Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate is holding on to hope that his city can host a re-run Commonwealth Games in 2026, despite the idea again being dismissed by the state government.
The outspoken mayor has spent weeks pitching the federal and state governments on the merits of the Gold Coast – which hosted the Games in 2018 – stepping in after Victoria recently pulled out.
On Monday he used a Senate committee inquiry into the Olympics to press for a roundtable of decision makers, including sports bodies, the Commonwealth Games Federation and the commonwealth and state governments.
Estimating the cost of the games between $700m and $1bn, Tate argued costs would be substantially lower than in Victoria given the Gold Coast still has the infrastructure from when it hosted in 2018.
He also wanted a financial top up from the Commonwealth Games Federation, who are due a $360m break fee from the Victorian state government.
“So indirectly – quite funny actually – Victoria is going to fund the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games,” Tate said.
The acting Queensland premier, Steven Miles, on Tuesday reiterated that his state was not interested in bidding for the Commonwealth Games, telling media the state was “focused on delivering the best Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032”.
“I think we have enough to do, just making sure we get every advantage we can out of the Brisbane 2032 Games, and that includes delivering housing,” he said.
“That’s certainly enough work for me to do, because we want to make sure it doesn’t just deliver the best games ever but also the homes and the jobs that our young people need.”
Speaking in response to Miles’ remarks, Tate said he still hoped to change the mind of the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“It’s a business decision really, and she gets to save the Commonwealth Games and save the Australian reputation,” he said.
“Our premier has got good vision.
“We are games ready, and we can make it affordable with a wow factor.”
On Tuesday, Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews slammed the ongoing Senate committee inquiry as a “political stunt”.
“The [Victorian] auditor general is appropriately properly looking at these matters and has access to all documents including cabinet documents,” he said.
