Victoria’s auditor-general has delivered a scathing evaluation of the state’s dealing with of the scrapped Commonwealth Video games, reporting the whole value of the cancelled occasion shall be $589 million and calling the federal government’s value estimates of holding the Video games overstated and never clear.
In a report tabled in parliament on Wednesday morning, the Victorian Auditor-Basic’s Workplace (VAGO) was extremely important of the enterprise case used to justify the 2026 Video games, which was cancelled final yr after then-premier Daniel Andrews warned its $2.6 billion price ticket had blown out to between $6 and $7 billion.
Then Victorian premier Daniel Andrews cancelled the Commonwealth Video games in June 2023, citing overblown prices of internet hosting the occasion.Credit score: Joe Armao
It discovered the whole value of cancelling the occasion, together with compensation and the prices of winding down its organisation, could be $589 million.
“This waste would have been prevented if companies had labored collectively higher to offer frank and
full recommendation to the federal government earlier than it determined to host the Video games,” VAGO wrote.
“The federal government relied on the Division of Jobs, Expertise, Industries and Areas enterprise case when it determined to host the Video games and decided the price range.
“The enterprise case raised the dangers related to internet hosting the Video games.Nevertheless it underestimated the prices and overstated the advantages.”
VAGO stated that a number of authorities departments knew this was a difficulty however didn’t advise authorities to delay a choice on internet hosting till a greater enterprise case may very well be supplied.
The Division of Premier and Cupboard and Treasury constantly raised prices and different dangers throughout 2022 and early 2023 however did query the feasibility of the occasion till June 2023, the report discovered.
“The fee estimate for the Video games that the federal government publicly launched in August 2023 of $6.9 billion was overstated and never clear,” VAGO wrote.