Vic How would you rate Daniel Andrews' performance as Victorian Premier? - Part 7

[My_Username]

The Age story from which these dates and numbers are listed is here:

Officials knew about Games cost blowout months ago

A whopping $5 billion in funding to cover the increased costs of hosting the Games was requested ahead of the May state budget. It didn’t arrive.

www.theage.com.au

The Office of the Commonwealth Games, the government department responsible for overseeing the planning and delivery of the now aborted event, submitted a detailed business case and operational plan to Treasury ahead of the May state budget asking for a $5 billion funding allocation to cover the increased costs.

The proposed Games budget included a risk analysis of additional costs likely to come from shortages of labour, materials and accommodation for workers in regional areas which, if realised, could push the total bill to $6 billion.

The Age spoke to sources with knowledge of the proposed Games budget, speaking confidentially to divulge sensitive information.

They revealed the operational cost jumped from $1.3 billion to $1.9 billion and the capital expense of building athlete villages and constructing new and improving existing sports venues had leapt from $1.3 billion to $2.6 billion.

Probably most damning (in terms of financial estimates and due diligence being undertaken prior to committing to host the games) is this revelation:

The sources also revealed that the original bid documents contained no financial estimate for the cost of government services – primarily transport and police – required to safely hold the 12-day sporting festival across five regional centres. That resulted in an additional $500 million being lumped onto the overall operational cost, bringing it to $2.4 billion.

So they got the contract for the games, split across multiple regional centres, and didn't include in the costs items like transport.

I worked in GC during the games...For security reasons, the athlete busses only stopped at 3 places, the depot, the village, and the venues. Police escorted them EVERYWHERE, including making sure they didn't need to stop at lights (and the army did bomb checks on them several times a day).

Moving thousands of people over considerable distances, with a high need for security and redundancies, for 2 weeks, and they didn't think it was worth factoring in a few pennies for it?

Surely someone working on the bid/costing team could have gotten hold of the list of expenses from GC and worked out that that item both wasn't insubstantial, and would probably be far higher when you're talking a combined total of tens (hundreds?) of thousands more KM that needed to be covered every day.



That's just staggering incompetence.

 

[Hornberger]

I would have thought the president and/or vice president of the games should at least be included in those discussions. As it turns out they had only hours notice. Completely blindsided, and Dan framed this as a last minute decision when it appears there were months of notice of the cost blowout.

Secondly, there was no adjustment on costings to the state budget in either direction.

There was no adjustment to in the state budget because no change the games budget was ever approved.

The Commonwealth Games team submitted their revised costing to Treasury. Treasury appears to have told the Commonwealth Games team there is no way in hell are we spending that much in the current budgetary environment and that they need to come back with a new plan that is much closer to the initial cost estimates. The Commonwealth Games team then spent to two months looking at alternative proposals to get the costs down. The decision to cancel is then made once the Commonwealth Games team concludes they don't see a way of the getting costs down to a level that would be acceptable to Treasury.

This is the exact process you would have expected to have happened and in about the time frame you would have expected to take. It is a complete non-story.

 

[The Punter]

There was no adjustment to in the state budget because no change the games budget was ever approved.

The Commonwealth Games team submitted their revised costing to Treasury. Treasury appears to have told the Commonwealth Games team there is no way in hell are we spending that much in the current budgetary environment and that they need to come back with a new plan that is much closer to the initial cost estimates. The Commonwealth Games team then spent to two months looking at alternative proposals to get the costs down. The decision to cancel is then made once the Commonwealth Games team concludes they don't see a way of the getting costs down to a level that would be acceptable to Treasury.

This is the exact process you would have expected to have happened and in about the time frame you would have expected to take. It is a complete non-story.

It's only a non-story if the initial estimates were not unreasonable. The Age article this morning suggests the initial estimates did not include costs for police and security. I think that is something someone should have picked up initially.

