COMMENT

Australia’s athletes deserve an apology.

This is a golden generation we are witnessing in Paris.

Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O’Callaghan will be remembered among the best we’ve ever seen in the pool.

Jess Fox and now her sister Noemie are a juggernaut. Nina Kennedy and Saya Sakakibara the perfect embodiment of Aussie grit and determination.

Keegan Palmer and Arisa Trew new heroes for our youth.

It’s not just the gold medallist. The Commonwealth Games was huge for Australian beach volleyballers Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy (silver medallists in Birmingham), while also the perfect springboard for our heartbroken Rugby Sevens and disappointed hockey teams.

And instead of rewarding them with a celebration of all that is great about Australian sport with a home Commonwealth Games in two years time, Victoria paid $600 million NOT to host them.

After witnessing this Australian Olympic team snare a record 18 gold medals in Paris, the former Dan Andrews government’s betrayal slaps our athletes in the face even harder.

It would have been special for this historic batch of competitors to compete on home soil.

There will always, understandably, be debate about the benefits of money being directed towards infrastructure in regional areas decimated by covid restrictions, but imagine how much Victoria could benefit from the momentum that’s been generated in the past fortnight.

Olympic long-jumper and track and field expert commentator David Culbert couldn’t help but wonder what type of opportunity has been missed while watching the medals pile up in France.

“Imagine how good a Victoria Commonwealth Games would be in 2026?” Culbert tweeted after Australia’s best day in Paris where we landed gold in sailing, cycling, skateboarding and track and field.

“It would have been wonderful. Instead we have an overpriced train set and zero international credibility.”

Culbert told news.com.au our athletes should have been given a chance to showcase what they do on home soil.

“We put our hand up to host it and so we thought it was of value and then for whatever reason we decided that wasn’t going to be the case,” he said.

“And the budget, what was presented there, we know that’s not true.

“It’s just a massive missed opportunity for Victoria, for regional towns, that should be experiencing what is being experienced here (in Paris).

“It’s something that should have occurred. It’s very sad for them, for Ballarat and for Bendigo, for Geelong, and for Gippsland. And it’s really sad for our athletes who deserve a victory lap at home. Can you imagine if tickets went on sale next week for a regional Victoria commonwealth Games? Every venue would be packed out.”

The farcical budget blunders that resulted in Andrews’ infamous, snap press conference where the Commonwealth Games Federation was barely consulted before the plug was pulled, also hurt the athletes and their wallets “significantly”.

Culbert said Andrews’ decision showed “complete disregard” to Australian sporting bodies and athletes.

“I was watching Nina Kennedy and Matt Denny (at the Paris Olympics), the Commonwealth Games are central to their story,” he said.

“The fact that they’re not going to get that moment in 2026. If we hadn’t have bid for it you’d say fair enough. But we did bid for it and we paid nearly a billion dollars not to host it.

“It’s scandalous. Split up that billion dollars and give it to the athletes individually as a gift and we’d be better off. It’s staggering.”

Andrews last year pulled the pin on hosting the games, claiming costs had blown out to between $6 and $7 billion, well above the $2.6 billion which had been allocated in the budget.

Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive officer Craig Phillips said the government had “exaggerated” costs — and those claims were supported by the findings of a Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) report that found the costs had only blown out to $4.9 billion.

Victoria had only been confirmed as Games host in April 2022, with the 12-day event planned for Geelong, Bendigo, Shepparton, Ballarat and Gippsland.

The proposed model was unique, with no other major multi-sport event held across five host areas.

A report from the Victorian auditor general last month said the decision to host and then pull out of the games cost Victorians $589 million with “no discernible benefit”.

The bulk of the cost came from a $380 million payment which had to be made as part of a compensation agreement for choosing not to proceed with the games.

Victorian talkback radio king Neil Mitchell has also been thinking about the Commonwealth Games debale while watching the action in Paris.

“This Com Games scandal unfolding in Victoria would be enough to destroy most governments,” Mitchell posted on Twitter.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars just wasted. Have Victorians become numb to all this?”

The worst part is that it is our athletes that will suffer the most.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games remains up in the air and without a home. In April this year, the Commonwealth Games Federation said it was considering “multiple proposals to host the 2026 Games”. Nothing has eventuated. The damage done by the Victorian government’s sudden pull-out is significant.

Commonwealth Games Australia had earlier accused Andrews of trying to “trash the brand with the Australian public” for political benefit.

It’s fair to give the final say on the subject to Athletics Australia.

“The upheaval this decision has caused for athletics in Victoria and Australia, as well as the Commonwealth Games, is immeasurable, with a blatant disregard for the significant logistic, emotional, financial and reputational damage caused,” AA wrote in a submission to the state inquiry.

“The Commonwealth Games brand may never recover from this episode, and in that, hundreds of past athletes who have competed in the green and gold for Australia with pride will now experience a diminished public perception on the value of their performances in this event.”

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the state government’s Comm Games catastrophe remains ongoing.

Whatever it finds, one thing is clear – our golden generation deserved better.