Rowing events proposed for crocodile habitat at Brisbane Olympics

Olympic rowing events could potentially be held on a notorious river known to host giant crocodiles. Fitzroy Rowing Club president Sarah Black made the bold call on Friday at a Senate hearing into preparations for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, arguing her central Queensland hometown of Rockhampton, which sits on the Fitzroy River, could host rowing events safely despite the Fitzroy serving as a natural habitat for crocs.

"The Fitzroy is a natural habitat for crocodiles, we're well aware of that," she said. "Some of the reports in the media have been sensationalised, with comments around it being crocodile infested. We certainly have regular liaisons with our department of environment here. Their officers go out and do regular surveys."

"In terms of major events, local events, even our weekly training, we have processes in place for reporting and talking to our local environmental officers around the different behaviours of crocodiles and understanding their behaviour throughout the year. It is risk managed and something our sport does quite well."

Crocodiles are regularly spotted cruising along the Fitzroy. In mid-January, shock footage emerged of a 4m croc swimming through the river with a large black dog in its mouth.

But despite Rockhampton's reputation as "croc country", Rowing Australia CEO and two-time Olympian Sarah Cook backed Ms Black's call to make the central Queensland city a hub for rowing. She said investment from state and federal governments in regional cities like Rockhampton would leave a lasting Olympics legacy for the growing sport.

"We have passionate pockets of the sport throughout Queensland, including in Rockhampton," she said at the hearing. "It is our hope the infrastructure upgrades throughout the state can help to invest in crumbling infrastructure. We know Rockhampton is a really important base for Rowing Australia. The Australian rowing team prepared for Tokyo there, we held our staging camp. It would be our intention to do the same for both Los Angeles and for Brisbane."

Regional Development Australia central and western Queensland chair Grant Cassidy also testified that Rockhampton was well positioned to host Olympic events. The city is a major hub for beef production and trading and Mr Cassidy noted it hosted the massive Beef Australia event every three years, taking more than 125,000 visitors from around the world for a week-long beef industry exhibition.

"We do it well, we're used to hosting big events," he said. He said a $20m investment to build in new pontoons and carparks would elevate rowing in Rockhampton and create a lasting sporting and community impact. The city, with a population of some 85,000, is located on the Bruce Highway about 630km north of Brisbane.