 

[Satan]

It's only a non-story if the initial estimates were not unreasonable. The Age article this morning suggests the initial estimates did not include costs for police and security. I think that is something someone should have picked up initially.

claimed it will be cabinet docs , will never see light of day

 

[Pakenhamsaint]

Tried hard to be balanced, did not always succeed though it was obvious when he transgressed. Always enjoyed his banter with Red Symons.

Far easier to listen to than Neil Mitchell.

Neil Mitchell has become nothing more than a grumpy old man with a microphone.

 

[Carn The Berries]

My question was which comments by Daniel Andrews was misleading. What specific thing did he say nor say that was misleading?



They identified the cost blow-out in April and May, they spent a a couple of months reviewing the options to bring the cost down, and then made the decision to cancel in July. That is a entirely unremarkable timeline.

There were public representations made as recently as early June (which have been quoted in this thread) which still stated the cost of the games as $2.6b. No mention of a potential cost blow out whatsoever.

Even if we take as given this "unremarkable" timeline, there were people within the government mis-representing the facts during this period.

 

[Mofra]

sounds like treasury refused to submit it for budget consideration with such a large discrepancy

It was clearly a dead duck from the start but it took them way to long to figure it out and then act

and the need to politically spin it and keep it quiet for so long just ends up making it all worse

there is no way they should have been bidding on the games with two months prep to begin with

everything bar the decision to cancel has been very poorly handled, including the comms itself

but its 100% how Andrews operates and has for years

when he pulls it off it works very well for him, when he doesn't, well a decent opposition or strong faction with Vic Labor could do real damage

so far neither have been able to

I have a lot of time for Katie Hall, although she's more focused on her electorate and has little interest in playing power games to climb the ladder. She's got her pet project (new Footscray hospital) going nicely.

 

[Mofra]

There was no adjustment to in the state budget because no change the games budget was ever approved.

The Commonwealth Games team submitted their revised costing to Treasury. Treasury appears to have told the Commonwealth Games team there is no way in hell are we spending that much in the current budgetary environment and that they need to come back with a new plan that is much closer to the initial cost estimates. The Commonwealth Games team then spent to two months looking at alternative proposals to get the costs down. The decision to cancel is then made once the Commonwealth Games team concludes they don't see a way of the getting costs down to a level that would be acceptable to Treasury.

This is the exact process you would have expected to have happened and in about the time frame you would have expected to take. It is a complete non-story.

Is that incompetence or willful ignorance? No budget at all for security and transport?

That's a significant oversight to avoid mentioning until a few days ago because of 'process'.

 

[Kwality]

Neil Mitchell has become nothing more than a grumpy old man with a microphone.

Back then he was always looking for an issue to hang his hat on.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

That's not the point I'm making. It doesn't factor into criticism and analysis of Morrison's decisions.

Whilst I agree there is still the principle that people really shouldn't complain when the other team does exactly the same thing they stayed silent about when their team did it.

 

[Kwality]

Whilst I agree there is still the principle that people really shouldn't complain when the other team does exactly the same thing they stayed silent about when their team did it.

Like holding the ball calls at the footy ....

 

[Romeoh1]

Neil Mitchell has become nothing more than a grumpy old man with a microphone.

More than grumpy- actually a whacko now.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

It's pretty staggering .. I get it when people say the Libs aren't much of an alternative as there isn't a great lot of talent among the ranks at this point, but let's face it, the government itself is seriously bereft of talent.
Allan, who is a train wreck and has the management and economic credentials of a grade one student (actually most grade ones would do a far better of job of managing their crayons and finger paint than this hack), is the only minister Dan trusts enough, misguided as he is, to give air time too.

Ben Carroll - a deer in the headlights and can't even read off a script;
Tim Pallas - lacks the simplest of arithmetic skills and I've seen cactuses with more personality and better communication skills;
Harriet Shing - successfully auditioned for a part in the old Thunderbirds series this week with all her head nodding in the background and won it hands down, beating out Virgil, Scott, John, Gordon and Alan.
Assistant treasurer Pearson - a non event.
When was the last time you heard from Tierney, Horne, Williams, Carbines, Spence, very Bland(thorn), Erdogan, Mary-Anne Thomas, or do you even know who they are???
LOL .. the Minister for Small Buisness Natalie Suleyman. Failed former Mayor of Brimbank council that was put into administration with her at the helm. Calling that council dysfunctional and corrupt back then would actually be two of the nicest words, but yet she was parachuted into parliament as a reward! No wonder small businesses in this state go to the wall quicker than you can off the Comm games.

