It was Tuesday the 18th of July at 9:30 am and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was about to drop an astonishing bombshell.
He stepped up to the microphone along with the Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery and then proceeded to make the bombshell announcement that caught many off guard
"Victoria will no longer be hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to funding concerns."
Now if you were to believe him, the $2.6 billion they'd budgeted had blown out to over $7 billion and it was due to these concerns that they decided they couldn't host it.
Let's not forget, this is the same guy who is ok with the following
Cost overruns on the West Gate Tunnel Crossing (which dumps traffic at Melbourne Ports and causes another traffic snarl there)
Cost overruns in the level crossing removal (at least this is a beneficial project)
Cost overruns and rorts with North East Link
Spending $40 billion (probably $150 billion or more) on a white elephant suburban rail loop instead of building rail to the airport for far cheaper
Those cost overruns are more likely to be a hell of a lot more than the cost overrun for the Commonwealth Games.
Then we have this absolutely fanciful claim made today (paraphrased) "The lack of federal funding was not an issue that factored into our decision"
If pants could burn on fire, Andrews would've immolated on the spot. You can guarantee that if it was the Morrison government denying them funding, he would've blamed them for the decision to cancel. While this is politics, it also is the rank hypocrisy that Andrews is renowned for.
Last year, Daniel Andrews stepped in to rescue Netball Australia with a $15 million sponsorship deal with Visit Victoria. Now he doesn't want people to Visit Victoria for the Commonwealth Games in 2026 because as usual, they can't manage anything resembling a budget.
It's these rank hypocrisies that Andrews fans cheer him for and are so blindly ignorant to.
As for the concerns about them not bringing in a return, well, Andrews has looked with a short-sighted view given his government is technically financially bankrupt. Initially, they might've made a loss but here's the thing, at no stage does it appear they've looked at legacy and future benefits.
They had a 2-week window to showcase Regional Victoria, to show that there is something outside of Melbourne. The improvements in infrastructure in those regional areas would absolutely have brought a return over time; an increase in tourism to those areas; extra housing courtesy of converted athlete's villages into housing post-Commonwealth Games and what about the next generation seeing athletes performing on their doorstep? How often do they get that opportunity?
Now, according to them, they are going to repurpose that $2.6 billion by delivering the sports stadiums and 1300 low-cost houses. If you honestly believe that this repurposing won't go over budget, then you either are ignorant of this government's record or absolutely naive.
Equally, do you think these 1300 houses will go to those who are struggling or will they be termed "affordable" which is generally 80% of the market rate which a lot of people cannot afford at this moment in time?
The Commonwealth Games Australia CEO released a very strongly worded statement today and there were a couple of things that were very unsurprising to me. Here are just a couple of parts “The multi-city model for delivering Victoria 2026 was an approach proposed by the Victorian Government, in accordance with the strategic roadmap of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).”
“It was pitched to the CGF after Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) had sought interest to host the Games from several states. They did not step in as hosts at the last minute, as indicated by the Premier earlier today.” “The detailed budgetary implications announced today have not been sighted or discussed with the CGF or CGA ahead of being notified of the Government’s decision."
“Beyond this, the Victorian Government wilfully ignored recommendations to move events to purpose-built stadia in Melbourne and in fact remained wedded to proceeding with expensive temporary venues in regional Victoria.”
The reason I have underlined those parts is that they fit into a couple of common themes that are very much associated with this government;
Blatantly lying
A failure to consult
Thinking they know better than the experts
We've seen this for too often and too long and it's not good enough. Our media don't ask them hard questions as they're frightened of being put in the freezer and basically, they can get away with whatever they like as a result.
Even more extraordinary, they had the "courtesy" to give the Commonwealth Games Federation 8 hours' notice before making the announcement. EIGHT HOURS??? An announcement like this should be 24 hours MINIMUM but once again, the Andrews government chooses to throw away decency.
As for our reputation for Major Events and Melbourne being the sporting capital of the world, well, you can safely say that Andrews has today trashed that. Being the Number 1 Sporting Capital of the World was something that as a Melburnian who loves sport, I was proud of. Thanks to Andrews, that reputation has now been trashed and then some. The damning part is that he doesn't even give a damn because he's too busy living in a world divorced from reality. Negative decisions and negative actions have consequences, except in Victoria it seems and Andrews basically feels bulletproof as a result.
To honestly sum up the reality that Andrews seems to not be living, I leave the last word to the Commonwealth Games CEO and you know what, under this government, he is dead right.
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