Peter Beattie, who chaired the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, has warned the contract will be “tough” for Victoria to get out of.
The final cost of the state government’s stunning backflip on the 2026 games is yet to be known, but Beattie warned there could be stringent conditions.
“You have to remember that the Commonwealth Games Federation does this every four years. They do it on a regular basis with a tight contract and the contract will be difficult to get out of,” Beattie told Today.
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He said he recalled that Queensland would have had to pay about $1 billion had it reneged on its commitment to the 2018 games.
And the Victorian government is also standing by its funding commitment of $2.6 billion to the regions for infrastructure upgrades.
Premier Daniel Andrews revealed the shock decision yesterday, claiming the budgeted $2.6 billion cost of hosting the games at a number of regional centres, had blown out to $6 billion and could have reached $7 billion.
“Last year when the Commonwealth Games Authorities approached us, needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out,” Andrews said.
“But, of course, not at any price and only if there was lasting benefit.”
However, the government’s decision has been blasted as “humiliating” by critics.
The Commonwealth Games Federation said $6 billion was “50 per cent more than those advised to the Organising Committee board at its meeting in June”.
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A statement from the federation has further said the government had increased costs of the plans against its advice.
”Since awarding Victoria the Games, the Government has made decisions to include more sports and an additional regional hub, and changed plans for venues, all of which have added considerable expense, often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA).”
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The federation has said it was only given eight hours’ notice of the decision and until then had been advised the government had the funds to host the games.
Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips said his organisation also had not been consulted about the “gross exaggeration” of costs revealed by the government, claiming he only learned of the decision at 8am yesterday.
The cost of the Birmingham Games in 2022 was $1.5 billion, alongside $2 billion for the Gold Coast Games and just $1 billion for the Glasgow Games.
There are fears Victoria’s retreat could mean the Games are not held for the first time since WWII, with all other Australian states and territories ruling out a late bid, along with New Zealand.
Beattie suggested that Western Australia had the “deepest pockets” if it could be persuaded to keep the Games down under.
If not, he said the logical decision was for the games to return to Birmingham, where the infrastructure was already in place.
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