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Credit: <\/span>Illustration: Megan Herbert<\/cite><\/p>\n Victoria\u2019s economy benefited by an estimated $2.3 billion from hosting six games in the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup, according to Airwallex global accountants. Even more importantly, the Matildas brought the nation together, reset appreciation of female sports and inspired a generation of young soccer players. We did it at a canter.<\/p>\n We could have held the Commonwealth Games with equal success had the state government decided to do it with the existing, extensive, world-class facilities in Melbourne. Instead it chose an always unlikely plan to hold the Games in regional centres that did not have the necessary facilities. Now we have spent $380 million for not holding the Games. What a shame we have missed the opportunity to inspire a generation of young athletes and enjoy some more world-class competition. The Victorian government will pay compensation of $380 million, split between three bodies: the Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships and Commonwealth Games Australia. Since it is Victorian taxpayers\u2019 money, perhaps these bodies can tell us what proportion of their payout represents \u201cexpenses incurred\u201d and what proportion represents \u201cwindfall gain\u201d. They might also tell us how any \u201cwindfall gain\u201d will be used to further the interests of athletes rather than (say) the interests of well-travelled Games bureaucrats. After days when headlines have highlighted teacher shortages, waiting times in hospital emergency departments, ambulance delays, trade skills shortages, poor road maintenance and COVID-19 costs, Daniel Andrews dismisses the Commonwealth Games\u2019 cancellation cost as only $380 million, as if it were $380.<\/p>\n He then skewers Victorian voters and taxpayers by callously shrugging off with: \u201cWho knows who wins and who loses in those sorts of matters?\u201d We can only be consoled by remembering that this additional loss is only about a third of the cost of cancelling the East West Link after we were assured the contract was not worth the paper it was written on. Daniel Andrews says the compensation for the cancelled Commonwealth Games is only $380 million and \u201cnot a dollar more\u201d. He seems to have forgotten (conveniently) to add in the cost of the negotiating team (remember, they flew to England) and all the costs involved in setting up the organisational structure, rented premises, the time spent by public servants, and the money and time spent by municipal authorities with their preparations. However, he is right in that we cannot afford them. The $380 million loss of Victorian taxpayers\u2019 money due to the government\u2019s decision-making will mean money needed for more essential needs will not be available. Daniel Andrews asks: \u201cWho knows who wins and who loses in these sorts of matters?\u201d I think we know the answer to that question. Sadly, Victoria\u2019s debt levels are so bad that the enormous sum of $380 million is but a drop in the ocean. If only we had not thrown our hat in the ring for the Games, one that no other country wanted to host, we could have directed this money to something the state actually needs \u2013 less reckless spending. It is incorrect to say that the cost of cancelling the Commonwealth Games is only $380 million. The Premier failed to state that the payout will likely come from borrowing another $380 million in order to pay that fee. If so, what are the borrowing costs\/interest rate and terms of a $380 million loan? Re \u201cEnergy firms reject fight on climate target\u201d (The Age, 20\/8). Labor\u2019s monstrous transmission debacle, VNI West, is a grave miscalculation. Business Council Australia\u2019s Jennifer Westacott\u2019s demand that in the transition to renewables \u201cwe must focus on removing barriers\u201d is a further example of language that attempts to veil the human impact.<\/p>\n We are not \u201cbarriers\u201d, we are people who have suddenly had our daily lives, our farms, our mental health, our community, and our future thrown into chaos. To imply that we can be \u201cremoved\u201d like an inanimate object is arrogant and heartless. These towers are archaic, expensive, and environmentally damaging, and they cannot be allowed to proceed. Traditionally farmers are represented by LNP members of parliament. LNP climate cynicism has left my country 10years behind in our fight against climate change. Who are most affected by a hot climate? Farmers. Own goal.