‘Derailing public support’ for Olympics: Peter Beattie calls on Gabba plan to be dumped

Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie believes the plan to rebuild the Gabba is “derailing public support” for the Olympics and says Queensland should dump the redevelopment plan. There are growing calls to scrap the controversial plan to rebuild the Gabba, with IOC Vice-President John Coates making a stunning intervention yesterday, urging the Queensland government to dump the $2.7 billion Gabba redevelopment plan. “I think most people in Queensland are sick of the politics on this – it’s a lot of politics, local Green politics, the Lord Mayor wanting to get elected at the election at the end of the year,” Mr Beattie told Sky News Australia. “John Coates cut through all of that nonsense and basically said the Gabba is the wrong decision, and I agree with him. “Suncorp would be absolutely ideal for the opening and closing ceremonies … and it uses local facilities that already exist. “It’s frankly, I think, derailing public support for the Olympics, and if we can follow John Coates’ advice on this and cut to the heart of this … then you can actually diffuse it.”