Premier Daniel Andrews and Games Delivery Minister Jacinta Allan must come clean with the true cost of their embarrassing decision to cancel the regional Commonwealth Games.
Last month, Daniel Andrews said the Games would cost Victoria $3 billion, but in scrapping the event yesterday he said it would cost $6-$7 billion.
The CEO of Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) said the new figure was “grossly exaggerated” and that Labor had “wilfully ignored” recommendations from the CGA.
“Commonwealth Games Australia has confirmed that the Premier has misled Victorians about the cost to hold the regional Games,” The Nationals Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron said.
“The cost of the Birmingham Games last year was $1.5 billion, and the 2018 Gold Coast Games cost $2 billion – so how did Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan arrive at their hugely inflated figure of $6-$7 billion?
“Labor is incomprehensibly trying to paint itself as the hero for cancelling the Games.
“The Premier has offered up a vague “package” for the regions in what is clearly a pathetic attempt to appease the Victorians who have been ripped off by his government’s financial incompetence.
“No amount of spin can disguise Labor’s blatant lies, and Victorians will still foot an enormous bill for the cost of the Games so far and the costs associated with breaking the contract.”
The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, said Victorians had every right to feel conned by the Andrews Labor Government over its Commonwealth Games debacle.
“Mismanagement and waste are the hallmark of Labor and Victoria is broke – Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allen cannot be trusted to manage money or major projects.
“10 years ago, the Queensland government’s fee to break its Commonwealth Games contract was $1 billion – the cost to Victorian taxpayers is likely be in excess of this.
“Add this to the $1.1 billion Daniel Andrews wasted cancelling the east west link contract, and Labor has blown an eye watering $2.1 billion to do nothing in Victoria.
“The Premier and his Deputy must be held accountable for their gross mismanagement.
“Debt in Victoria is forecast to soar to an obscene $171.4 billion, greater than the combined debt of NSW, Queensland, and Tasmania.
“Labor is continuing to spruik legacy for regional communities – but with no timeframes and history of broken contracts you can’t trust them on their word.
“The only legacy the Andrews Government is delivering is financial ruin.
“It’s all pain and no gain for Victoria under Labor – the scrapping of the games has robbed regional communities of an opportunity to recover from the damage Daniel Andrews inflicted during Covid.”
