Gold Coast mayor calls Andrews’ Games drop ‘un-Australian’
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has picked a fight with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, saying cancelling theCommonwealth Games was “un-Australian” and would be the only thing he is remembered for.
Mr Tate remains adamant his city could host the Games in 2026 for $1 billion with “no capital expenditure required”, and he said he would be happy to share with other host cities in Australia.
“I don’t know him”: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday declined to enter into a war of words with outspoken Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Jason South
Queensland Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe back in July gave an “emphatic no” to the Sunshine State picking up the abandoned Games, an idea he described as “ludicrous” given the short turnaround.
“Nobody will remember who Daniel Andrews is, and they won’t remember the Victorian government. It will be that the Aussies were the ones who reneged on the 2026 Commonwealth Games,” Mr Tate said on Tuesday.
“Reneging is un-Australian. That’s a blight on the country’s reputation.”
Mr Tate also sensationally claimed he feared China would invite Pacific island nations no longer able to compete at an Australian-based Commonwealth Games in 2026 to next month’s Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“China wants a strong presence in Oceania – they will seize this opportunity to expand the Asian Games,” he said.
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has previously said Daniel Andrews is driving Victorians to the Queensland city. Paul Harris
Mr Andrews, when asked to respond to Mr Tate’s ongoing pitch for a Gold Coast Games, said: “I don’t know him, I’ve never met him.”
“I’m not here to run commentary on him. But it seems to me he’d be better off having discussions with the Commonwealth Games authorities because they’re the
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