More than 200 manufacturing jobs at the Visy Brisbane glass factory have been protected by the Queensland government as part of a deal to secure a site for a key 2032 Olympic venue.
Premier and minister for the Olympics, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said the deal was a win for jobs – today and for the next decade.
“This is a key milestone for one of the vital infrastructure pieces of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games – the International Broadcast Centre,” she said.
“This deal secures the site for the IBC, but it also secures the manufacturing jobs currently located at the Visy factory in West End.”
The agreement to secure the IBC site is part of a broader deal between the state government and Visy which will see the company invest $700 million in Queensland.
Deputy premier and minister assisting the premier on Olympics Infrastructure, Steven Miles, said Visy’s commitment would secure jobs at three separate locations across the south-east.
“The Palaszczuk government has secured the preferred site for the International Broadcast Centre, which will broadcast images from Brisbane 2032 to the world,” Miles said.
“Visy’s $700 million investment in Queensland will see the company build a new glass manufacturing facility at Stapylton to replace the facility at West End.
“Thanks to a $16 million investment by the Palaszczuk government, committed to at the last election, Visy will invest in major upgrades to the Material Recovery Facility on Gibson Island. They will also build a new cardboard box factory at Hemmant.”
The state government will pay Visy $165 million for its historic riverfront site in West End.
“Our agreement with Visy will increase the number of Queensland manufacturing jobs with Visy to around 300 and will create an additional 600 construction jobs building the new factory at Staplyton and hundreds more at the other sites,” treasurer and minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said.
“Since we secured the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we’ve made it clear the International Broadcast Centre could not come at the expense of traditional manufacturing jobs.”
Visy executive chairman, Anthony Pratt, said the company’s $700 million investment in Queensland was part of his 2021 pledge to invest $2 billion in Australian recycling and clean energy infrastructure over the ensuing decade, creating thousands of new green collar, well-paying Australian manufacturing jobs.
“This is the largest investment Visy has ever made in Queensland and is part of my pledge to invest $2 billion in Australia over the decade,” Pratt said.
“This $700 million investment confirms the government’s economic plan to grow the state’s economy and create advanced manufacturing jobs is working.”