Year 11 Economics Term 3
Analysis by Larissa Perrin from the perspective of the local council
The Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event where over 70 countries and territories compete to prevail in the tally of medals. In 2018, the Gold Coast will host the games, which span over an 11-day period, marking the 5th games Australia has hosted. The preparations for the games began as early as 2012, when the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation was established. There is large speculation over the extent the Gold Coast will advantage from the games in terms of economics, as the count down until the opening ceremony is now less than a year. A cost benefit analysis will be conducted in correlation to the games from the perspective of the local council, speaking to the local community.
The relative costs associated with hosting The Commonwealth Games are high. In a report released by the Queensland Government, using adaptive expectations, it was concluded “The current target for the net cost of the Games to Queensland is $1.483 billion which includes annual cost escalation until 2019–20” (Greaves, 2014). The list of costs involved is extensive- Peter Beattie, who is the games chairman, outlined the main outflow from the budget and the many tangible costs. He listed costs such as the $320 million dollar Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, the $59 million Queensland State Velodrome, the $39 million Coomera Indoor Sports Centre and the $41 million upgrade to the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre (Beattie, 2016). Furthermore, there is a $550 million dollar Games Village infrastructure project currently underway (Palaszuck, 2017). The Commonwealth Games has also indirectly resulted in many other projects to take place, which also have significant associated expenditures. Stolz, a journalist for the Courier Mail, explained infrastructure projects such as the $420 million light-rail second stage and $104 million widening of Southport-Burleigh Road are result of the games (Stolz, 2017). The expenditure associated with the games however, is not all related to monetary value. There are also extensive intangible costs, affecting the local community including environmental destruction and traffic congestions. GOLDOC sustainability manager Chelli Easson said it was not all about paper cups and looking after wildlife, but also looking at the environmental footprint, carbon emissions and waste management to protect the Gold Coast environment (in Larkins, 2016). The environmental costs associated with the games are anticipated to be low, substantiated in the GC2018 report, which explained as of April 2017 90% of construction waste had been recycled (GC2018, 2017). However, deforestation of areas to build infrastructure has occurred, especially in construction of the games village, which is a large cost to the local environment and has further resulted in pollution emissions. Another cost to the local community is the current traffic congestions...
