Sam Wainwright
Playing games
On Friday Sydney — parts of it — went on an orgy of celebration. The establishment press declared triumphantly, "Our Sydney wins games". Fireworks and parties burst into the night. Sydney had been given the challenge of hosting the first "green" Olympics.
One of the groups that has been a key part of Sydney's Olympic bid has been Greenpeace. It claims that the 2000 Olympics will set a new environmental framework for all future games which could lead to the development of healthier cities and clean technology.
But as the years leading up to the games pass, Sydney may find it has less to celebrate. The Olympic village and 80,000-capacity Olympic stadium planned for Homebush Bay will cost an estimated $807 million. The total games budget is estimated at $1392 million. This huge outlay is meant to be offset by revenue generated by the Olympics leaving a surplus of $6 million from which we will all benefit. However, as a columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald — a paper which has unashamedly campaigned for the games — admitted, money directed towards the Olympics may starve public works of funds.
Greenpeace hopes that the 2000 Olympics will utilise the maximum amount of public transport. Funds for public transport, however, have been repeatedly slashed by the Fahey government, and the Olympics will almost certainly only further divert money away from public transport programs that benefit all of NSW into developments like freeways that are more useful for the Olympics.
For the first "green" Olympics, scant attention has been paid to the environment surrounding the Olympic site. Already 30 large trees including six Morton Bay figs over 100 years old, have been destroyed to clear the access road to the site. Furthermore, Homebush Bay is home to a number of protected migratory birds whose habitats can only be adversely affected by the thousands of spectators, tourists, athletes, cars, buses, taxis and TV crews cramming into the Olympic village. If protecting the environment was a major concern of the organisers, protecting the wetlands at Homebush Bay and regenerating the mangroves at the edge of the river would be a more productive activity.
Greenpeace hopes that the games will be useful for developing environmentally sound housing. As Lynette Thorstensen, the executive officer of Greenpeace, puts it, "This is a unique opportunity for the NSW government to lead the nation towards affordable, non-polluting and energy-efficient housing and development".
The question is, however: who will benefit from these housing developments? Only the few who can afford to move into them once the Olympics are over. For the majority of the people who don't own their own homes, the Olympics will only increase their rent.
Calling the Olympics "green" is playing with the term. The games may bring millions of dollars to Australian business and to the government and short-term employment for some, but for the majority of the people of NSW they will bring traffic congestion, higher rent, disruption and environmental damage.
[Sam Wainwright is a national coordinator of the Environmental Youth Alliance.]