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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Ben Smee

Gina Rinehart lobbied for controversial plan to move 2032 Olympic rowing to crocodile-inhabited river

Gina Rinehart Rockhampton Jarrod Bleijie Queensland Brisbane Fitzroy River
Gina Rinehart
An undated letter from Gina Rinehart to Queensland’s deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, lobbied for the relocation of the Brisbane Olympic Games 2032 rowing events to the Fitzroy River, a natural habitat for saltwater crocodiles. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, lobbied for controversial plans to host 2032 Olympic rowing events on the Fitzroy River at Rockhampton, documents released by the Queensland government show.

The plans to send rowers 600km north of host city Brisbane – to a river that is natural habitat for saltwater crocodiles, and which prompted significant backlash among the rowing and broader Olympic communities – were announced by the Queensland government in March last year.

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