planning documents.
Arcadis (global design and cost consultancy) estimated the Victoria Park precinct at $5.998B in a December 2024 strategic case paper — a pre-inflation baseline, not an independent statutory review. See sources under "Who carries the risk?"
Construction costs have risen approximately 7 to 7.5 per cent since the official figure was set. Independent analysis projects a further $800M in inflation through to 2029. Conservative full precinct estimate $6.4B–$7B. Projected cost by 2032: $8.49B.