<\/p>\n Who are now trying to prevent towers \u2013 for power lines for the transmission of renewable energy \u2013 being erected on their land? Farmers, without the power lines, will your crops even be able to be grown on the land you are hysterically trying to protect? When Nationals leader David Littleproud announces that the federal National Party will not be part of any future Coalition government federally that does not back pausing \u201cthe reckless race\u201d to renewables, he is right. The Coalition is destined to remain in the wilderness of opposition for the foreseeable future while it continues to object to our country replacing energy generated by fossil fuels with renewables. I am not sure if he realises that climate change is the biggest future threat to the primary industries that the Nationals claim to represent. I see that we are going to explore the moon for water. If there is water, what then? Has a cost\/benefit analysis been conducted? How about this effort and astronomical expenditure be for benefit here on planet Earth. As a Matildas\u2019 fan, I was disgusted and devastated by the actions of the violent crowd at Federation Square last week. I was among countless young women, girls and families who were forced out due to the actions of an aggressive crowd of mostly young men.<\/p>\n We were accosted with thrown flares and projectiles, and metal barriers were lifted up over our heads at this supposedly family-friendly event. An event organiser, speaking from the stage, urged us to our feet when the reckless masses streamed in over downed barriers into an already over-capacity Fed Square.<\/p>\n I was furious at the display of toxic masculinity and shouted against the flow of youths shoving past me in their eagerness to join the mayhem. What once was a place of celebration of women in sport became a battleground. To the Prince of Wales: Queen Letizia and Infanta Sofia are travelling to Australia to support Spain in the Women\u2019s World Cup final. Your pathetic excuse not to come too \u2013 the distance from Britain \u2013 is a great reason for Australia to become a republic. The Prime Minister\u2019s announcement that $200 million will be donated to women\u2019s sport makes me feel devastated. Why can\u2019t that money be donated to better research and support for the thousands of Australians who are battling mental illness and sleeping on the streets? Why is running around and kicking a ball more important than a way of life that so often ends in suicide? Tony Wright, in a few hundred words, beautiful captures a moment in the history of technology when one occupation fades away to be replaced by something which probably seemed to many at the time to be almost from another world \u2013 \u201cSaved by copytakers. Stop. Break. Bless them\u201d (The Age, 19\/8).<\/p>\n His observations about the late journalist Ron Saw\u2019s outrage over the hanging of Ronald Ryan is hard to read. That a state would expect ordinary citizens to be witness to that appalling act is almost as shocking as the act itself. That said, the moral outrage expressed by those witnesses probably contributed to the ending of capital punishment in Australia. The Fitzroy Gardens are a much loved public space and offer a peaceful sanctuary from the surrounding noise and bustle. Hopefully the City of Melbourne will soon release details about the renovation to the pavilion which is being taken over by the restaurant operator behind Vue De Monde (The Age, 19\/8).<\/p>\n Will plans include extensions to the outdoor area for functions? Will temporary marquees be erected to cater for corporate and festive occasions? Importantly, will music be permitted to intrude upon those who are using other parts of the park? By all means use the space \u2013 but do not allow private interests to override the spiritual, reflective and natural values in an increasingly crowded, noisy and commercialised Melbourne. It is all very well for \u201cbig names to weigh up Kooyong\u201d (The Age, 19\/8) and to explain the cause of the Liberal demise as being \u201ccaught up in a teal wave\u201d but the focus should be how hard is an aspirant prepared to work. The current incumbent, Monique Ryan, works very hard, it seems, and not for a party but for the people who live in Kooyong. Any challenger needs to take on that commitment. \u201cWe have to analyse the world as it is rather than as we would want it to be\u201d, Anthony Albanese told the National ALP Conference. Prime minister, leadership is about the exact opposite \u2013 leading the world to where we would want it to be. Re \u201cGhost colleges and visa schemes\u201d (The Age, 19\/8). The final step will be the phasing out of teachers\/lecturers and the transition to \u201cself-directed learning\u201d to fully corporatise tertiary education as a profit-making machine. Our local creeks and waterways are valuable places of enchantment and joy. Sadly, these have suffered for decades as a staggering 2.5 billion items of waste spread downstream every year via rivers into Port Phillip Bay (The Age, 18\/8). Fortunately, despite waste build-up, these creeks have devoted friends. Water management projects are happening across Melbourne and many have been under way for decades.