Inquiry wants more detail on Games legacy

THE state Labor Government should release more information about what will be built in Geelong and elsewhere in the wake of the cancelled Commonwealth Games, according to a Senate inquiry.

Released in September, the interim report from the inquiry into Australia’s preparedness to host Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games makes seven recommendations relating not only to Victoria 2026, which the Andrews Government withdrew from on July 18; but also the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics.

Recommendation four states the federal government should “encourage” the Victorian government to prioritise “the delivery of its $2 billion alternative rural and regional funding package, including by publicly releasing full details on where funding will be allocated, what projects it will be allocated to, and accountable timeframes for delivery”.

The report from the Senate’s Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee notes Geelong is still slated to receive the Games infrastructure, comprising an indoor sporting complex in Waurn Ponds, an aquatics centre in Armstrong Creek, a training pitch in Torquay, and an upgraded pavilion and new pitch at Stead Park.

The $2 billion statewide package includes a $1 billion Regional Housing Fund to deliver more than 1,300 new homes, a $150 million Regional Tourism and Events Fund, a $60 million Regional Community Sport Development Fund and a $40 million All Abilities Sport Fund.

There are few confirmed details about the specific outcomes for Geelong in the package, including whether the housing (including social and affordable housing) will still be at the Games village site in Armstrong Creek or the number of homes.

The report quotes Committee for Geelong chief executive officer Michael Johnston, who said Geelong had “pivoted quickly into focusing on ensuring that we maximise the infrastructure promised by the state government”.

“From a Committee of Geelong perspective, our focus has been on ensuring that infrastructure is delivered in a timely manner in line with what is being promised – to the full specifications and sourcing local procurement, which is a big component of what was put on the table by the state government.

“Local industry and local suppliers were to be used in the provision of goods and services for the delivery of the Games.

“We are adamant that must be continued throughout the process and into the grant funding accompanying the legacy piece.”

The interim report also recommends the federal government should take a “facilitation and co-ordination role” involving all three levels of government “in order to salvage the 2026 Commonwealth Games being held in Australia”.

Six of the committee’s 11 members in this inquiry are from the Coalition, including Geelong-based Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson.

In their “additional comments” to the interim report, the two Labor Senators state it would be “inappropriate” for the federal government to “interfere” in “unilateral funding decisions taken by state governments”, and “the mechanism through which the Australian Government would ‘encourage’ certain actions from the Victorian Government in relation to agreements and funding decisions taken by the Victorian Government remains unclear”.