IllustrationCredit:Matt Golding
Victorian opposition spokesman for major projects David Southwick said the absence of a formal federal funding request was inexplicable.
“This shows the Andrews government was never serious about delivering the Commonwealth Games,and it was all about winning votes in regional Victoria at last year’s election,” he said.
“There’s no logical reason why the Andrews government wouldn’t seek federal funding for a major national sporting event. Had it done so,it could have helped save hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money and avoided reputational damage to Victoria.”
Victoria did not make a request to Canberra for Games funding before last year’s federal budget was handed down in March 2022,Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ first budget in October last year,or this year’s federal budget,handed down in May.
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This masthead has previously revealed that by April,senior Victorian government officials knew thatprojected cost of the Games had ballooned. The Office of the Commonwealth Games,the government department responsible for overseeing the planning and delivery of the event,submitted an updated $5 billion games budget to Treasury ahead of the May state budget.
No new funding for the Games was announced in the state budget. The only reference to the Commonwealth Games in the federal budget is a note under a section titled “statement of risks”.
This relates to a written guarantee provided by the previous federal government to the Commonwealth Games Federation to provide immigration,security and other government services required to bring athletes and officials to Australia.
“The Australian government has provided guarantees for the Victorian government’s hosting of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria,” the note read. “The financial implications of this support are not quantifiable at this time.”
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Victoria’s unilateral approach towards securing the Games is in stark contrast to the protracted discussions Queensland’s Labor government had with the federal government in the lead-up to and months afterBrisbane’s successful 2032 Olympic bid.
On the day Brisbane was confirmed as host city,Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and senior International Olympic Committee officials said one of the strengths of the bid was the support it had from all levels of government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced in February that his government would contribute $3.4 billion towards the estimated $7 billion cost of preparing for and staging the Olympics.