<\/p>\n Now a co-ordinated approach has hopes of raising the bar of sustainability and resilience. Maximising environmental, social, cultural and economic outcomes via collaboration, involvement of \u201cFriends of\u201d groups, Melbourne Water and other organisations should prove positive. The more friends and support the creeks have, the healthier our waterways become, benefiting all sentient beings that call them home. It was Nero who fiddled while Rome burned. Are we now playing while our Earth burns? Treasurer Jim Chalmers says half the budget will be swallowed by spending on health, aged care, the NDIS, defence and interest payments on debt within the next 40 years (Sunday Age, 20\/8). Education is not mentioned. If more money were invested in education, it would improve people\u2019s opportunities in life, employment and wellbeing. This would put downward pressure on our health budget. Has Labor got any courage to act? Re \u201cInexplicable\u2019: McLachlan admits goal umpiring blunder but defends review system\u201d (The Age, 20\/8). The AFL needs to review its processes in determining if a goal has been scored by making greater use of technology to ensure that the outcome is fully transparent. To avoid a review is to lay the potential for a grand final outcome that may well be mired in controversy. The claim by Bicycle Network chief executive Alison McCormack that a painted-on bike lane along Kerferd Road is not a safe option is at odds with reality. On-road bike lanes provide the most cost-effective solution to cyclist safety, giving them and motorists certainty as to where the other party is located. Provided these lanes are continuous, of a consistent standard, and part of an integrated system, they improve cyclist safety without alienating motorists by reducing traffic lanes.<\/p>\n (And yes, my wife and I have a bit of form in this regard having ridden across the US, Vancouver to the Mexican border, Quebec to Washington DC, a lap of the Adriatic and multiple Alpine Classic Extremes.) How can the Andrews government enforce a gag order that stops all parties from discussing the $380 million Games payout? Taxpayers deserve the details. You have to hand it to Dan. He\u2019s turned burning $380million into a good news story. Another sports rort but this time a little more upfront? The Liberal Party thinks it owns Kooyong. It doesn\u2019t. The Abbott who is urging us to vote No is the same Abbott who said climate change was crap. Hmm. Here\u2019s hoping Australia doesn\u2019t follow the CPAC down the dark, cruel, Trumpism rabbit hole. If the PM negotiated with US officials over subs as ineptly as he\u2019s handled the Voice, they\u2019d be laughing all the way to their banks. ]Fresh legs were needed in the last two matches.To submit a letter to The Age<\/em>, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
COMMONWEALTH GAMES<\/h3>\n
Games could have been as good as World Cup<\/h3>\n
Tom Williams, Albert Park<\/strong><\/p>\nHow much of the compensation will go to athletes?<\/h3>\n
Paul Kennelly, Caulfield North<\/strong><\/p>\nWhere that money should have been spent<\/h3>\n
Ron Townsend, Wheelers Hill<\/strong><\/p>\nHas Andrews included all the extra wasted costs?<\/h3>\n
Vince Vozzo, Blairgowrie<\/strong><\/p>\nPremier, we know who are the real losers: taxpayers<\/h3>\n
Christine Baker, Rosanna<\/strong><\/p>\nIn Victoria\u2019s big picture of debt, this is nothing<\/h3>\n
David Metcalfe, Newtown<\/strong><\/p>\nTHE FORUM<\/h3>\n
A need to borrow more?<\/h3>\n
Peter Wisniewski, Airport West<\/strong><\/p>\nLives thrown into chaos<\/h3>\n
Susan Gould, Mysia<\/strong><\/p>\nFarmers, face reality<\/h3>\n
Jane James, Hawthorn<\/strong><\/p>\nFight our biggest threat<\/h3>\n
Howard Duncan, Ocean Grove<\/strong><\/p>\nFocus on planet Earth<\/h3>\n
Geoff Coulsell Burwood East<\/strong><\/p>\nFemales under siege<\/h3>\n
Sammi Elder, Rowville<\/strong><\/p>\nHow little he cares<\/h3>\n
Christine Hammett, Richmond<\/strong><\/p>\nWhere money should go<\/h3>\n
Jo Buchanan, Northcote<\/strong><\/p>\nA truly barbarous act<\/h3>\n
Brandon Mack, Deepdene<\/strong><\/p>\nThe people\u2019s sanctuary<\/h3>\n
Paul Sinclair, Thornbury<\/strong><\/p>\nA true representative<\/h3>\n
Marguerite Heppell, East Hawthorn<\/strong><\/p>\nThe role of a leader<\/h3>\n
Peter Keightley, Mount Martha<\/strong><\/p>\nThe worst-case scenario<\/h3>\n
Leigh Ackland, Deepdene<\/strong><\/p>\nOur precious waterways<\/h3>\n
Isabelle Henry, Ascot Vale<\/strong><\/p>\nModern day Neros<\/h3>\n
Rodney Edelsten, Brighton<\/strong><\/p>\nWhy education comes first<\/h3>\n
Judy Kevill, Ringwood<\/strong><\/p>\nGrand final nightmare<\/h3>\n
Rod Leonarder, Roseville<\/strong><\/p>\nKeeping cyclists safe<\/h3>\n
Russell Patterson, Heathmont<\/strong><\/p>\nAND ANOTHER THING<\/h3>\n
Politics<\/h3>\n
Liz Fritzlaff, Launching Place<\/strong><\/p>\n
Peter Randles, Pascoe Vale South<\/strong><\/p>\n
John Brodie, Alphington<\/strong><\/p>\n
Belinda Burke, Hawthorn<\/strong><\/p>\n
Nick Jans, Princes Hill<\/strong><\/p>\n
Michael Brinkman, Ventnor<\/strong><\/p>\n
Des Files, Brunswick<\/p>\nMatildas<\/h3>\n
Lindsay Zoch, Mildura<\/strong><\/p>\n