Premier Jacinta Allan has denied she misled Victorian parliament despite admitting she was aware of 2026 Commonwealth Games budget pressures months before the event was canned.
Ms Allan, as the minister tasked with delivering the Games, was briefed on revised budget estimates by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions in March, a parliamentary inquiry into Victoria’s 2026 Games bid heard on Monday.
The department’s updated budget estimate of $4.5 billion was knocked back in April as it was told to explore cutting costs.
On June 13, Ms Allan told a budget estimates hearing that Victoria was making “tremendous progress” on delivering the Games and gave no indication of budgetary concerns.
Later that same day, Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule flagged cost blowouts with then-premier Daniel Andrews.
Law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler was hired on July 14 as the Victorian government sought legal advice.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ms Allan said it was proper government decision-making process to ask officials to go back to the drawing board.
“Clearly these numbers were becoming unacceptable to government, which is why we sent officials back to do more work to further explore the options,” she said in Werribee.
“And at that point, through that March/April period, it was considering the options about how to best deliver the Games in line with the agreement that was signed.”
Ms Allan said she stood by the evidence she gave to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee when asked if she had been less than forthcoming.
“The progress at that point in time was about working out how to best deliver the Games,” she said.
“We were asking officials to provide us with advice but no final decisions had been made about the budget at that point in time.”
It was announced in April 2022 multiple regional centres would host the Games, with a $2.6 billion cost confirmed in the budget the following month.
But former premier Daniel Andrews on July 18 this year announced the Games were cancelled, citing estimated costs rising to up to $7 billion.
Public hearings for the upper house inquiry will restart on Friday.
Ms Allan is refusing to appear despite the committee intending to send her a formal invitation.
How Victoria’s secret Comm Games budget woes evolved
VICTORIA’S COMMONWEALTH GAMES BUDGET TIMELINE:
* January 28, 2022 – Original business case estimates cost between $2.5 billion and $3 billion
* February 16, 2022 – Victoria makes an exclusive bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games
* April 12, 2022 – Victoria awarded the Games, to be hosted across regional centres
* May 3, 2022 – Victorian state budget outlines $2.6 billion to be spent on delivering the Games
* November 26, 2022 – Labor wins state election in a landslide
* February 22, 2023 – Games organising committee formally requests a $722 million boost to its original $1 billion budget
* March 2023 – Then Games delivery minister and now Premier Jacinta Allan briefed on revised budget estimates by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions
* April 4, 2023 – Organising committee chair Peggy O’Neal writes to Ms Allan to highlight critical timelines for decision-making
* April 2023 – Ms Allan rejects the department’s formal budget request of $4.5 billion, telling it to try to reduce the costs
* May 9, 2023 – No money set aside for Games in the federal budget
* May 23, 2023 – No extra money set aside for Games in the state budget
* June 2023 – The department provides another submission to Ms Allan seeking $4.2 billion
* June 13, 2023 – Ms Allan tells a parliamentary budget estimates committee that Victoria is making “tremendous progress” on the event
* June 13, 2023 – Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule first flags cost blowouts with then-premier Daniel Andrews
* June 14, 2023 – Law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler hired as the Victorian government seeks legal advice
* June 30, 2023 – Mr Moule arranges a meeting in London with the Commonwealth Games Federation’s chief executive and president
* July 14, 2023 – The department’s $4.2 billion budget submission rejected
* July 15, 2023 – Mr Moule flies out from Melbourne for London
* July 17, 2023 – Victorian cabinet signs off on cancelling the Games
* July 18, 2023 – Mr Andrews announces the decision, citing estimated costs blowing out to between $6 billion to $7 billion
* August 19, 2023 – Victorian government agrees to pay Games bodies $380 million in compensation to terminate its contract and releases the exact revised business case costing of $6.865 billion
