The Commonwealth Games Federation has been labelled "out of touch and arrogant" for not giving Queensland's premier a role at the Gold Coast opening ceremony.

Former long-time state minister Rob Schwarten took aim at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), saying the decision to sideline Annastacia Palaszczuk stunk to high heaven and should outrage Queenslanders.

Mr Schwarten was a part of the Bligh Labor Government which seven years ago backed the Gold Coast bid to win hosting rights for the Games.

He says not giving the state government the chance to speak at Wednesday night's ceremony is a "kick in the guts".

"We've spent $3 billion on this," Mr Schwarten told AAP.

"The woman with a Scottish accent who's a paid representative of this Commonwealth Games (CGF president Louise Martin), they haven't put any money into it.

"Our premier is being told that it's not protocol. I say they can shove the protocol where the sun doesn't shine."

In a statement released on Thursday, the CGF denied snubbing Ms Palaszczuk by not offering her an official role at showpiece event.

The federation said it is their intention to avoid politicising the Games, which it has also steered clear of in previous years.

"The Commonwealth Games is about people and partnerships, citizens and communities. Most importantly, it's about the thousands of athletes, volunteers, and fans," the statement says.

Ms Palaszczuk herself said she would have loved to have the chance to address athletes and fans to the Games on behalf of Queensland but respected, and accepted, the CGF decision.

"Of course it would've been nice and my message would've been to all of the athletes 'welcome to Queensland'," she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said former Queensland premier and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation chairman Peter Beattie had offered his speaking role at the ceremony to her but the CGF had not accepted that move.

Mr Schwarten said Mr Beattie "would not cop" the CGF's decision if he'd still been premier, while Commonwealth Games minister Kate Jones took a thinly-veiled shot at the media-friendly former Labor premier.

"I was pretty disheartened to see this play out in the media but no-one's ever accused Annastacia Palaszczuk of being a media tart," Ms Jones told reporters.

Sydney-born Mr Beattie bristled at media reports claiming the CGF's decision meant Queensland would be unrepresented at the ceremony.

"Any suggestion I'm not a Queenslander is quite frankly bullshit and I find it offensive," he said.

"The Commonwealth Games Federation determines who speaks at the opening ceremony ... the world will be interested in the performance, they're not going to be interested in speeches that go for two minutes."