The Sunshine Coast mayor says the region must retain its “unique identity” amid calls to rebrand South-East Queensland as ‘Brisbane’ ahead of the 2032 Games.
Rosanna Natoli said the rapidly-growing area, which will host some Olympic events and have new venues, needed to be well connected to the state’s capital but should retain its independence.
It comes as Brisbane 2032 organising committee president Andrew Liveris referred to South-East Queensland as the ‘Brisbane City Region’ and told the Courier Mail that “our focus must be to support and seize our collective success, together”.
Ms Natoli was adamant the Sunshine Coast, about 100km north of Brisbane, should be easily distinguished.
“The Sunshine Coast is unique and wants to stay that way,” she said.
“We know we do not want to be the Gold Coast. We do not want to be Brisbane.
“We want to maintain our unique identity … we are the Sunshine Coast.”
“The Olympics, they choose the host city, so it is ‘Brisbane 2032’.
“Paris was ‘Paris 2024’ but events were in St. Denis, in Marseille, in other parts of the region.
“So, it might be called ‘Brisbane 2032’, but it is the Games for the region and for Queensland. So, that is definitely not on the cards, naming us part of Brisbane.”
Ms Natoli said there were several attributes that made the Sunshine Coast special.
“We have a really fantastic environment. We know that’s important to our people and it sets us apart, not only here in Queensland, but around the world,” she said.
“And we have the best people with the best attitude. That is what people who come to the Games are going to see as well.”
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Mr Liveris, renowned demographer Bernard Salt and Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner stressed the need for the regions of South-East Queensland to form close ties in the lead-up to the Games, in the Courier Mail, which ran a poll asking “Should South-East Queensland should simply be known as Brisbane?”
The former said a single brand would help promote the greater region and the event.
Federal MP for Fisher Andrew Wallace said the Sunshine Coast should not be recognised as part of Brisbane prior to the Games.
“I would be absolutely, utterly opposed to that suggestion,” he said.
“We are different from Brisbane. We’re different from the Gold Coast. We don’t want to see a region that’s lumped together like (in) California, on the west coast of the US.
“People move here for very distinct reasons. They move here because of our climate. They move here because we’re family friendly. It’s a special place. There’s nowhere in the world like the Sunshine Coast and we’re incredibly blessed to be able to call it home.”
Ms Natoli and Mr Wallace were joined by other council, state and federal officials for a roundtable on the future of the Sunshine Coast, at the city hall in Maroochydore on Friday.
In a show of unity, they declared they must work together to ensure progress. They agreed on the need for improved connectivity to Brisbane and the general need for more infrastructure, amid rapid population growth and the beckoning Games.
“We are one of the fastest growing regions in the country. We’re home to more than 350,000 people. That’s tipped to be over 500,000 by 2042,” Mr Wallace said.
“We need to ensure that all three tiers of government are working together to ensure that we get the sort of funding that we need from Canberra, from Brisbane, and also at a local perspective as well.”
Minister for Transport and Main Roads Trent Mickelberg highlighted the proposed rail and metro bus network, The Wave, which is set to run between Beerwah and Sunshine Coast Airport.
“It’ll be a game changer for the Sunny Coast. It will mean people can commute to Brisbane but it’ll also support better public transport movements on the Sunshine Coast,” he said.
“At the moment, public transport on the Coast is pretty limited. It’s great if you want to go to the plaza or maybe to the university or hospital but outside that it doesn’t really get people to where they want to get to in a timely and reliable fashion. This is all about making public transport more attractive on the Coast.”
Mayor Natoli said the race was on to complete projects before 2032.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games are a very firm deadline,” she said. “We know we need the infrastructure before then.”
“That is the reason that this region bid for the Olympic Games in the first place: it was for that infrastructure. That includes our public transport. Connectivity between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, the Gold Coast and west and east is really important.”
The Demographics Group director Simon Kuestenmacher said time was of the essence.
“A massive challenge for South-East Queensland as a whole is to improve the connectivity between the hubs: Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast,” he said.
“These are all three fast-growing areas. If you get the connectivity right, this will be the best connected, most interesting, best functioning megacity in the country – much more connected, much better than Sydney or Melbourne.
“The Olympics brings additional infrastructure spending into a region so that means you must utilise the Games to build the infrastructure to connect these areas better and to allow for healthy, sustainable growth.
“The next two years are the most important years in Queensland’s or the Sunshine Coast’s history for the next decade.
“You better get on with it because otherwise the growth can hurt you. You could have those disconnected hubs of growth that just don’t flow well. That’s a catastrophe that can be avoided if you invest heavily right now.
“The challenge is to get it done. Building it is extremely difficult because we have a skills shortage. There aren’t enough skilled workers to build all the infrastructure.”
