Last Thursday saw Federal Parliament's Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee release their interim report into Australia's Preparedness to Host Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Originally this committee were supposed to have its full report done by September 1st however following the debacle that was the Andrews Govt's decision to withdraw from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the Senate extended that report date to December 1st while reopening submissions to take into account what had unfolded in Victoria.
When asked about this, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said "It was a political hit job" and followed up by saying "I don't think I'll be reading it and I won't take lessons on integrity from them." Now there are two problems with Daniel Andrews' response to this! 1) This matter was referred to the committee on 30th March, three months BEFORE he cancelled the Games 2) This committee is NOT dominated by one party and in fact, if you look at the layout of the committee, it's actually even. Here are the members of the committee who participated in this interim report; Senator Matt Canavan (Nationals) - Chair Senator Glenn Sterle (Labor) - Deputy Chair Senator Richard Colbeck (Liberal) Senator Bridget McKenzie (Nationals) Senator Penny Allman-Payne (Greens) Senator Linda White (Labor) Looking at point 2 in particular, the numbers on that committee are 3-3 which if I'm not mistaken is a tie. In suggesting that a report is a political hit job, Daniel Andrews is basically showing his disdain for parliamentary processes and also for the views of other people. This is something Victorians are used to, unfortunately. Equally, it shows his disdain for democracy because, without these committees, governments could do as they please with no accountability. He also made a comment about not taking lessons on integrity from them. When talking about them, he's referring to Senators Colbeck, Canavan and McKenzie. Given Bridget McKenzie was involved in sports rorts, he could have a point except there's one tiny problem, that being his own lack of self-awareness. No one in their right mind would take a lesson from Daniel Andrews when it comes to integrity either.
Then we have a comment about not reading the interim report.
Unfortunately, we here in Victoria are NOT surprised by this comment because he doesn't seem to read anything that might be critical of him or his government. Andrews doesn't like criticism nor does he understand the concept of "taking responsibility." He equally refuses to listen to anyone who has a different opinion nor does he take those people seriously because he thinks he knows better.
As for the interim report, well I chose to read it, focusing specifically on the Victorian part of the report and it's honestly just bizarre and troubling. I will highlight a series of points that caught my eye and really reinforced many things that I don't like about the Andrews Govt as a whole.
I mean, if this right here isn't the starting point of the weird and wacky. Here we have 2 news reports that are claiming opposite versions. No one can say for definite who the instigator was in conversations between the Victorian Govt (or was it Visit Victoria) and the Commonwealth Games Federation. I'd have thought this would be the least confusing aspect of this whole debacle but here we are.
This is extremely troubling, especially the last dot point. If this holds true and the CGF did NOT know until lawyers landed in London then someone has screwed up badly here. My honest opinion is, being the host, any cancellation should've been communicated to the CGF by the Victorian Govt but it may appear this did NOT happen which is unacceptable.
This above story came from the Mayor of Geelong and was describing the process of working with the Andrews Govt. Rushed decision-making, limited information provided and concerns unanswered, geez where have we heard this before? This is a common theme associated with this govt. Secretive and think that everyone else can work to their timeframes...pity there's this pesky thing called processes that others have to go through.
Seriously!
Let's assume this anecdote is true!
How in the hell do we have someone working in the DJPR who holds this sort of attitude towards an industry that actually does provide jobs?
This isn't just backwards but shows the absolute contempt that certain parts of the public service hold for Victorians.
Ah yes, here's our mandatory poor consultation comment and this continues to paint a picture of out-and-out incompetence.
You would think that when a major event is being hosted you would consult PROPERLY with ALL stakeholders. Apparently, this didn't happen and it shows.
This is not a good sign that the committee hasn't been able to provide a definitive timeline of what happened and when. What this simply shows once again is the contempt that the Andrews govt holds towards integrity and accountability. Their inability to cooperate also shows their arrogance and disrespect towards the truth and it's not good enough. The only way we can get to the bottom of anything is IF THEY'RE FORCED to cough up documents and information. It's time to bring out the big stick and whack them until they comply. Chapter 3 focuses on the impacts of the cancellation of the Games and basically outlines the facts and figures of what was involved. There were a few points that caught my eye though
This honestly is no surprise given that in 2006, Athletics was held at the MCG and in 2018 was held at Metricon. Both these stadiums are predominately AFL Stadiums (MCG also has cricket) and as a consequence, it is very unsurprising that Athletics feels cynical about legacy plans. In Athletics' defence, 2026 was to be held at GMHBA which again is predominately an AFL Stadium so again, had this gone ahead, it would've been 3 Games in a row where there was no legacy benefit for them.
Then we have the reaction to the cancellation which was transcripted into this report
Note very carefully a couple of themes here:
1) They say that it was pitched to them by the Victorian Govt. Obviously, the Victorian Govt say otherwise but it could be argued that the govt is lying to protect the truth. If anything, they are good at obfuscating.
1 a) The CGA suggest that Victoria didn't step in at the last minute. If that's the case, I say produce the documents that confirm that Andrews is lying
2) The comment on the cost overrun, unfortunately, I don't think they're an exaggeration because as we've learnt here in Victoria over the last 9 years, any project announced by the govt, you can usually add 25-50% on top. That said, to go from $2.3 billion to $7 billion (200% increase) is quite impressive by govt standards.
Now here's the thing and 2 themes that very much are the norm here in this state. 1) Refusal to listen to advice is an Andrews govt specialty as they think they know more than anyone else and it was them who completely butchered it by trying to do too much without taking into account the costs involved. 2) A refusal to work with the CGF to find a solution. Yes, we've seen this one many times over here in Victoria. They are a stubborn government that, once they make a decision, refuse to buckle UNLESS it's politically beneficial to do so. They don't take into account the carnage they leave behind from their decision making and it's the people who pay the price for the govt's arrogance and disrespect.
While this report tried to put things in a neutral manner, there is little doubt whatsoever, that there is a lot of anger at the decision to cancel the Games. Most Victorians are supportive of this decision but this Victorian certainly isn't. I was actually looking forward to these Games in 2026 and expressing that view gets me labeled as a right-wing troll. The reality is that many of the themes expressed in this article are not a surprise to those of us familiar with how this government operates. What is equally disgusting is that the Victorian Govt has refused to cooperate with this inquiry. This shows the level of contempt that they hold for democracy and for the people who absolutely have the right to know the truth of what unfolded.
As this is an interim report, I anticipate they will add extra in the final report but for this to be valuable, the Victorian Government MUST be ordered to comply with the inquiry. They MUST be ordered to front up and explain in full what happened and why. Equally, anyone who has been subject to a non-disclosure agreement from the government MUST be released from this disgusting gag. The only way we can get the full truth is cooperation and a refusal to do so should lead to consequences for the Andrews government. The biggest losers from this debacle though are the regional cities who entered into a partnership with the Victorian Govt on this event and then got shafted with the cancellation.
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