There is zero talent in the ranks, which is why Dan - besides being totally in love with the sound of his own voice - commands all the air time and has to be the spokesperson for everything.
That and the fact he can trust his own troops to successfully pull off the lie and stick to the deceitful script.
The ALP talent pool is every bit as shallow as the team opposite.

Yeah, that's largely fair.

The Andrews Government is benefiting from being the incumbent and not having an opposition to keep them honest. It allows them (him) to more or less do as he (they) pleases.

As an aside, I hope we don't see the same issue at federal level as time passes. But until the Libs move back towards the centre or that void is filled by independents there is a risk. Sadly Dutton hasn't quite cottoned onto this.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

Like holding the ball calls at the footy ....

Haha, yep.

My mob never hold the ball.

 

[Hornberger]

Is that incompetence or willful ignorance? No budget at all for security and transport?

That's a significant oversight to avoid mentioning until a few days ago because of 'process'.

That is a completely different issue to your original point. The original costings were a total cluster**** and that is the real issue here.

 

[My_Username]

There was no adjustment to in the state budget because no change the games budget was ever approved.

The Commonwealth Games team submitted their revised costing to Treasury. Treasury appears to have told the Commonwealth Games team there is no way in hell are we spending that much in the current budgetary environment and that they need to come back with a new plan that is much closer to the initial cost estimates. The Commonwealth Games team then spent to two months looking at alternative proposals to get the costs down. The decision to cancel is then made once the Commonwealth Games team concludes they don't see a way of the getting costs down to a level that would be acceptable to Treasury.

This is the exact process you would have expected to have happened and in about the time frame you would have expected to take. It is a complete non-story.

How was the original costing so massively wrong?

and why do such massive cost overruns seem to happen with all of Dan's infrastructure projects?

 

[kalex6251]

Back then he was always looking for an issue to hang his hat on.

true story .... back some years now, a clearly distressed regional caller rang mitchells program seeking help ..... her cat had climbed a massive tree and she didnt have the means or physical capacity to retrieve it ..... mitchell being the attention seeking drama queen he is, promised on-air he would ring around media outlets and try and organise a helicopter to assist [yep - i just wrote that with a straight face]

see, for mitchell, its ALWAYS about the drama - and a dramatic cat rescue involving a helicopter would fit the bill nicely [its getting harder to keep that straight face]

putting aside the fact this was a nonsense story to begin with - it was a problem that could have easily been resolved using local resources ...... but he wanted to escalate the 'story' into this statewide media drama with vision and heartfelt interviews a rightful return for his efforts ..... w@nker of the highest order

 

[Sttew]

That is a completely different issue to your original point. The original costings were a total cluster* and that is the real issue here.

Along with the other "real issues" - the pre-planning AND subsequent cover-up By Dan, Jacinta and Tim Pallas.

The government commissioned a Taskforce in 2019 to do a feasibility study and was told that regional games would be very expensive and the government should not bid before 2034. Report ignored. The CEO of the CGA warned the government in 2022 that some events should be held in Melbourne to contain costs. Recommendation ignored.

The government knew in April that projected costs had blown out, but didn't think it was important enough to let CGA know. Then in May the government assured CGA everything was on track.

The whole debacle is a cluster **** of the highest order. Some posters have said in a few weeks we will have all forgotten about this. I doubt it because it's not the first time Dan has lied to our faces and then slugged us for the cost of his incompetence.

But it won't be the Commonwealth Games that bring Dan down. It will be the WorkCover and Payroll rate hikes, IMHO. There are reports of businesses paying 300+% more in premiums when staff levels, claims experiences and role classifications haven't changed. When a small business faces a premium hike of $30,000 or more that spells redundancies. This will affect 1000's of businesses.

