The debacle of the Brisbane Olympics 2032, and the collapse this week of Queensland’s ludicrous plans as its five Olympic rings train-crashed into budgetary reality? You know, how it pretty much pulled the pin on all major new infrastructure, and will just tart up some of the old ones?

I thought you’d never ask.

You’ll forgive me if I note that, from the beginning, your humble correspondent was already saying how insane the plans were in the first place, making Sydney’s absurd #StadiumSplurge look like budgetary constraint!

Here was part of my rant in February last year.

“This week, the federal government and Queensland announced a joint $7 billion funding agreement to overhaul Brisbane’s sporting and event venues, including the Gabba, before the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Commonwealth will contribute about $3.5 billion to the deal.

“I repeat: $3.5 billion! For the Sydney 2000 Games, the federal government paid – according to a NSW government report referenced in the federal parliament’s 2021-22 budget review – $150 million, which is equivalent to $244 million today. This was just 8.2 per cent of the total construction cost of $1.84 billion, which is equivalent to about $3 billion today.

Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.

“All the more surprising is that in the original bid, a key feature was that south-east Queensland would be able to leverage existing infrastructure to hold the Olympics for a total cost of ... $4.45 billion.

“Umm, if the cost has gone up by $2.55 billion since July 2021 when the winning bid was announced, how much do you think it will actually cost by 2032?”