Victorian Politics

[Smurf1976]

It brings to $517,000 the amount Mr Andrews has spent on seven trips to China since 2015.

The real question as I see it isn't the cost but the purpose of seven trips to the same country over a relatively short period?

 

[Sean K]

The real question as I see it isn't the cost but the purpose of seven trips to the same country over a relatively short period?

I'm not sure about the trade argument, but the student argument, maybe. They bring in a lot of cash.

But, I'm not sure how the 'Big Build' stuff is being financed. It's being hidden, so we don't really know.

What's quite incredible is that these trips have been shroud in secrecy. How's he getting away with spending public money and not having to declare it immediately?

Or, maybe he just likes orange duck. Yum yum.

 

[moXJO]

I was surprised when my mate said the bike tracks down there were all crumbling. Roads weren't that much better. What's he spending all the money on- consultants?

 

[wayneL]

I was surprised when my mate said the bike tracks down there were all crumbling. Roads weren't that much better. What's he spending all the money on- consultants?

All dictators are kleptocrats.

</onlypartlytongueincheek>

 

[sptrawler]

I couldn't believe it when I read this article, duck shooting has been banned in W.A for over 20 years, but then again Victorians are different.

Duck hunt ban will trigger mass walk out, union warns: 'It will happen'

Find out why unions are threatening to walk off the job in Victoria if the state bans duck hunting.

au.news.yahoo.com

Victorian union bosses believe major infrastructure projects across the state will be “shut down” if the Andrews Labor government bans duck hunting.

 

[mullokintyre]

I couldn't believe it when I read this article, duck shooting has been banned in W.A for over 20 years, but then again Victorians are different.

Duck hunt ban will trigger mass walk out, union warns: 'It will happen'

Find out why unions are threatening to walk off the job in Victoria if the state bans duck hunting.

au.news.yahoo.com

Victorian union bosses believe major infrastructure projects across the state will be “shut down” if the Andrews Labor government bans duck hunting.

Never really understood duck hunting.
Wild Duck tastes like crap, and you have a 30% chance of breaking a tooth on one of the many pellets left in the body after cooking.
Mick

 

[sptrawler]

Never really understood duck hunting.
Wild Duck tastes like crap, and you have a 30% chance of breaking a tooth on one of the many pellets left in the body after cooking.
Mick

Absolutely, I remember going out with Dad when I was kid and after Mum plucked the ducks they looked more like a quail than duck, then as you say they were full of pellets. Mum told Dad not to ever bring another one home.
We never went out again.

 

[Smurf1976]

I couldn't believe it when I read this article, duck shooting has been banned in W.A for over 20 years, but then again Victorians are different.

It's an outright abuse of union members' funds in my view.

I mean of all things, duck hunting is about as far removed from the work and employment of ETU members as it gets. There's absolutely no linkage there whatsoever.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

I couldn't believe it when I read this article, duck shooting has been banned in W.A for over 20 years, but then again Victorians are different.
Victorian union bosses believe major infrastructure projects across the state will be “shut down” if the Andrews Labor government bans duck hunting.

There were clowns in ACT with car stickers stating "I support a dragway and I VOTE". Every election they would muscle up and throw their collective weight around.

Minority politics, though Vic duck hunters are of the same ilk. But, ultimately, empty rhetoric (we hope). Norm Gallagher will shut them down.

 

[sptrawler]

There were clowns in ACT with car stickers stating "I support a dragway and I VOTE". Every election they would muscle up and throw their collective weight around.

Minority politics, though Vic duck hunters are of the same ilk. But, ultimately, empty rhetoric (we hope). Norm Gallagher will shut them down.

Spot on Dona, what were the car shows called? the summernats or something like that.
Now all of a sudden they are greener than Kermit. ?

Victoria seems to thrive on empty rhetoric, when it comes to politics, from the outside looking in.
Their State debt is blowing out, their manufacturing base is receding and their main power source is still coal, yet they seem to portraying themselves as forward thinking.
I'm yet to see it manifest itself, other than in a smug persona.
Hopefully we see an new dawn, my guess it wont be until Dan releases everyone from his spell, which will be very soon IMO.
If he has any sense and I think he has proved he has plenty of that.

 

[sptrawler]

Well this tells you how much manure Victoria is in.

Commonwealth Games bodies slam Victorian government's decision to walk away from hosting duties — as it happened

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirms the state will no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to cost blowouts. Look back on our coverage as it unfolded.

www.abc.net.au

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will this morning announce that plans for the state to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 will be cancelled, the ABC understands.

Multiple sources have told the ABC that the state government has decided not to go ahead with the $2 billion games, which were to be hosted across regional Victoria, because of funding issues.

 

[Sean K]

Well this tells you how much manure Victoria is in.

Commonwealth Games bodies slam Victorian government's decision to walk away from hosting duties — as it happened

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirms the state will no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to cost blowouts. Look back on our coverage as it unfolded.

www.abc.net.au

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will this morning announce that plans for the state to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 will be cancelled, the ABC understands.

Multiple sources have told the ABC that the state government has decided not to go ahead with the $2 billion games, which were to be hosted across regional Victoria, because of funding issues.

