Controversy continues to swirl around the Brisbane 2032 rowing and canoeing venue. Queensland ministers refuse to confirm whether they read the full technical assessment behind the proposed Fitzroy River rowing and canoe sprint venue before declaring it fit for Brisbane 2032.
Tourism and Environment Minister Andrew Powell said he had not read the assessment. Premier David Crisafulli, Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Jarrod Bleijie, and Rockhampton MP Donna Kirkland did not directly confirm whether they had read it when questioned by ABC News.
The Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA) commissioned the assessment with Dutch marine engineering firm WaterProof. It remains unpublished, leaving the evidence behind the venue’s endorsement unavailable to athletes, coaches and the public.
Crisafulli announced on 17 September that Rockhampton had passed “with flying colours” and declared: “It’s official, signed, sealed and delivered.”
Asked whether he had read the assessment, the premier responded: “I can only point to you for the comments of the experts,” before adding, “I have read the comments. I make the observation it has passed with flying colours.”
Approval Still Has Conditions
The GIICA assessment examined the riverbed and proposed course, Fitzroy Barrage operations, water levels and flows. It also considered the Games-period weather and environment, supported by on-water tests and modelling of wind, waves and flow.
World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide found that the Fitzroy could offer a competition area with safe and equitable conditions that remain consistent within the scenarios assessed. That endorsement does not complete the venue-planning process.
A joint statement from World Rowing, Paddle Worldwide, Rowing Australia and Paddle Australia said that technical details, service levels and facilities needed for Olympic and Paralympic competition remain to be confirmed during the next phase of venue planning.
GIICA has not completed its Project Validation Report, which examines the site's design, whether it represents good value, and its legacy. The IOC has also yet to approve a separate sustainability and environmental report, according to ABC News.
Rowing Queensland and Rowing Australia said they had not seen the complete technical report. Anthea O’Loughlin, chief executive of Rowing Queensland, described it as one phase of the broader validation process.
An earlier GIICA review recommended using the existing Olympic course at Penrith. As Row360 reported before the technical assessment, the international federations had raised questions about flooding, fair racing, safety and the venue’s legacy.
Ginn Questions the Gamble
Three-time Olympic champion Drew Ginn has called for the evidence to be released and questioned whether a flowing river can reliably deliver equal racing across all lanes.
“I row on a river in Melbourne. I love rowing on it, love training on it, but I’d never want to compete at the Olympic Games on it,” Ginn told Reuters.
“If you have flowing and moving water, that is completely unfair. One lane over another lane can be dramatically different. Imagine if (a flood) happens the week of the competition. Races get cancelled or the venue has to be moved.”
Ginn said Rockhampton had never hosted an Australian national championships and described the choice as a gamble by the Queensland Government. “If there’s good evidence for it and good data for it, then you should be able to make it transparent,” he said.
Andrew Butler, a former world championship medallist and coach, put the concern more bluntly: Rockhampton could become a “country regatta with Olympic athletes”. Butler told Reuters that avoiding that outcome would require major infrastructure spending.
O’Chee Sees a Domestic Dispute
Former National Party senator William O’Chee offered a different diagnosis. In an opinion article, he argued that the controversy was “all about domestic rowing politics”, driven by Rowing Queensland’s support for Wyaralong Dam and resistance to the government’s regional choice.
O’Chee said regular rowing and school regattas on the Fitzroy undermined claims that crocodiles made the venue inherently unsafe. Rockhampton Fitzroy Rowing Club and several local schools train on the river, which has also hosted Queensland state championships.
He argued that Wyaralong presented its own problems, including an estimated upgrade cost of at least A$150 million, an irregular shoreline and no public transport route for Olympic spectators. Those claims represent O’Chee’s political assessment, not findings from the unpublished Fitzroy study.
Opposition Leader Steven Miles has called for the assessment’s release. For now, Rockhampton has its international federation endorsement, but the detailed evidence and two further pieces of approval work remain outstanding.
