True cost of cancelled VIC Commonwealth Games remains unknown
The Victorian Premier is moving on from the Commonwealth Games debacle, saying the matter is settled and the government's focus is on delivering other projects such as the new Footscray Hospital. But while the $380 million Games cancellation fee is a done deal. The true cost of how much the government spent on the 12-day sporting event that'll never see the light of day remains unknown.
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00:00 On top of Footscray's burgeoning new hospital, Daniel Andrews is playing down the $380 million
00:08 Commonwealth Games break fee.
00:10 It's so pleasing that we've been able to have a good faith negotiation and we've been
00:14 able to close these matters out, no further claims, no further litigation, this matter
00:18 is now closed out and settled.
00:20 But why the government relied on figures that were badly wronged to secure the Games is
00:24 far from settled.
00:26 The original business case estimated its budget based on the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the
00:31 Gold Coast, despite the plan for multiple host cities across regional Victoria.
00:36 It states tight timeframes had not permitted a more robust bottom-up approach to determining
00:41 the actual cost because key elements of Games planning were not yet understood.
00:46 Daniel Andrews describes this $380 million settlement as a good deal for Victoria.
00:52 I'd really hate to see a bad deal.
00:54 The true cost of the Games we will never see is still unknown when planning, staff and
00:59 legal costs for pulling the plug on the 12-day event are factored in, on top of the eye-watering
01:04 compensation bill.
01:06 When these matters are finalised then we'll have more to say.
01:09 We're going to pursue the truth no matter what Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allen try
01:12 to do to stop the truth coming out.
01:15 These will be a Commonwealth Games like no other.
01:17 But unlike the doomed Games announced in 2022, factors such as the war in Ukraine, interest
01:22 rate hikes and so-called hyper-escalation of cost pressures haven't impacted the delivery
01:28 of the $1.5 billion Footscray Hospital pledged in 2018.
01:33 This project is on track, it's on budget, it's a fantastic example of doing something
01:37 really big and significant and getting it done well.
01:41 Seeing one project to fruition while walking away from another.
01:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]