States Withdraw from Comm Games Bids After Perth Mayor’s Bold Decision

Victoria Premier Dan Andrews has faced a grilling from the media following Tuesday’s announcement the state would withdraw from hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

Meanwhile, other states have publicly declared they won’t bid to host the Games due to the prohibitive cost.

Perth mayor Basil Zempilas said on Triple M it was a “huge opportunity to swoop in” and host the event, but only at the right price.

“What WA should be in a position to do in the next few days is say to the Commonwealth Games committee, ‘here’s the venues we’ve got, we’re not spending $7 billion,’” he said.

“You make your Commonwealth Games fit the venues we’ve got.”

But Western Australia Premier Roger Cook has quickly ruled that out, calling the event “ruinously expensive” after Andrews said the expected cost for Victoria to host the games had blown out from $2.6 billion to $6 or $7b.

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Cook said: “Our analysis was consistent with the Victorian government analysis that this would cost a significant amount of money and provide very little return on that investment, providing a highly expensive sugar hit of a 12-day sporting festival.

“What I want to see in Western Australia is a continued investment in our schools and our hospitals, making sure we make Western Australia a great place to live.”

South Australia has also ruled out hosting the event.

A SA government spokesman said the decision will be “deeply disappointing for athletes and supporters of the Commonwealth Games” but the benefits do not outweigh the costs.

“Successive governments, both Liberal and Labor, have considered hosting the games and determined the cost would outweigh the economic benefit,” he said.

“The previous state government conducted independent financial analysis on hosting the multi-sport competition, it was determined the event would cost $3.5bn, with the economic benefit only amounting to $1.2bn.”

The South Australian opposition supported that call, with opposition leader David Speirs saying: “The former Liberal government did a detailed cost-benefit analysis which showed that hosting the games simply didn’t stack up economically.”

Australia’s Men’s hockey team celebrates gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

ANDREWS GRILLED OVER BACKFLIP

Victoria was awarded hosting rights for the event in April 2022, with Andrews declaring at the time the event “will be the Regional Victoria games” and promising significant legacy benefits to rural areas.

It was budgeted to cost $2.6 billion, but Andrews announced on Tuesday that the state had withdrawn from hosting the event after new estimates showed it would cost ‘at least $6 billion’ and perhaps over $7 billion.

Andrews said: “$6-7 billion is well and truly too much for a 12 day sporting event. I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost is estimated and budgeted for last year.”

He added: “We don’t just make popular decisions, we do what’s right, and it would simply be wrong to push forward.”

The Premier revealed the state had informed the Commonwealth Games organisation as well as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the decision.

But he was repeatedly questioned at Tuesday’s press conference about the cost the state would bear for breaking their contract with the Games, leading to an emphatic reaction.

After being repeatedly asked about the cost of breaking the contract, he said firmly: “As I’ve just said three times now, I am not here to speculate so I’m not going to.

“Really, really clearly, I’m not here today (to answer that), I’m just not and I don’t know how many times, I will keep doing it but I’m just really clear with you, it is not appropriate and it is against the interest of taxpayers for me to speculate and conduct a negotiation with people on the other side of the world at a press conference here today.

“As I’ve said to you, there will be a full accounting for this but today is not the day for that not because it is poor process but it is also, it is not certain. It isn’t done yet. When it is done we will be only too happy to take you through the detail of that.”

Andrews earlier said that the decision was relatively straightforward: “Look, I’ve made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job. This is not one of them.

“Frankly, six, seven billion for a sporting event, we are not doing that. That does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit.”

It was set to be the third time Australia had hosted the Games in the last two decades – after the Gold Coast 2018 and Melbourne 2006.

Netball star Ash Brazill of Australia with Assistant Coach Nicole Richardson (R) celebrate their gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.Source: The Australian

The Victorian government has previously claimed the Games, which would be hosted by hubs in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland, would bring in an estimated $3 billion and up to 300,000 visitors to regional areas.

But the state government is currently battling debts which are forecast to reach $171.4 billion by June 2027, according to the state budget from May.

Andrews said the government had ‘looked at every option’ to host the games, after being asked why the state would not simply move the Games to Melbourne.

“We have looked at Melbourne, we have looked at less sports, we have looked at less campuses, we have looked at every conceivable option.

“All of them are far in excess of the $2.6 billion that’s been budgeted, so all of them represent more cost than there is benefit, and on that basis none of those options stack up and we’re not going to be hosting the games in 2026.”

Andrews announced that a package over $2 billion would instead be spent on regional areas that goes beyond sport, including $1 billion on social and affordable housing with 1300 new homes.

He said: “Today we are announcing a regional package of over $2 billion and there are a number of features to that. First and foremost, each and every one of the permanent sporting facilities that were to be legacy benefits from the games will be built.”

Andrews was also grilled over whether the decision was influenced by the Commonwealth government, which was expected to pay for half the cost of hosting the games but was not budgeted in this year’s Federal budget in May.

The Premier hit back, declaring that speculation over a split with the Federal government over funding was ‘just not right’.

“Again,” he said, “I’m not here to make announcements on behalf of the Commonwealth but to go down that track is just not right. The Commonwealth does make decisions made or not made have had nothing to do with this.”