Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has slammed the Andrews government in the wake of a $380m fine they have copped for cancelling the Commonwealth Games.
The eye-watering sum was revealed on Saturday morning as negotiations came to a close with all Commonwealth Games parties over the government’s shock decision to withdraw from hosting the 2026 event.
The Andrews government said their decision to cancel the games was due to a major blowout in costs they estimated had climbed to $6 billion.
Mr Pesutto took to social media to share his outrage at the figure and accusing the government of minimising the “true cost” of cancelling the event.
“Victorians will pay at least $380 million for an event that will never happen in a debacle that has damaged Victoria’s reputation internationally,” he wrote in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The true cost of this debacle will be significantly higher but we are likely to never know because the Andrews Government will do everything it can to stop Victorians finding out the truth.”
He reiterated previous claims that the government’s estimated costing of the event was inaccurate and overblown in an attempt to justify the cancellation.
“It’s costings of the Commonwealth Games under Labor’s model are woefully inadequate and another exercise in cynical spin by the Andrews Government,” he said.
In a joint statement released on Saturday morning, the Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Australia and the State of Victoria confirmed that have all their disputes have been settled.
“In July 2023 the Victorian Government announced its decision to withdraw from hosting the 2026 Games,” a the statement said.
“Following that decision, the affected parties have been involved in confidential good faith negotiations.”
“All parties engaged respectfully and made appropriate concessions in order to reach an agreement.”
The government will pay the $380 million sum to three parties including the Commonwealth Game Federation, Commonwealth Game Federation Partnerships and Commonwealth Games Australia.
The parties also agreed that the Andrews government decision to undertake a revamped “multi-hub” model that incorporated regional towns was “more expensive” than former Games models.
The terms of the settlement will otherwise remain confidential and the parties are legally bound not to speak further regarding the details of the settlement.