Victoria says no to the Commonwealth Games

[David]

[What'sinaname]

Let's just see what the exit cost is before we celebrate. And when he says he wont discuss it, you know it's going to have lots of zeros in it.

He's happily thrown away $1bn for no east-west tunnel.

[stui magpie]

IIRC Victoria was basically "asked" to take the games after whoever was supposed to be hosting them either pulled out or had them taken off them.

I assume there will be an exit fee and whoever agrees to take them on will be doing so at pretty short notice to get Infrastructure up to speed.

What sort of budgetting process do this mob have that they can suddenly realise that the cost is going to be triple what they originally budgetted for?

[What'sinaname]

Makes you realise how much the construction industry exploit this Labor Government. The finally put forward a bill that even Dan had to say no to.

The last Comm Games cost $1.5b in 2022. Not sure how this one can cost $6b+

As for budgetting process - the same as the one used for the Big Build.

[Dark Beanie]

WA and SA have said they will not take on the Commonwealth Games.
Too expensive and too little return.

Its not just construction that costs, it's also all the running costs for the two weeks.

As an event, I think the Commonwealth Games is a goner.
Unlike the Olympics where you have countries like USA, China, Germany etc. competing, the Commonwealth Games is basically smaller countries with less money.

[swoop42]

Care factor zero.

[What'sinaname]

A decision made after zero consultation and using facts that no-one else supports.

[David]

[What'sinaname]

^ yes, but it is an opportunity for elite athletes in sports like swimming, hockey, basketball and athletics to represent their country in front of family and friends for a change given most elite sporting comps are overseas.

I'm not saying we should be finding this, but pulling the rug out from under them at the 11th hour is a cnut move in any language.

[stui magpie]

That's not to say that Andrews is blameless here. It was dumb of him to say yes in the first place, and clearly this doesn't reflect well on his government's economic management. But I'd rather he admit defeat and jettison the event now than dig his heels in and leave the state worse off in the long run. It's not necessarily a bad trait for a political leader to be able to change their mind.

I agree that it's a good trait for a political leader to be able to change their position if they get new information, but something smells wrong with this.

Bit over 12 months ago it was going to cost $2B, now suddenly it's going to cost over $6B? Doesn't add up unless they did a woeful job in calculating the costs in the first place, no way the cost could triple in that short space of time.

[David]

^ yes, but it is an opportunity for elite athletes in sports like swimming, hockey, basketball and athletics to represent their country in front of family and friends for a change given most elite sporting comps are overseas.

I'm not saying we should be finding this, but pulling the rug out from under them at the 11th hour is a cnut move in any language.

That's a fair point, but wouldn't the 11th hour be, like, 2025? Considering it's still three years out and Victoria only signed up twelve months ago, it doesn't seem like we're exactly at the point of no return. It'll be more of a scramble, sure, but I have no doubt that there'll be some city somewhere in the former British Empire champing at the bit to get it (and if not, maybe that says something all we need to know about what a poisoned chalice this really is).

Most of that lead-in period is needed to build infrastructure. But why is that even necessary here? Surely there are a few recent hosts that already have most of the facilities built and ready to go? It's astounding to me how these events manage to take over cities and slurp up outrageous amounts of money on stadiums and living facilities that immediately become ghost towns for years after a two-week event. Rather than sending that travelling circus around the world and leaving a trail of carnage in a new city every four years, maybe there could be a bit more of a rotating roster (with the one designated city in each country/region hosting it every 12 to 16 years or so).

[Jezza]

Another example of Andrews’ poor leadership and judgment. If you couldn’t afford it, why offer to host it in the first place?

I assume there will be costs incurred for terminating the contract which will be funded by the taxpayer, and the further reputation damage it does to Victoria as the events capital of the world will only be amplified not long after the longest lockdowns in the world

How does it cost $6B-7B to host the games when it only cost Birmingham $1.5B? The projected cost blow-outs need to be explained.

If Andrews really cared about fiscal responsibility, he'd scrap the SRL in a heartbeat.

[stui magpie]

@Jezza, my view is that the $6B cost is BS, they got the numbers that the economy is in even worse shape than reported and needed to cut money somewhere.

@David, It was Andrews idea to take the games to Regional Victoria and build all the infrastructure (that he's promised now to build anyway) rather than use existing infrastructure in Melbourne. The Athletes Villages that would have been built in regional areas were intended to be repurposed afterward as emergency housing for homeless people and those on public housing waiting lists.

Olympic Village in Heidelberg West was built in the 50's for the 56 Olympics and then became a public housing slum.

[eddiesmith]

That's not to say that Andrews is blameless here. It was dumb of him to say yes in the first place, and clearly this doesn't reflect well on his government's economic management. But I'd rather he admit defeat and jettison the event now than dig his heels in and leave the state worse off in the long run. It's not necessarily a bad trait for a political leader to be able to change their mind.

I agree that it's a good trait for a political leader to be able to change their position if they get new information, but something smells wrong with this.

Bit over 12 months ago it was going to cost $2B, now suddenly it's going to cost over $6B? Doesn't add up unless they did a woeful job in calculating the costs in the first place, no way the cost could triple in that short space of time.

1 month ago it was 2.6 billion in the budget and the official CG organising committee was told the same. How can it blow out to 6-7 billion in 1 month? The figure is complete and utter bullshit and Dan has decided to cancel to gain something from the Greens likely and he has made up a figure to justify his decision.

Plus it’s hard to believe it’s a budget emergency given they’ll spend the money on the same infrastructure anyway but just without any benefits in return.

[eddiesmith]

^ yes, but it is an opportunity for elite athletes in sports like swimming, hockey, basketball and athletics to represent their country in front of family and friends for a change given most elite sporting comps are overseas.

I'm not saying we should be finding this, but pulling the rug out from under them at the 11th hour is a cnut move in any language.

That's a fair point, but wouldn't the 11th hour be, like, 2025? Considering it's still three years out and Victoria only signed up twelve months ago, it doesn't seem like we're exactly at the point of no return. It'll be more of a scramble, sure, but I have no doubt that there'll be some city somewhere in the former British Empire champing at the bit to get it (and if not, maybe that says something all we need to know about what a poisoned chalice this really is).

Most of that lead-in period is needed to build infrastructure. But why is that even necessary here? Surely there are a few recent hosts that already have most of the facilities built and ready to go? It's astounding to me how these events manage to take over cities and slurp up outrageous amounts of money on stadiums and living facilities that immediately become ghost towns for years after a two-week event. Rather than sending that travelling circus around the world and leaving a trail of carnage in a new city every four years, maybe there could be a bit more of a rotating roster (with the one designated city in each country/region hosting it every 12 to 16 years or so).

So apparently the always truthful Dan Andrews has said it would still cost $4 billion to host it in Melbourne despite all the infrastructure already being there…