Premier Jacinta Allan has clearly misled the Victorian Parliament over Labor’s $600 million Commonwealth Games debacle.
In documents produced to the parliamentary select committee investigating the debacle, it’s now been revealed that Ms Allan was briefed by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industries and Regions (DJSIR) on 12 June about the serious budget problems facing the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The next day, 13 June, the then Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery testified before the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) and said the Games were making “tremendous progress”.
These documents prove that this evidence was false.
Five weeks later on 18 July Ms Allan announced the Games would be cancelled.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto said: “This is the clearest evidence yet that Jacinta Allan misled Parliament. She knew the Commonwealth Games were in deep trouble but pretended everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t.
“She needs to start being honest with Victorians. The best way to do this would be to front the inquiry and come clean about what she knew and when she knew it. Until she does that, Victorians simply can’t believe what she says.”
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport and Events Sam Groth said: “Jacinta Allan torched hundreds of millions of dollars of Victorian taxpayers’ money on an event that was never held.
“The very least she can do for Victorians is come forward and give them a full and frank explanation about what happened and her role in this debacle.”
