By LIAM DURKIN
AS Oleg Markov said as he walked into Collingwood’s Mad Monday in 2023:
“What could’ve been, we’ll never know”.
While Markov celebrated a Magpies flag that year, the mad in Mad Monday was reserved only for anger from Latrobe Valley residents that same year.
The region was to host Commonwealth Games events, before the state government pulled the rug underneath thousands of unsuspecting Victorians.
The Games would have started this week.
Instead, locals can now only lament an opportunity lost.
The Games themselves have been shipped to Glasgow, and are set to start in July, carrying with them a hefty price tag which Victorian taxpayers have to foot.
The cancellation of the regional Games was labelled a “major embarrassment” at the time, after a ‘computer says no’ moment saw the budget explode by more than $6 billion. Just what went on behind the scenes has been thrust back into the spotlight, after it was revealed recently that then Premier Daniel Andrews and his government wined and dined Games officials before convincing them to sign off.
Not many stories get absolutely everybody talking.
This was one of them.
Not many see a plethora of ideas as potential solutions come through either.
Even the bloke who runs Jim’s Mowing (the actual Jim) phoned the Express in 2023 saying athletes could stay in one of his conference centres.
Local clubs, aspiring athletes, tourism and hospitality sectors were all set to benefit, not to mention the instant exposure the Latrobe Valley would have been granted.
The Valley was to host cricket, rugby sevens, shooting, badminton and road cycling.
The sports remain but the players won’t ever set foot on the surfaces delivered.
As a trade-off, the state government is still delivering sporting infrastructure and housing projects promised for the Games.
The facilities will be magnificent once complete, although surely tinged with a tarnished legacy.
New turf has been laid at Ted Summerton Reserve, Moe (which was to host cricket), while works are continuing at Latrobe City Soccer Stadium, Falcons Park (rugby sevens).
No upgrades have commenced at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (badminton), although Morwell Gun Club has received its upgrade.
Even then though, it is hard to escape feelings the upgrades are simple token gestures.
The gun club was promised three Olympic trench shooting layouts, a huge green shooting curtain and spectator seating.
After some pushback, the club eventually got two trenches, which a club officials says “we were lucky to get”.
Morwell MP Harriet Shing was Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy at the time of the cancellation.
While she understands people’s frustrations, she is adamant the right decision was made.
“It would have been great to have these Games in Gippsland, I don’t think anyone disagrees with that, but at a cost of more than $6 billion for a 12-day event, when people are grappling with the cost-of-living, it’s a project that just didn’t stack up,” she affirmed.
“As soon as the decision was taken not to proceed, we immediately allocated $2 billion toward the regional package, that includes $520 million to upgrade sporting facilities but also $1 billion for at least 1300 social and affordable homes throughout rural and regional Victoria.
“We’re really determined to make the most of this money. Across the board we are seeing that local communities are getting the benefit of that investment.”
Opposition MP Melina Bath wasn’t accepting that.
“The 2026 Commonwealth Games for regional Victoria were a fraud and doomed from the start due to Labor’s ineptitude and financial mismanagement,” she said.
“Premier Allan schmoozed officials to promote Labor’s Commonwealth Games con job, building up the expectation of regional communities only to fail us dismally.
“Premier Allan and Labor wasted $600 million of taxpayers’ money, including $200 million for Glasgow to host the Games. The wasted $600 million could have delivered more than 350 new hospital beds or funded over 6000 additional police officers for a year.
“The Games cancellation and loss of vital long-term regional economic opportunities for Latrobe Valley and other regional centres can never be recovered.”
The injection from the Games, both economically and for local morale, would have been substantial.
Latrobe City Business Chamber President Peter Ceeney admits it is hard not to ponder an opportunity lost.
“This week should have been a proud moment for Latrobe City, and I think for many local businesses there’s a real sense of what might have been,” he told the Express.
“There was genuine excitement about the opportunities the Commonwealth Games could have brought – not just for business, but for community pride.
Local people were ready to back it, to welcome visitors, and to show the wider world what Latrobe City is all about.
“That’s why the disappointment still feels personal. Local business puts its heart into these opportunities. And while this week reminds us of what was lost, it also shows just how much belief there is in the future of this region if we’re given the chance.”
Latrobe City Mayor Sharon Gibson echoed these thoughts.
“It is really disappointing that we haven’t got the Commonwealth Games,” she said.
“We’ve got some of the infrastructure but it doesn’t equate.
“We were to have people, events down here, if it was to go for the whole Games, that’s 10 days, the visitor economy would have been huge. You wouldn’t see all the shops empty as they are now, because they would have had a reason (to be open).
“It was a real kick in the guts.
“The Games would have brought a lot of money to the economy and jobs.”
Ever matter-of-fact, the mayor finished by summing up the feelings many locals had of the state government.
“People are over promises made and not delivered.”
In terms of big news stories in the history of the Express, the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games ranks highly.
It was among the most memorable when the Express compiled its list for its 60th anniversary last year.
Among other stories was the digging up of Yallourn (circa 1980s), privatisation of the SES (1990s), formation of Latrobe City (1994), the Jaidyn Leskie murder (1997), Black Saturday (2009) and the closure of Hazelwood (2017).
Life changed for many locals when the SEC was privatised by the Liberals.
It’s pivoted for many under Labor.
