Wednesday, 20 March 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Commonwealth Games

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. The Victorian Auditor-General’s report on the withdrawal from the 2026 Commonwealth Games, released today, says:

The decisions to bid for, plan and then withdraw from the Games have cost Victoria over $589 million with no discernible benefit.

Why did the Premier waste $589 million on a project that did not proceed?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): I thank the Leader of the Opposition today for his question, and I also would like to take the opportunity to thank the Auditor-General for their work. We always maintained that it was the most appropriate independent agency to look into these matters, and I thank them for the report that was tabled today. The Auditor-General’s report today goes to confirming that the government made the right decision to not proceed with a 12-day sporting event that was estimated to cost more than $6 billion and that as the costs were continuing to increase there was no benefit that was initially anticipated. So in that context I say that the Auditor-General’s report does confirm that we made the right decision in making this decision to not proceed with this event, because it would have cost far, far more than the amount identified in the report to not proceed.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): The Auditor-General found that:

This waste of taxpayer money on an event that will not happen is significant …

Will the Premier guarantee to Victorians not to waste taxpayer money on any other project that does not proceed?

Danny Pearson: On a point of order, Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is asking the Premier to answer a hypothetical, and I ask you to rule it out of order.

James Newbury: On the point of order, Speaker, the supplementary was not hypothetical in any way. It was directly linked to the original question, and it referred to the original question in asking about any other project – not hypothetical in any way.

The SPEAKER: I will allow the question.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:05): The Leader of the Opposition has not identified any of the projects that he is speculating on, so it does make it –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: But we do know when it comes to not proceeding with projects that the Leader of the Opposition wants to scrap the Suburban Rail Loop, scrap the thousands of jobs that are working on that project and not see improved public transport services. There is only one person in this place who is all about scrapping and cutting, and that is the Leader of the Opposition.