Lawyers brought in to negotiate the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games were hired weeks before the Victorian government told the public, reports claim.
Documents, seen by The Age, reveal the government had engaged lawyers from Melbourne firm Arnold Bloch Leiber for "legal services regarding withdrawal from hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games" in June.
It was nearly three weeks later on July 18, when former Premier Daniel Andrews called a snap press conference, announcing the controversial decision.
The contract with the Melbourne firm, which ran until September 21, came at a cost of $1.27 million to taxpayers.
Documents also reveal the government had sent Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule to London to inform the Commonwealth Games Federation of the withdrawal, just days before it was made public.
The trip cost $22,115, including almost $15,000 in airfares, according to the documents.
When cancelling the Games, the former premier told media, that hosting games was no longer a viable option, after the cost had blown out by billions.
"Last year when the Commonwealth Games Authorities approached us, needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out," Andrews said.
"But, of course, not at any price and only if there was lasting benefit.
"What's become clear is that the cost of hosting these Games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted. It is, in fact, at least $6 billion and could be as high as $7 billion.
"Six to seven billion is well and truly too much for a 12-day sporting event."
The cost of cancelling the games will cost taxpayers $380 million, after the government reached a settlement with the federation.
Walking into state parliament today, Premier Jacinta Allan remained tight-lipped about the timeline.
"I don't have the advice on the exact date as that was a matter that was handled at the time by the department of premier and cabinet at the time," she said.
"But what I can say is that when it became clear that the costs to run a 12-day sporting event were going to exceed $6 billion dollars, that just became too much and it became clear in the weeks leading up to the announcement as the then-premier said at the time."
The Games were slated to be held from March 17-29 in 2026, across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
