An interim report has found Victoria’s ambitions to host the Commonwealth Games were beleaguered with underestimations of costs and negotiation timeframes that were too short. However, the inquiry says executive privilege roadblocks are getting in the way of forming a clearer picture of key decisions.
The report made 23 findings; chief among them was that the plan to host the games across parts of regional Victoria led to significant operational cost increases, which saw the cost of the endeavour being seriously underestimated.
What’s more, desktop research undertaken to develop Victoria’s business case for the games did not provide enough information to properly calculate the potential infrastructure costs associated with hosting the event.
The business case was prepared by Ernst & Young (EY) consultants for the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions in December 2021. A final business case was handed over to the department three months later.
“The committee found the Department put limitations on the consultants including an unreasonably short timeframe and strict confidentiality conditions,” Limbrick said in the interim report.
“As a result, there was little time to verify costings and an inability to consult with key stakeholders. These factors contributed to an underestimation of the costings.”
The Legislative Council select committee report into the handling of the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games was tabled on Tuesday (April 30).
The Victorian government terminated its contract to hold the Commonwealth Games on the watch of former premier Daniel Andrews last July.
Had the event gone ahead, it would have been Victoria’s first major multi-sport event across five host cities.
In a statement, committee chair David Limbrick said that had the state government taken the time to better negotiate with the Commonwealth Games Federation, it may never have decided that hosting the sporting event was a good idea.
“This would have prevented the loss of over half a billion taxpayer dollars,” Limbrick said.
“[The inquiry also found] the tight timeframe did not allow for appropriate consideration of the costs, benefits, and risks of hosting a large, complex, multi-city event and contributed to an underestimation of the costs,” the interim report read.
While the inquiry is still underway, the nine-member committee has concluded that avenues to obtain documents relevant to its inquiry, for which the government has made a claim of executive privilege, have been exhausted.
Limbrick said the inquiry examining potential failures in governance, the advice received by the state government, and the potential of undue influence by the executive was hampered by a lack of access to key documents.
In particular, the inquiry called out three departments for holding on to documents relating to ministerial briefings concerning the proposal to host the Commonwealth Games. These include Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions; Premier and Cabinet; and Treasury and Finance.
“The government is accountable to the parliament and, through the parliament, to the people of Victoria. It should not set the conditions by which it is held to account,” Limbrick said.
“The government has not provided the committee with much of the information it has requested and summonsed.
“In declining to provide this information it has cited a self-defined classification of executive privilege that is so broad it has covered all but a few of the documents the committee has asked for.”
A final report is due in April 2025.
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