Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

I have a great deal of sympathy for the member for Bendigo. I give her a lot of credit for bravely coming in here and try to defend the indefensible. When she says the Commonwealth Games are blowing out, she doesn't recognise that every project is blowing out in Victoria under the Andrews government. I do have a great deal of sympathy for the member for Bendigo and the other Victorian speakers who are going to be here today, trying to justify the level of dysfunctionality and incompetence which has become emblematic of the Andrews Labor government in Victoria.

Remember, this is the government which paid $1.1 billion to not build a road. By their own standards, this wasn't their personal best. We're only talking $380 million for the Commonwealth Games—so $380 million to not host the Commonwealth Games, notwithstanding the other costs they've already occurred which we'll never hear about. The most obvious point—and the member for Nicholls touched on it—is that this has been an absolute debacle for the reputation of Victoria and for the reputation of Melbourne. Melbourne used to have a proud reputation. In fact Melbourne used to be known as a sporting capital of the world. Now it's a rorting capital of the world. Ministers have resigned in disgrace over the course of Premier Dan Andrews's term.

We have seen every major project blow out with no consequences and no explanation whatsoever for why these costs are blowing out. And still the Premier—the Premier with the greatest chutzpah in the world—thinks we should be thanking him. Thank you, Premier for saving us $4 billion. It's like the arsonist turning up at a fire with the fire truck and hose saying: 'Thank me for putting the fire out.' This is a premier who told us only last year, in the lead-up to the state election, that the Commonwealth Games would cost about $2 billion, but now, according to Premier Andrews, they're going to cost between $6 billion and $7 billion. Notwithstanding that no Commonwealth Games in history has ever cost more than $2 billion in the first place, this buffoon, this fool, this incompetent man they call the Premier of Victoria has the chutzpah to turn up and say, 'Thank me, Victoria; I've just saved you $4 billion,' with not explanation about how those costs blew out in the first place.

We have been consistently lied to by the Premier and his senior ministers over many, many months leading up to the state election and past the state election, saying how wonderful the Commonwealth Games are going to be for Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Shepparton and Gippsland. The games were meant to deliver legacy infrastructure. Now we're not getting the games at all and we risk leaving the period of 2026 completely empty-handed because who believes this Premier when he says there's going to be $2 billion for regional infrastructure? Who believes him? Surely those opposite don't believe this buffoon when he says, 'There is $2 billion in regional infrastructure coming your way.' Surely you don't believe him. They don't believe him! Not a word of support for our poor Premier.

Morwell was one region which stood to gain through upgrades to sporting facilities and housing infrastructure. Then we found out yesterday that the housing infrastructure plan was for 10,000 caravans—10,000 caravans was the Premier's plan for Victoria. But it gets better! The caravan industry was meant to give them to the Premier for free. He wasn't going to buy their caravans; he was meant to get 10,000 caravans for free. Then he tells us, 'Oh, the accommodation costs have blown out.' How did the accommodation costs blow out if the caravans were free from the caravan industry? This guy is the biggest goose that's ever led a state in Australia.

I want to go specifically to the impact on my region. Morwell is a town meant to benefit through housing infrastructure but also through the proposed redevelopment of Latrobe City Sports and Entertainment Stadium, which was the old home ground for the Morwell Falcons national soccer league team. The state government has made commitments to Gippsland and to the people of Morwell that that facility would be upgraded as part of the Commonwealth Games. It is a facility that is in desperate need of upgrading. It's one that used to host the national soccer league games for the old Morwell Falcons. The people in that community are now telling me there is massive uncertainty. Are they still getting an upgrade at all? Will it be done by 2026, as was originally promised as part of the Commonwealth Games agreement?

I'm aware of a master planning process that went on a couple of years ago through the Shire. I'm prepared to work with the Shire and the state and federal governments to deliver these upgrades, but we actually need the Premier to show us the money. Is the money still there? Are we going to see these upgrades in relation to the change rooms, the grandstand and the drainage on the field? These are things that the people of Morwell are saying: 'Premier, you promised us the Commonwealth Games; you promised us upgrades to our facilities. Right now, we have no Commonwealth Games.' We have a massive bill for Victorian taxpayers of $380 million, plus what we've already paid staff. It goes to the absolute heart of the dysfunctionality of the Victorian government under Premier Dan Andrews.

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