The Victorian Government’s bombshell decision to scrap their proposed hosting of the 2026 Commonwealth Games has been met with fierce backlash along political lines, with some of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ harshest critics lining up to slam the decision.
The decision to scrap the Games comes after claims the costs had blown out to as much as $7 billion, almost $5 billion more than the original cost estimates of $2.6 billion.
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Federal deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley labelled it an “international embarrassment for this country”, while Andrews’ state counterpart John Pesutto said that the “damage to (Victoria’s) reputation will be deep, and it will be lasting.”
“The Andrews government’s decision to scrap the 2026 Commonwealth Games is a massive humiliation for Victoria,” Mr Pesutto posted on Twitter.
“This decision is a betrayal of regional Victoria and confirms that Victoria is broke and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts.”
International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates said it was a “terrible embarrassment to Australian sport”.
Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive officer Craig Phillips also said the backflip would be a hammer blow to Melbourne’s claim to be one of the world’s foremost sporting cities.
Nine newspapers’ national affairs editor James Massola said while he was “no particular fan of the Commonwealth Games, (it) surely damages Victoria’s international reputation, if not Australia’s.”
In a statement, the Victorian Coalition called it “hugely damaging to Victoria’s reputation as a global events leader,” saying it will “leave a legacy of failure and missed opportunities.”
Despite the cries from all corners that the world would heap scorn on Victoria for cancelling the Games, Guardian columnist Greg Jericho pointed out that the news failed to make headlines overnight in the United Kingdom.
Not one of the UK’s prominent papers ran with the story on the front page, despite the Commonwealth Games remaining as one of the few crowning jewels left in what is left of the British Empire’s formal reach.
The Times splashed with a story about a breakthrough Alzheimer’s drug, while the UK Guardian led with the “Soaring toll of 28,000 convictions for Covid breaches”.
The Daily Mirror’s headline was “Burning Up”, a story about the heatwave sweeping across southern Europe, while the Daily Star led with a story about dwarf actors upset about Hugh Laurie’s casting as an Oompa Loompa in the upcoming Paul King-directed film Wonka.
Jericho was sardonic in his view of the international response to the Commonwealth Games, suggesting critics “get a grip”.
“For all those suggesting dumping the Comm Games was going to make headlines around the world and destroy Australia’s reputation, maybe get a grip,” Jericho wrote.
“It really is hard to care unless you were hoping you or a family member was going to make a team.”
Former host of Insiders, veteran journalist Barrie Cassidy also noted the outwardly partisan response to the news.
“Never appreciated until now that support for the Commonwealth Games fell so neatly along party lines,” Cassidy wrote.
“Clearly ALP supporters don’t care for them and Coalition supporters enthusiastically embrace them.”
The cancellation marks the second Games in a row that an allocated host city has pulled out of the Games, with the 2018 Games initially allocated to Durban in South Africa before being moved to Birmingham.
The Birmingham Games were delivered at late notice for just £778 million ($1.5b).
The revised estimates from the Andrews Government on Tuesday would have been off the charts.
The event was held in Melbourne in 2006 with total costs of $1.1 billion.
The 2018 Games on the Gold Coast was also widely praised for delivering significant economic impact to south-east Queensland at a total cost of $1.8 billion.
The insane estimates would also match the $7.1 billion in funding going towards the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
The most expensive Commonwealth Games ever staged were in Delhi in 2010 at an estimated cost of $6 billion.
