Allan gets gold medal for denial

If there were a Commonwealth Games gold medal for hiding reality, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan would be on top of the podium. How else to explain the stark difference between what she told a parliamentary committee about the “tremendous progress” being made on Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games bid and what she was being told by those charged with delivering what Daniel Andrews had promised? As Victoria editor Damon Johnston reports on Wednesday, a secret rescue plan to save the Games by slashing $168m in costs – by cutting sports and axing a regional village – was prepared for Ms Allan on April 15. The letter reveals the extent of disarray the bid was in and the frantic efforts being made to save it. But two months after receiving the letter, Ms Allan was still telling the public everything was on track. A parliamentary committee was told on Monday that, as the responsible minister, Ms Allan was getting regular updates on the dire state of the bid, which was running significantly over its $2.6bn budget.

In April, a series of options was put to cut events and take the Games out of the regions and back to Melbourne. This was unpalatable for the Andrews government, which had used the decentralisation of the sporting event as a key part of its re-election strategy. Two things are now clear. First, the Games bid was made prematurely for political reasons, without proper due diligence. Second, Ms Allan was not as transparent as she should have been with voters when the Games bid turned bad.

Months after it was clear that the Games budget had been blown, Ms Allan told a parliamentary committee on June 13 she was “delighted to have the ­opportunity to talk to you today about the tremendous progress that we are making to support Victoria, and indeed regional Victoria, to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games”.

She predicted the Games would be a “roaring success” and already were making history. Weeks later, on July 18, Mr Andrews cancelled the Games amid fears costs could soar to $7bn. The decision to cancel the Games diminished the reputation of Victoria and the nation internationally, and has cost state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.

Ms Allan is not expected to co-operate with the parliamentary inquiry but must be called on to explain herself. The fiasco has followed Ms Allan from Commonwealth Games delivery minister to Premier and has undermined the start of her time as leader. She must demonstrate that she has learned the lessons of the Games’ failure and, as Premier, will not repeat the wasteful ways of her previous endeavours.