On Wednesday, 30 July 2025 during Estimates hearings, I asked the Deputy Premier about ruling out privatisation of public land on the Gabba Stadium site, and plans for the provision of public and affordable housing within the Woolloongabba priority development area.
You can read my question and the Deputy Premier's response in full below, or in the official Parliamentary record of proceedings (Hansard) here.
Mr BERKMAN: I had a question for the Deputy Premier in relation to the Gabba arena which the government has claimed will be funded by the private sector and built by 2032. Deputy Premier I am keen to know: will you rule out privatising public land at this site either by selling or by way of long-term leases issued to convince private companies to build the new stadium?
Mr BLEIJIE: Point of order, Mr Speaker. The arena and the games is in the next section of infrastructure; not in the state development section.
Mr BERKMAN: Okay.
Mr SPEAKER: Would you like to rephrase your question?
Mr BERKMAN: I will reframe a different question around the Woolloongabba PDA redevelopment scheme. That development scheme still assumes that the Gabba will remain and it still includes the scrapped Woolloongabba metro station, so can you advise when it is expected that that PDA will be revised and whether the existing requirement for 20 per cent high-quality social or affordable housing will remain?
Mr SPEAKER: Deputy Premier, you have three minutes.
Mr BLEIJIE: We are reviewing the Woolloongabba PDA at the moment. It is another PDA that was declared by the Labor Party and then not much action ever happened on it so we have to sort out another mess left to us by the Labor Party. We are getting down to business on that. It will be a PDA that will take into consideration the government’s priorities in the future, including what it looks like in terms of the Gabba.
I will talk more in the infrastructure section about 2032 and what happens to the Gabba but, of course, there is a PDA there at the moment. We will be consulting with industry. The department are already looking at what possible changes are necessary to unlock that. I can assure the honourable member that the East Brisbane State School is safe and secure. We have announced that already. The member would know that under the former Labor government’s plan, one day the school was being demolished, the next it was not—then it was going to be. There was a lot of concern among the P&C and residents but we will save East Brisbane State School. We have committed to that and I have said that publicly.
In terms of the PDA, we will be reviewing it. It will not only be changed in line with the government’s priorities under our 2032 Delivery Plan but also the industry feedback we are receiving. We are in a market process at the moment, a generalised market process seeking views of the private sector in terms of what can be done at not only the Goprint site but the Gabba site after the Gabba comes down after 2032. I think it is an exciting opportunity for the community to be involved, to reimagine what Woolloongabba looks like at not only South Bank but also the Visy site, which we are going to fix as well. We were left a terrible mess by the Labor government at the Visy site. The Crisafulli government will fix that as well. I think that will be a South Bank 2.0. On top of that you have the Woolloongabba PDA, which we will amend. It may be that we repeal that PDA and put in a new PDA. That will depend on the market process in terms of what happens with the Gabba and the arena site.
Mr SPEAKER: Thank you, Deputy Premier. We have now reached the end—
Mr BERKMAN: Deputy Premier, can you say anything about the social and affordable housing component?
Mr SPEAKER: Member for Maiwar, the time for this section has expired.
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Mr BERKMAN: Deputy Premier, my question, which you heard before, is about the Gabba arena, but I will repeat it. It has been proposed by the government that it will be funded through the private sector and built by 2032. Accounting for the member for Woodridge’s question—I suspect I know the answer—will you rule out privatising public land at Woolloongabba, either by selling that land or via long-term leases, to incentivise the private companies that you intend to build this new stadium?
Mr BLEIJIE: It is a bit hard for a government to rule out privatising land or selling land when you are trying to do a deal with the private sector to build an arena by the private sector. We are saving Queensland taxpayers’ money and Australian taxpayers’ money by rediverting the federal contribution of $2.5 billion into the arena. What’s the difference? If the private sector builds the arena, whether the land is owned by the state or the private sector the arena is going to be built. We are out in the market at the moment talking to the private sector through the department of infrastructure. We are about to commence a formal procurement process. That will involve looking at the optionality of the land both at the Goprint site and what happens with the Gabba when it comes down after 2032, so we are looking at all things.
We would never say no to an arena if the private sector needs a deal to be done with the land. The one thing the state does have is the land; the one thing the state does have is the powers of planning and the levers to be pulled to unlock that infrastructure. I am not going to pre-empt what may or may not happen in the procurement stage because that will be independently done through my department of infrastructure when they go to market officially. What we are ascertaining at the moment from the private sector is the level of interest in building the arena, the funding of the arena and the capacity of the private sector to fund the arena. I am not going to rule anything in or out with respect to the land because the land is the leverage the state has at the moment, particularly in the Woolloongabba PDA.
Mr BERKMAN: Deputy Premier, you have noted that it is your intention that the Gabba will be removed after 2032. I am curious about the existing proposal for 50 per cent of the Cross River Rail site to remain open space. If that is lost to Brisbane Arena, will the government in future ensure that it sets aside an equivalent area for open space at the existing Gabba site once it has gone?
Mr BLEIJIE: Member, there will be so much open space, green space. You will be able to go there, congregate, have a cup of tea on a blanket in a park. There are going to be homes. There are going to be restaurants. There are going to be apartments. There is going to be an arena where you can catch a show and possibly watch the basketball at the games in 2032. You can go for a stroll down the park. You can catch the Cross River Rail to wherever you want to go. You can catch the faster rail to the Gold Coast. You can catch the Wave to the Sunshine Coast. There is enormous opportunity. Of course there is going to be green space and parkland space.
We are going through the assessment of what that looks like at the moment with the procurement documents. I imagine that whole precinct will be that you will have South Bank and the Visy site, which we will also unlock because we have decided to move the broadcasting centre. The former Labor government basically just wanted to put a Bunnings tin shed on the waterfront at the old Visy site and put some broadcasting in there. We see that as a bit of a waste of space. We think the broadcasting will likely be held in the Convention & Exhibition Centre because we already have the Convention & Exhibition Centre at South Bank. That will unlock all of Visy so you could have the Visy site as a South Bank 2.0. On top of that there is the Gabba site. If your concern is whether you will be able to go for a stroll in a park, I do not think you ought to be concerned. There will be plenty of space to walk around. There will be shrubs and flowers and pot plants—whatever you want. Help design it. Put in a submission.