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| Senators Matthew Canavan and Bridget McKenzie during the Monday Commonwealth Games inquiry. EAMON GALLAGHER, THE AGE |
In Melbourne, a Senate investigation into the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games has begun.
Leading sports figures have testified before the committee this morning, together with representatives from Ernst & Young (EY), the consultancy company that handled the Games' costings.
A Senate committee originally launched the inquiry to determine how well Australia was preparing to host upcoming Commonwealth, Olympic, and Paralympic Games.
The 2026 Games were supposed to take place in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland, and Shepparton from March 17 to March 29.
The official start of the work was in September of last year, and the pre-tendering process started in March of this year.
On July 18, Premier Daniel Andrews announced the cancellation of the Games, citing a billion-dollar overrun in hosting expenses.
Senator Bridget McKenzie of the Nationals, who was leading the interrogation, asked the duo if they had contributed to the development of the event's business case's economic effect analysis.
Yates and Walker both informed the investigation that EY was bound by confidentiality constraints with relation to the disclosure of its business case and that they were unable to give anything that wasn't already in the public domain.
The pair was pressed further by liberal senator Sarah Henderson, who cited a figure from the business case that claimed the federal government would provide the state government $205 million to $215 million for the Games.
"Was there any factual support for the assumption?" Henderson enquires.
You are the one creating the business case, why don't you check the provided assumptions?Do you inquire, "Was this an amount committed?" or "On what basis are we assuming that we will receive $205 million in the worst-case scenario and $215 million in the best scenario from the federal government?"
You simply accept that at face value. You don't inquire about it or question it?
In response, Walker stated that they were unable to respond since doing so "might reveal information that is part of cabinet in-confidence."
Oh, that's ridiculous, That is just the biggest cop-out ever," Henderson remarked.
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| The chief executive of Commonwealth Games Australia, Craig Phillips, also responded to inquiries. EAMON GALLAGHER, THE AGE |
The head of Commonwealth Games Australia, Craig Phillips, appeared in front of the committee as well. He asserted that no effort was made to persuade the state government to reconsider its decision to cancel the Games.
According to Phillips, the investigation heard from the premier that day that "(it) didn't seem to be an option on the table."
Ben Houston, the president of the Games, also spoke, but he provided little information regarding the $380 million settlement with the state government.
Houston stated that the 2026 home games were "universally acknowledged when it was announced in April last year as an accelerator for Brisbane 2032 Games and we remain committed to that outcome."
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