Geelong pressured about Games, mayor says

THE Andrews Labor Government gave the City of Greater Geelong little opportunity and very short timelines to provide input about the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games, according to Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan.

Speaking at a hearing for the Senate inquiry into Australia’s preparedness to host Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games, held in Melbourne on Monday this week, Cr Sullivan said on February 14 he called a special meeting of council for the next day to discuss a confidential item about Victoria 2026.

“City officers were given information that required a decision of the council – at 12pm Tuesday, I had to call what was essentially emergency meetings for the following day to meet the state’s deadlines.

“It was not proper, we were not treated as partners in this process.

“Due to the pressure from the state government, we were not able to act in a proper capacity as a decision-making body.

“We were given limited information and time for due consideration for making higher-level decisions regarding the Games.

“That was the standard that was set going forward for communication between the state government and the City of Greater Geelong.”

Geelong was one of five regional hubs proposed to host Victoria 2026.

Cr Sullivan said on June 30 he signed off on a letter to Premier Daniel Andrews expressing the city’s concerns on issues such as the city’s roles and responsibilities, funding, fiscal contributions, legacy aspects, investment in temporary infrastructure, and delivery timeframes.

“These concerns all went unanswered and they turned out to be well-founded, as a matter of weeks later, the Games were cancelled.”

He said the city was “under immense pressure” from the Victorian government about the Games.

“We were asked to enter MOUs [memoranda of understanding] from the state government, we were told we would not be privy to any agreements or financial agreements they were proposing until those MOUs were signed.

“We refused to enter into those MOUs – as I stated in my letter to the Premier, we would seek clarity on the roles and responsibilities of councils in such agreements so there was no ambiguity in contracts from the party that did not write them, and we were very concerned about what we would be locked into.”

G21 chief executive officer Giulia Baggio and Committee for Geelong chief executive officer Michael Johnston also spoke at Monday’s hearing.

The Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport is running the inquiry, which began in March.

Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson is a participating member on the committee, and said after Monday’s hearing the Andrews Labor Government “had treated regional communities with contempt”.

“As we have heard in the Senate inquiry over the past two days, the planning, execution and funding for the 2026 Commonwealth Games was an absolute shambles.

“Now regional communities have been left to clean up the mess.”