Not sure if it's because of our debt or just that it was a dumb idea.

 

[sptrawler]

Not sure if it's because of our debt or just that it was a dumb idea.

Probably a bit of both.

‘Austerity not solution’: Victoria’s plan to grow out of record debt

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says that ‘austerity is not a solution’ as he vows to grow the state out of record debt, rather than make any cuts in Tuesday’s state budget.

www.afr.com

 

[Sean K]

Probably a bit of both.

‘Austerity not solution’: Victoria’s plan to grow out of record debt

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says that ‘austerity is not a solution’ as he vows to grow the state out of record debt, rather than make any cuts in Tuesday’s state budget.

www.afr.com

Chairman Dan stating that it's now going to cost $6-7b instead of $2.5b. That's not just an inflation issue, it's a diabolically bad costing. No wonder we can't build roads and tunnels on budget.

 

[JohnDe]

Well this tells you how much manure Victoria is in.

Commonwealth Games bodies slam Victorian government's decision to walk away from hosting duties — as it happened

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirms the state will no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to cost blowouts. Look back on our coverage as it unfolded.

www.abc.net.au

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will this morning announce that plans for the state to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 will be cancelled, the ABC understands.

Multiple sources have told the ABC that the state government has decided not to go ahead with the $2 billion games, which were to be hosted across regional Victoria, because of funding issues.

Victoria is slowly turning into a quagmire, if something big and positive doesn't happen soon it will sink the rest of the states.

Is the Premier telling us that the Victorian government did not do the calculations and due diligence, before accepting the Games in 2022?

“What’s become clear is that the cost of hosting these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted and allocated...​

​

“It is not $2.6 billion, it is in fact at least $6 billion and could be as high as $7 billion and … I think it could be more than that.”​

Victoria pulls pin on 2026 Commonwealth Games

Victoria has cancelled hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, blaming a massive cost blowout.

The rights to host the 2026 event were awarded to regional Victoria last year after Birmingham replaced South Africa’s Durban as host of the 2022 games.

But Premier Daniel Andrews announced a short time ago at a snap news conference that Victoria was cancelling hosting the event because it was clear the cost would exceed $6 billion.

“Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step into host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out but, of course, not at any price and only if there was lasting benefit for Victorian communities and benefit for the whole state,” he said.

“What’s become clear is that the cost of hosting these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted and allocated and is sitting, the vast, vast majority of which has not been spent.

“It is not $2.6 billion, it is in fact at least $6 billion and could be as high as $7 billion and … I think it could be more than that.”

The Andrews government announced in 2022 that the Games would be shared across regional Victorian centres, including Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton. They were intended as a post-COVID sports and tourism boost for country Victoria.

“It’s a showcase of all that we do so well. It’s about jobs. It’s about setting our state up for the future,” Andrews said at the time.

“We know that when regional Victoria is doing well, Victoria is doing well.”

The Games were to be held from March 17-29, 2026.

Tuesday’s announcement comes about 18 months after Victoria made a solo bid for the 2026 event.

Andrews said this morning that Games authorities had been informed at “amicable and productive” meetings on Monday night.

“Our consultations with industry, all of our preparatory work tells us $6-7 billion is well and truly too much for a 12-day sporting event,” he said.

“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost is estimated and budgeted for last year.”

Instead, the Andrews government has announced a $2 billion regional funding package. It includes $1 billion for social housing in country Victoria – at least 1300 houses.

“Frankly, $6-7 billion for a sporting event – we are not doing that. That does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit,” he said.

“We will instead deliver all and more of the legacy benefits in housing, sporting infrastructure, tourism and we will unpack all that tomorrow and throughout the week.”

He said negotiations were continuing with Games authorities.

 

[JohnDe]

I wonder how much this will cost the Victorian taxpayer?

Mr Andrews confirmed he had notified the appropriate bodies of the decision, and refused to speculate on how much it would cost the state to terminate the host agreement.​

​

“I’m not going to speak on that,” he said. “Little cost has been spent. As I said from the outset, all of that will be brought to look at the appropriate time and fully accounted for but I’m not going to negotiate with the Commonwealth Games authorities via the media in Melbourne, when I’ve got a team of people doing exactly that in London. That is the appropriate way to go.”​

 

[JohnDe]

Chairman Dan stating that it's now going to cost $6-7b instead of $2.5b. That's not just an inflation issue, it's a diabolically bad costing. No wonder we can't build roads and tunnels on budget.

I'm thinking that bad costing is only part of it, the other part would have been self-glorification. They would have rolled out the propaganda bureau with headlines like; the first multi-regional games, country towns showcased to the world, tourism bonanza, unification. But they forgot to take into account the money they don't have, and the Feds aren't going to help.

It's smoke and mirrors, designed to win votes. No way that the Games was going to cost $6 or $7 billion. And if it was going to cost that, what will the Olympic games cost for 2032?

 

[mullokintyre]

Not sure if it's because of our debt or just that it was a dumb idea.

Both.

 

[UMike]

Everything is a cost blowout to this inept Government.

 

[mullokintyre]

As someone said to me, “ He’s run out of other peoples money”.
Mick