Andrew Bolt: Albanese government should distance itself form Daniel Andrew’s 2026 Commonwealth Games disaster

What message does it send when Albanese government ministers parrot Daniel Andrews’ deceitful excuse for welshing on a deal and cancelling the Commonwealth Games?

A warning to the Albanese government: don’t keep defending Daniel Andrews and his Commonwealth Games fiasco. It makes you look just as dishonest and as incompetent as Andrews, who is unfit to be Victoria’s Premier.

Example: Clare O’Neil, the federal Home Affairs Minister.

On Wednesday, O’Neil repeated Andrews’ deceitful excuse for cancelling the 2026 Games a year after agreeing to hold it.

She babbled how he’d explained the costs of his Games had suddenly blown out to $7bn: “It was going to be catastrophically expensive and he didn’t feel he could justify that to the taxpayers.”

In fact, Andrews should now resign or be sacked.

Whether you think he was right or wrong to cancel, making Victoria a sovereign risk and Australia an international joke, he’s proved he’s a financial dunce, and probably a hoaxer.

Daniel Andrews and Anthony Albanese at the Victorian Labor Party conference. Picture: David Crosling

Andrews took on the Games claiming they’d cost just $2.6bn, despite his grandiose plan to hold them not in Melbourne, where facilities are ready, but in five regional centres, where they are not.

That was clearly a political stunt to win regional seats at last year’s election.

Andrews stuck to that price tag in his state Budget just eight weeks ago, but – surprise! – now says the cost is more like $7bn.

But he hasn’t backed that costing with evidence, and the Australian Commonwealth Games Foundation says it’s “grossly exaggerated” by a factor of at least two.

So here are the only three options in judging Andrews.

One: he’s so financially incompetent that he yet again massively underestimated the cost of a project. Andrews also promised his Suburban Rail Loop, for example, would cost just $50bn, but it’s now estimated at $125bn – if it ever gets finished.

Two: Andrews is so financially incompetent that he really did let costs explode to $7bn, when last year’s Birmingham Games cost just $1.8bn.

Three: he’s lying when claiming these Games would cost $7bn.

Oh, and he’s run out of money.

This disaster confirms Andrews is a menace to public finances.

Victoria already has the lowest credit rating of any state, and a debt about to top that of NSW and Queensland combined.

If he had standards, he’d resign in shame. If his MPs had guts, they’d sack him.

So what does it say when Albanese government ministers defend the Premier of a busted-arse state who’s told the world Australia welshes on its deals?