Victoria’s former Covid and Commonwealth Games chief Jeroen Weimar stays on with govt

Victoria’s former Covid response commander and failed Commonwealth Games chief Jeroen Weimar has had his current, plum $533,000 a year Victorian government gig extended.

Jeroen Weimar promising that an athletes’ village in Geelong would be converted into affordable housing after the Commonwealth Games finished, but they ended before they began.

Victoria’s former Covid response commander and failed Commonwealth Games chief Jeroen Weimar has had his current plum Victorian government gig extended.

A state government spokesperson on Friday confirmed Mr Weimar would continue in his role as deputy secretary of Housing Statement implementation for another six months.

The Herald Sun reported in February the position — leading the rollout of the government’s much-vaunted Housing Statement reforms — came with a pay packet of up to $533,000 a year.

Jeroen Weimar announcing the Commonwealth Games will be held in Victoria in 2026. Picture: David Geraghty

Jeroen Weimar as Covid commander, inside a vaccine bus at the Monash Civic Centre. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

“Jeroen has played a significant role in driving momentum across government to deliver our Housing Statement reforms, getting more homes built faster right across Victoria,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Weimar first shot to public prominence in 2020 when he was made the state’s Covid-19 response commander, before leading the state’s bungled 2026 Commonwealth Games.

He was then charged with leading delivery of former Premier Dan Andrew’s Housing Statement, in what was initially a six-month appointment.

That appointment has now been pushed out another six months.

The Housing Statement includes plans for 800,000 new homes to be built over a decade across Victoria by streamlining planning and encouraging density in suburbs with good existing services.