Top sporting officials along with representatives from Ernst and Young (EY), the consulting firm which carried out the costings for the Games, have appeared before the committee this morning.
The inquiry was originally set up by a Senate committee to assess Australia’s preparedness to host future Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Games were slated to be held from March 17-29 in 2026, across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
Work had started formally in September last year, with pre-tender processes commencing in March this year.
He was also asked to appear today, but declined.
EY partners Dean Yates and Leigh Walker were grilled when they fronted the federal inquiry.
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie led the questioning and quizzed the pair on whether they helped create the economic impact analysis as part of the event’s business case.
Both Yates and Walker told the inquiry EY had confidentiality obligations regarding the disclose of its business case, saying they were unable to provide information that isn’t already in the public domain.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson continued to probe the pair, pointing to a figure in the business case – which stated the federal government would give the state government $205 million to $215 million for the Games.
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“Did the assumption have any basis of fact?” Henderson asked.
“You are the one preparing the business case, don’t you scrutinise the assumptions to be given?
“Do you ask the question ‘was this a committed amount’ or ‘on what basis are we assuming that we will receive $205 million as a worst case and $215 million as a best case from the federal government?’
“You just take that as face value. You don’t query it, you don’t question it?”
Walker replied that they were unable to answer the question, “as it might reveal information that’s part of cabinet in-confidence”.
“Oh, that’s just rubbish… That is just an absolute cop-out,” Henderson said.
Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips also fronted the inquiry, where he claimed there was no attempt made to change the state government’s mind to cancel the Games.
“It was clear by the premier’s announcement on the day, that (it) didn’t seem to be an option on the table,” Phillips told the inquiry.
“When it was announced in April last year, the 2026 home games was universally acknowledged as an accelerator for Brisbane 2032 Games and we remain committed to that outcome,” Houston said.
