Tuesday, 17 March 2026

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (12:52): Today should have been a good day for regional Victoria. We should have been opening the first ever regionally based Commonwealth Games, showcasing our beautiful regions to the world. But instead Victorians and regional Victorians in particular were duped, misled by the Labor government before the 2022 election and let down by a broken Labor promise after the election. A parliamentary inquiry, the Auditor-General and multiple other groups and agencies have called out the duplicity, the incompetence and the mismanagement of the Labor government over the botched games process and still no-one has taken responsibility. No-one has apologised for the $600 million cost to taxpayers and how $200 million of Victorian taxpayers money is now going to pay Glasgow to host the games on the other side of the world. Not only that but remember the promises made to regional Victoria when the games were cancelled, with housing in the Latrobe Valley, Geelong and Ballarat and a sports facility for Miners Rest still not delivered. Regional Victoria was dudded by Labor and today this government should be hanging their heads in shame.