"I'm not here to apologise": Dan Andrews fires up as Comm Games is scrapped
Dan Andrews has fired up at disappointed journalists after making the shock announcement that the 2026 Commonwealth Games would be cancelled.
The Victorian premier shocked the nation with the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday, saying the event would not go ahead due to funding issues.
He said the government had considered “every conceivable option” to still hold the games, but new budgets revealed the event, which was originally tipped to cost $2.6 billion, would likely blow out the budget to $7 billion.
“I’m not here to apologise for not spending $7bn to deliver an event,” he said.
“It’s about, do you deliver it at any cost or not? And the answer is we’re not.”
Journalists then quizzed Andrews on what the cost of abandoning the event would be, which he refused to answer but assured the costs would be “fully accounted for” at a later date.
While he said he would not “speculate” on discussions, he confirmed “very little costs had been incurred to this point”.
Regional Victoria were awarded the rights to host the 2026 event last year after no other countries in the Commonwealth Games Federation volunteered.
The Games were set to be held from March 17th to 29th in the regional towns of Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
Andrews went on to say the state could benefit much more from allocating the hefty multi-billion budget to other areas.
“Today it’s not about finding fault with those cost estimates,” Mr Andrews said.
“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost as estimated and budgeted for last year.”
Mr Andrews said he had informed the Commonwealth Games authorities the state would seek to terminate the contract and said the subsequent meetings had been “amicable and productive”.
In lieu of the Games, Mr Andrews announced the government would deliver the legacy benefits of the “housing, sporting infrastructure and tourism” benefits through other policies, using funds from the allocated $2.6 billion budget.
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