Witnesses before an inquiry into Victoria cancelling the Commonwealth Games were quick to explain why they had to remain silent.
It only took a couple of minutes to realise that a Senate inquiry into the Victorian government’s decision toAll involved were soon pointing to the recentand other related legal and regulatory obligations to declare there was little or nothing they could add, leaving the public mired in the dark.
In one of the day’s few revelations, former federal sports minister senator Richard Colbeck claimed Pakula had told him last February that Victoria did not need any funding from the federal government.Pakula said he would “prefer not to put private conversations between ministers into the public domain”, but asserted his comment referred to a “point in time” being just weeks out from the Morrison government going into caretaker mode.
The inquiry – chaired by Nationals senator Matt Canavan and originally set up to assess Australia’s readiness for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics – asked who had sought the confidentiality clauses.“We didn’t ask for it, we didn’t suggest it,” Commonwealth Games Australia president Ben Houston said, leaving all eyes turned to the Andrews government, which has declined to appear at the inquiry.
“The trust our clients have in EY to keep their information confidential is central to our ability to operate.”If not what, then when was EY commissioned by the Victorian government, Liberal senator Bridget McKenzie asked. “Given the confidential nature of this project, the discussions were confined to a core project team of key stakeholders and did not involve other sporting organisations, venue operators and other government departments or the Commonwealth,” he revealed.“It’s part of our confidential contracting arrangement with the government,” Walker said.
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