Victorian taxpayers will pay the price of the Andrews Government's humiliating decision to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The Andrews Government must now answer serious questions over the costs and financial consequences of this decision, including;
- How much will Victorian taxpayers have to pay to break the Commonwealth Games host contract?
- How was the Andrews Government's $2.6 billion cost estimate so far off the actual costs - a near tripling of the initial estimate?
- Which external parties conducted these cost estimates?
- How much has been spent on the Commonwealth Games to date?
- What will happen to the public servants employed to organise the Commonwealth Games? Will there be redundancies?
- Why was the 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee advised as recently as June that "sufficient funding was available" for the Games?
- Why did the government not discuss the funding situation with the 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee to jointly find a solution?
- What will happen to the $2.6 billion allocated to delivering the Commonwealth Games in the 2022-23 Victorian Budget?
- When was the decision made to cancel the Commonwealth Games and for how long was the Andrews Government aware of issues surrounding its delivery?
Furthermore, the Andrews Government must explain why it advised Commonwealth Games Australia in June 2023 that the total cost of the Commonwealth Games would be $3 billion, just weeks before today stating that the total cost would be more than double that amount.
Shadow Treasurer, Brad Rowswell, said that once again, Victorians were being punished for the incompetence of the Andrews Government.
"This humiliating decision will hurt Victorians and hurt Victoria. The Andrews Government's incompetence has again left taxpayers and regional Victorians to pay the price," Mr Rowswell said.
"How much has been spent, what will this cost to cancel and how could the numbers be so wrong? Hardworking Victorian taxpayers deserve straight answers to these serious questions today."
Shadow Minster for Finance, Jess Wilson, said the farcical mismanagement of the Commonwealth Games highlighted the financial incompetence of the Andrews Government on the world stage.
"This humiliating backdown will significantly damage Victoria's reputation as a place for investment and economic opportunity. Why would you consider investing in Victoria when the Premier continues to create sovereign risk - this is not the first time this government has ripped up a contract." Ms Wilson said.
"How can a project cost go from $3 billion to up to $7 billion in just a month? The mismanagement of this project demonstrates that the Andrews Labor Government cannot manage money and it's Victorian taxpayers that will be left to pay the price."
