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Excavators have moved in on Victoria Park, as Premier David Crisafulli defended the forced removal of First Nations protesters on the site.
As the premier began a media conference on Monday to mark the handover of the park to the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority, excavators were rolling through the hills to begin preliminary exploratory work.
Speaking on the deck of the Victoria Park function centre, which would serve as GIICA’s site office during construction, Crisafulli said it was time to “get on with it”.
“Everyone’s got a right to protest, but from midnight this [became] a construction zone and that wouldn’t be safe – not just for them, but also for the workers,” he said.
“We have a duty of care on that. But they can continue to make a protest, of course they can.”
What was left of the Goori Camp Embassy after Friday’s eviction was removed about 1am Monday, after GIICA took control of the site.
“We outlined this plan over 12 months ago and they’ve been there a little over a month,” Crisafulli said.
“They were informed about when it would become a construction site and it’s taken effect. We now get on with it.”
GIICA chief executive Simon Crooks said the immediate work would involve decommissioning existing services underground in the park.
“There’s a lot more test pitting to do throughout the entire park,” he said.
“We started a month or so ago, but we’ve got a lot more to do and earthworks will start shortly afterwards.”
Crooks said there was a long way to go before construction on the 63,000-seat Brisbane Stadium would begin.
“I won’t be in a situation where I’d be comfortable letting design drawings go to construction right through this year,” he said.
But Crisafulli said he was confident it would be completed on time for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“The fact that we’re here beginning early works shows that we don’t have time to waste,” he said.
“We are getting on with it and these early works enable us to get a head start, rather than waiting for the head contractor who would then have to do these works.
“That would push it back several months.”
Crisafulli was joined by junior players from Wests Australian Rules Football Club to turn a symbolic first sod on the stadium – very symbolic, as it was a couple of hundred metres from the stadium site.
Post-Games, Brisbane Stadium would serve at the city’s home of AFL and cricket after the demolition of the Gabba post-2032.
“We do love the Gabba,” Brisbane Lions chief executive Sam Graham said.
“Our players love playing there, our fans love going there. But put simply, we’ve outgrown it and this city’s outgrown it.
“This new stadium at Victoria Park will enable our current members and fans to enjoy footy in a world-class stadium.”
While the Lions were celebrating, Save Victoria Park spokeswoman Sue Bremner said she still held out hope the stadium could be stopped, despite GIICA moving in.
“Our strategy has always been to support the First Nations people in their section 10 applications,” she said.
“That process is still ongoing, and we are calling on the state government to wait until that process is finished.
“It’s just a matter of respect and I think that that shouldn’t be a hard ask.”
Crisafulli said he was not concerned about those First Nations applications to protect an area of the park under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
“I’ve got every faith that we will be able to continue to get on and do things,” he said.
“We have mapped out a timeline and we’re getting cracking today, just as we said we’re going to do – and that’s what Queenslanders want from us.”
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