Andrews throws up $7 billion Games hot potato and no one is catching

Thanks, but no thanks.

That's the rapid response from New South Wales, Western Australia, Gold Coast and South Australia on the possibility of stepping in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, following Victoria's shock axing of the event.

As Premier Daniel Andrews revealed the cost of hosting the Games had blown out to around $7 billion, almost triple the original estimate of $2.6 billion, it appears that horror figure is a costly hot potato no other Australian state or city wants to handle.

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South Australian MP Tom Koutsantonis said "it's off our agenda" because "it's not value for money" as he revealed the tone of his discussions with SA Premier Peter Malinauskas, who is currently away on leave.

WA Premier Roger Cook lambasted the Games as "ruinously expensive" and declared "they aren't what they used to be", as he confirmed the west was out, too.

Cook did, however, say he was open to a split-city model.

On the east coast, Gold Coast's acting mayor Donna Gates poured cold water on suggestions it could rescue the Games, quite rightly pointing out it would be difficult for any city to take on responsibility with three years to go, and bemoaning the huge cost.

NSW Premier Chris Minns followed suit just after noon, confirming his state will not bid to host the Games, while across the Tasman, New Zealand also let the Andrews hospital pass fly by.

While making the surprise announcement, Andrews said he wasn't prepared for Victoria to host the event "at any cost" and especially if there was not a lasting benefit for Victorian communities and the whole state.

In a departure from previous Commonwealth Games, the 2026 event was not scheduled to be held in one major city, but across a number of regional cities.

The Games were set to run over 12 days in March 2026.

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"Six-seven billion is well and truly too much for a 12-day sporting event," Andrews said, fronting media after whispers of Victoria's fold began to circulate this morning.

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

The Labor leader will now have to somehow explain to Victorians the events that led to him pushing the eject button.

There are some key questions that need answering, namely how did officials get the budget so wildly wrong, and how much it will cost the state to exit the contract.

The Liberals described the Andrews stand down as a massive humiliation and a betrayal of regional Victoria.

Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips called the decision "beyond disappointing" and "a comprehensive let-down for the athletes".

He questioned Andrews' descriptions of the budget blowout, claiming it was "a gross exaggeration and not reflective of the operational costs presented to the Victorian 2026 organising committee board as recently as June this year".

Phillips said the focus now was to find a new host.

"Australia till now has had a great reputation of hosting great Games," he said.

"But we know they'll be let down today by the (Victorian) government's decision."

On the official Victoria 2026 website, which was yet to be edited to reflect the sudden change, the event was being trumpeted as "a game-changer" because of its innovative and flexible model that would be "unprecedented in the event's history".

Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton were set to play host to 20 sports across 24 disciplines, with Melbourne to host the opening ceremony.

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