VicSport’s submission to Commonwealth Games parliamentary inquiry slams Daniel Andrews’ ‘dismissive’ tone

An explosive submission from a community sporting body that represents 16,000 clubs and associations has taken aim at ex-Premier Daniel Andrews.

Victoria’s peak community sporting body has demanded the state government come clean on its decision to axe the Commonwealth Games.

In an explosive submission to the parliament’s inquiry into the cancellation of the 2026 event, the VicSport board has accused the government of underplaying the negative impacts of the decision.

It has also criticised the way in which Daniel Andrews notified the body of that decision.

“The tone of the cancellation notice was disappointing,” the board said.“To be told by the Premier that ‘It was not a hard decision’ to take the drastic step of cancelling the Games was dismissive of the many athletes, coaches, administrators and volunteers who have been working hard to maximise the benefits of a home event and minimise the social, and economic impact that sport and the Commonwealth Games would, and does, generate. To be clear, the negative impacts of the cancellation are many, significant and tangible.”

The VicSport board has accused the government of underplaying the negative impacts of the decision. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

VicSport represents 16,000 clubs and associations and more than 3.9 million participants.

The submission – made public on Thursday – demanded increased transparency over government deliberations.

In particular, it called for “a detailed explanation as to why the event cannot be moved to metropolitan Melbourne where most facilities already exist”.

“There is widespread lack of comprehension as to why the Games could not be hosted at several well-equipped, world- class sporting venues in and around Melbourne requiring little infrastructure spend, therefore coming close to, or within, the original budget,” the submission said.

“Clearly, Victorian – and, indeed, Australian – sport would have welcomed such a move.”

The 2026 Commonwealth Games were due to be held in regional Victoria. Picture: Supplied

The government announced it was cancelling the event in July, saying estimated costs had blown out from $2.6bn to $7bn. Instead, it said $2bn would be pumped into regional Victoria to fund housing and sporting initiatives.

But VicSport questioned the investment.

“These infrastructure developments are not necessarily linked to community-level participation in sport, and, therefore, will have limited community benefit in terms of sport participation,” the submission said.

“This is because it is of little use having new and upgraded facilities without participants to see them and volunteers to run the activities.

“New and upgraded facilities – without participants to use them and volunteers to run the activities – will not provide an adequate return on this investment and will not have community support.”

The submission also warned the impact of the reputational damage to Victoria as a preferred destination for sporting events must be acknowledged and acted upon.

The Gold Coast is pushing to salvage the Games, saying it could host the event for just $50m more than the $600m Victorians have paid, including a $380m bill to exit the contract and cancel the event.

The opposition’s tourism, sport and events spokesman, Sam Groth, said the submission was “another damning assessment of the $600m Commonwealth Games debacle”.

“It shows how badly Jacinta Allan bungled the Commonwealth Games and her complete disregard for local sporting organisations, athletes, coaches and volunteers,” he said.

“Her decision to cancel the Games without any consultation has caused untold damage to our reputation as a destin­ation to host major events.”

Steve Dimpopoulos is stading by Daniel Andrews’ handling of the announcement to axe the Commonwealth Games. Picture: Nicky Connolly

On Friday Steve Dimpopoulos stood by the former premier’s handling of the announcement and spruiked the government’s investment in regional sporting infrastructure.

Mr Dimopoulos said VicSport had misconstrued what the former premier meant when he said cancelling the Games wasn’t a difficult decision.

“It’s pretty obvious what the former premier meant, which is what the current government stands by, which is when you face a $6bn to $7bn budget for a 12-day sporting event, it’s just not viable for the taxpayer,” he said.

He also denied that the government’s regional sporting upgrades would have a limited community benefit in terms of sport participation, saying consultations with communities were under way.

“I disagree... we’ve spent $1.9bn over the last eight and a half years of our government on community, sport and recreation,” he said.

“We are now in the midst of consulting with those same communities around that sporting infrastructure that we’ve committed to as a legacy from the Commonwealth Games.”

Ms Allan, who was the minister responsible for the Games before becoming Premier, has repeatedly resisted calls to appear before the inquiry.

It will ­resume hearings next week.