'Prison cell beds' at the 'most awful place': Olympian's Canberra sledge

Sports Minister Anika Wells' office refused to buy into the debate about moving the AIS to Queensland, doubling down on the declaration "any relocation would compromise athlete preparations for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics".

Renewed speculation about the future of the high performance base comes after Queensland Premier Steven Miles started an interstate slanging match by saying "Canberra is an awful place".

Miles has found an ally in swimming great Leisel Jones, who says moving the AIS to Queensland "makes a whole lot of sense" because of Canberra's unforgiving winters making it a "terrible place to train ... because it's the coldest place you'll ever go".

Jones also criticised the lacklustre accommodation on offer in Bruce, which has been likened to "prison cell beds" by Olympic boxer Harry Garside.

Wells - a Queenslander herself - has backed the Albanese government's decision to retain the Bruce campus, despite rumblings senior federal political members were driving the push to move the AIS north prior to the report being commissioned.

An extended Albanese government-ordered independent review of the infrastructure needs of the ageing AIS campus deemed not fit for purpose has recommended rejecting a $1 billion plan to move it to south-east Queensland.

ACT government officials are keen on investment into the AIS and say the complaints about keeping the AIS in Canberra count for nothing.

Now the push to revitalise the Bruce precinct is on with Australian Sports Commission chief Kieren Perkins conceding the AIS accommodation is embarrassing by elite sport's standards.

The Manly Sea Eagles held a pre-season camp at the AIS but the standard of the university-style dorms raised plenty of eyebrows among players and staff from the NRL club, who Perkins admits would take some convincing to lure back to the campus.

"For me, I personally love it," Jones said on Triple M's The Rush Hour with Leisel Jones, Liam & Dobbo.

"In the middle of winter, it is the most awful place to be, especially when you're a swimmer and if you're doing summer sports. It's a terrible place to train and prepare for anything because it's the coldest place you'll ever go.

"It's not terribly inspiring and every time you go there, they put you in the worst accommodation.

"Typically, on Australian swim teams, most of the people on the team are from Queensland to start with anyway and we've got the great facilities.

"I think it's a great choice. [Queensland] pretty much already is the hub of elite sport without being the AIS.

"I can't see many athletes complaining about it."

The AIS has a storied history in Canberra having opened in 1981 and delivered support to Australia's elite sporting programs.

It was conceived after the Australian Olympic team failed to win a gold medal at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, but the future of the precinct has been a hot topic for years after the vision for the campus shifted.