Wednesday, 4 October 2023

Commonwealth Games

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): My question is to the Premier. On 13 June the Premier told the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee in relation to the 2026 Commonwealth Games:

On 17 March 2026 there will be 7000 athletes and officials from around 70 nations coming to regional Victoria to mark the 23rd Commonwealth Games.

As proven in secret documents, the government was already taking steps to scrap the games as early as early June. Will the Premier admit that she misled Victorians?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Sunbury is warned.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:15): To be clear, the decision that the government took to not proceed with a 12-day sporting event because it was going to cost between $6 billion and $7 billion is a position that has bipartisan support from the Leader of the Opposition. As has been said, in the weeks leading up to the announcement of the decision, as the estimates were becoming actual costs, as those figures were becoming actuals, the consideration of options was looked at across government, and the final decision was taken on 17 July and announced on 18 July.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Berwick is warned.

Peter Walsh: On a point of order, on the issue of relevance, Speaker, the minister – the Premier now – was out spruiking the Commonwealth Games while they were planning to scrap it. The question was: did she mislead Victorians in doing that? I ask you to bring her back to actually answering that question, please.

The SPEAKER: Order! As I reminded members yesterday, a point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: The allegation that has been put in both the question and the point of order from the Leader of the National Party is wrong. It is wrong. We have made it very clear that in the weeks leading up to the decision that was taken on 17 July, those costs were materialising. Quite simply, the decision that has been taken to put investment into housing, the investment into the legacy reasons why we agreed to host the games in the first place – a decision at that point in time that was supported by the opposition; the decision to not proceed with the games was supported by the opposition – we are proceeding with that investment in housing, community sport and tourism and major events but particularly in housing, because that is the most important issue that we are facing, not just in the cities but also in the regions.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): In her evidence to the committee on 13 June, the Premier also stated:

… there are people training now to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria in March 2026.

Given that the Premier knew that the government was already taking steps to scrap the Commonwealth Games, why –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I need to hear the supplementary question. The Leader of the House will come to order.

John PESUTTO: Given that the Premier knew that the government was already taking steps to scrap the Commonwealth Games, why did she mislead athletes that the games were proceeding?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Gippsland South is warned.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:19): I make two points on the supplementary question put by the Leader of the Opposition. The first is he has no evidence – no evidence – to substantiate his incorrect claim. Secondly, why is the Leader of the Opposition continuing to mislead Victorians that he would do any different?