Daniel Andrews blasted after 2026 Commonwealth Games dumped due to soaring costs
Victorian taxpayers face a compensation bill of tens of millions of dollars after Daniel Andrews dumped the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Victorian taxpayers face a compensation bill of tens of millions of dollars after Daniel Andrews dumped the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as officials in London and Australia claimed they were blindsided and accused the Premier of grossly exaggerating the cost of the event.
In a shock announcement on Tuesday, after months of questions about his state’s preparedness for the games, Mr Andrews claimed the final cost of the sporting gala could have been as high as $7bn despite his government estimating they would cost $2.6bn before Labor’s state election victory late last year.
The nation’s sporting establishment – from Australia’s most decorated Olympian Emma McKeon to former Olympics boss John Coates – expressed their disappointment in Mr Andrews’ decision, with Mr Coates calling the move an embarrassment for the country.
The Commonwealth Games Federation in London was in crisis meetings on Tuesday to secure the future of the games and its lawyers were poring over the contract with Victoria’s Labor government.
Lawyers were looking at whether the Victorian government could be liable not only for the costs already incurred, but for substantial damages, and also the additional costs incurred by a future Games host because of the short preparation time.
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CGF chief executive Katie Sadleir, who is also on the board of the 2026 organising committee, told The Australian on Tuesday night (AEST) that “of course the Commonwealth Games will continue”. She claimed some other Australian states had already been in touch about hosting the event, while the organisation was getting “strong” support from other Commonwealth nations.
Mr Andrews’ counterparts in other states were quick on Tuesday to rule out bidding to take on the 2026 contract, putting the nation’s relationship with the Commonwealth Games in question.
“We are working through steps to reach a (financial) settlement (with the Victorian government) and regroup,” Ms Sadleir said. “We have great supporters of the Commonwealth movement, and already other cities have come to us. It is such early stage, the board will sit down and look all options, but this week is getting to a good state in regard to the exit agreement with Victoria.”
A defiant Mr Andrews claimed the games had to be axed because the costs had jumped to between $6bn and $7bn, fuelled by the bill for running events in five key community centres up to two hours’ drive from Melbourne.
“I’ve made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job,” Mr Andrews said. “This is not one of them. Frankly, $6bn (or) $7bn for a sporting event, we are not doing that. That does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit.”
Mr Andrews said the $2.6bn initial estimate had been too low. “It is in fact at least $6bn and could be as high as $7bn and I cannot stand here and say to you that I have any confidence that even that $7bn number would appropriately and adequately fund these games.”
But Ms Sadleir said the federation was “absolutely blindsided’ and the last board meeting in April was shown a budget submission that bore no resemblance to the figures now quoted by the Victorian government.
She said the federation had not been consulted about the escalating costs claimed by the government, nor offered any chance to tweak or finetune plans.
“To find out with eight hours notice a decision made like this with no ability for the board, no opportunity or debate or ability to look at options, it is very difficult to express in words,’’ she said.
“We are in shock, it is incredibly disappointing … there has not been a lot of time to get our heads lined up about the implications, but it is really disappointing for aspiring athletes and our organising teams, they were well advanced in planning and preparation.’’
The 2026 Games would have been the first for King Charles and Queen Camilla since acceding to the throne, and the Games patron is Edward, Prince of Edinburgh.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said: “This is something we would not comment on”.
Ms Sadleir said the federation only required two sports to be on the Commonwealth Games program, swimming and athletics, with all others being at the option of the host. She said Victorian officials had arrived at her office in late 2021 saying how excited they were to have a unique games, with the regional concept, because the federation’s new flexible guidelines allowed that to happen.
She said the number of sports and the containment of costs not directly associated with the Games – such as housing and improving facilities, were decisions for the Victorian government.
The timing was also unexpected by games officials, given the success of the Birmingham Games which came in $115m under its $1.5bn taxpayer budget.
Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips said the backflip could imperil the state’s global reputation as a sporting event location as Australian officials tried desperately, but without apparent success, to entice another state to bid for the games.
The decision was condemned across the sporting community on Tuesday with Mr Coates declaring the state should not have bidded for the games.
‘’This is a terrible embarrassment to Australian sport,’’ he said.
Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto said the decision was a “con” while a series of athletes condemned the move, arguing they had been let down by a government that claimed it only knew of the cost increases in the past few months.
Mr Phillips accused the government of letting down athletes, fans and Indigenous Australians, claiming Labor had backed the flawed idea of an effectively regional-only series of events.
“It’s a comprehensive letdown for the athletes, the excited host communities, First Nations Australians who were at the heart of the Games, and the millions of fans that would have embraced a sixth home Games in Australia,” he said.
“The stated costs overrun, in our opinion, (is) a gross exaggeration and not reflective of the operational costs presented to the Victoria 2026 Organising Committee board as recently as June
“Beyond this, the Victorian government wilfully ignored recommendations to move events to purpose-built stadia in Melbourne and in fact remained wedded to proceeding with expensive temporary venues in regional Victoria.”
Anthony Albanese distanced himself from the decision, referring questions to Victoria.
Mr Andrews said the funds allocated for the games would be redirected to a $2bn regional package to funnel into sporting grounds, facilities, tourism and social and affordable housing.
But Mr Coates warned: “We shouldn’t be bidding for events unless we know that we have the necessary commitments and support of the various governments.
“And unless the business case stacks up, clearly though from what Daniel Andrews is telling us now, it didn’t.”
The games were planned to be spread across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton in March 2026, away from Melbourne, where some of the world’s best sporting facilities are located. Mayors had objected to the infrastructure required to host the Games in the regional centres. The games were to be run in three of Labor’s most crucial regional areas, in and around the cities of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Glynis Nunn said the Andrews government had taken a dream away from young athletes “hoping to compete in front of their country before the (Brisbane) Olympic and Paralympic Games”.
“It is rare you get to see the Commonwealth, Paralympics and Olympics in your home country and Australia has a great history of that. Now (Victorian premier Dan Andrews) has blown that all up which is disappointing,” she said.
Dave Culbert, sports marketer and former Commonwealth Games employee, maintained there is still value in the event despite the Victorian government’s decision to dump it.
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