And today we are hearing Health, Police, Ambulance Services, and Schools face massive premium hikes that will lead to services being cut unless the government meets the shortfalls said to be $100M+. Just another badly thought out "plan" by Debacle Dan

 

[Magnum27]

Haha, yep.

My mob never hold the ball.

Neither do mine, but that is because we can't get near it at the moment

 

[Kwality]

true story .... back some years now, a clearly distressed regional caller rang mitchells program seeking help ..... her cat had climbed a massive tree and she didnt have the means or physical capacity to retrieve it ..... mitchell being the attention seeking drama queen he is, promised on-air he would ring around media outlets and try and organise a helicopter to assist [yep - i just wrote that with a straight face]

see, for mitchell, its ALWAYS about the drama - and a dramatic cat rescue involving a helicopter would fit the bill nicely [its getting harder to keep that straight face]

putting aside the fact this was a nonsense story to begin with - it was a problem that could have easily been resolved using local resources ...... but he wanted to escalate the 'story' into this statewide media drama with vision and heartfelt interviews a rightful return for his efforts ..... w@nker of the highest order

He has been successful in the Melbourne market yet still craves the attention his counterparts in Sydney radio enjoy: John Laws, Alan Jones, Bob Rogers to Hadley & Fordham.

 

[HurleyHepsHird]

On one hand this number is "pulled out of the air" yet in the same breath you have absolutely no doubt that the $6-$7b being touted by Dan Andrews is legit?

And yet anyone who questions that (given the complete absence of information at this point in time) is a cooker?

Heaven forbid, anybody asks to see some validation of claims.

Why no wait for the details?

Each supposed scandal you nuffs have hyped in the past has failed to materialise.

As always, I'll wait and see the actual released costings/contract terms. And when this disappears from the news cycle, will still be of the opinion the cancellation was the correct move.

 

[HurleyHepsHird]

true story .... back some years now, a clearly distressed regional caller rang mitchells program seeking help ..... her cat had climbed a massive tree and she didnt have the means or physical capacity to retrieve it ..... mitchell being the attention seeking drama queen he is, promised on-air he would ring around media outlets and try and organise a helicopter to assist [yep - i just wrote that with a straight face]

see, for mitchell, its ALWAYS about the drama - and a dramatic cat rescue involving a helicopter would fit the bill nicely [its getting harder to keep that straight face]

putting aside the fact this was a nonsense story to begin with - it was a problem that could have easily been resolved using local resources ...... but he wanted to escalate the 'story' into this statewide media drama with vision and heartfelt interviews a rightful return for his efforts ..... w@nker of the highest order

He is an A grade knob head whose son worked for the Liberal party.

 

[HurleyHepsHird]

Along with the other "real issues" - the pre-planning AND subsequent cover-up By Dan, Jacinta and Tim Pallas.

The government commissioned a Taskforce in 2019 to do a feasibility study and was told that regional games would be very expensive and the government should not bid before 2034. Report ignored. The CEO of the CGA warned the government in 2022 that some events should be held in Melbourne to contain costs. Recommendation ignored.

The government knew in April that projected costs had blown out, but didn't think it was important enough to let CGA know. Then in May the government assured CGA everything was on track.

The whole debacle is a cluster * of the highest order. Some posters have said in a few weeks we will have all forgotten about this. I doubt it because it's not the first time Dan has lied to our faces and then slugged us for the cost of his incompetence.

But it won't be the Commonwealth Games that bring Dan down. It will be the WorkCover and Payroll rate hikes, IMHO. There are reports of businesses paying 300+% more in premiums when staff levels, claims experiences and role classifications haven't changed. When a small business faces a premium hike of $30,000 or more that spells redundancies. This will affect 1000's of businesses.

And today we are hearing Health, Police, Ambulance Services, and Schools face massive premium hikes that will lead to services being cut unless the government meets the shortfalls said to be $100M+. Just another badly thought out "plan" by Debacle Dan

The coverup?

lmao

 

[Not Important]

bloody dan. he must resign.

 

[FredLeDeux]