Cancelled 2026 Commonwealth Games leaves unfinished legacy across Victoria

The volunteers at the Morwell Gun Club in Victoria’s east should be getting ready to host some of the world’s best shooters.

But instead, the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games means that the range sits empty.

The Morwell Gun Club was scheduled to host clay target shooting at the Games, which were to begin today.

Club secretary Ken Balcombe has mixed feelings.

Mr Balcombe said he was pleased the club had received its promised upgrades, but was disappointed at losing the exposure the event would have brought to the Gippsland region.

When the Games were cancelled the Victorian government promised to deliver all the infrastructure it had committed to when the state agreed to host the event in regional Victoria.

The Morwell Gun Club received two Olympic trench bunkers, new play shelters, wheelchair-accessible paths, disabled parking, a new armoury, and power connected to the off-grid site from state government funding.

“To get the new Olympic trench rangers and the Commonwealth Games legacy infrastructure has been fantastic for the Morwell Gun Club and fantastic for the Gippsland shooting community because there’s no facility like this between Canberra and Melbourne,” Mr Balcombe said.

“This is the only facility to shoot Olympic trench, and Olympic trench is the highest level of shooting sports available. So to have this here in Morwell is fantastic.”

Mr Balcombe said the upgraded facilities could also host universal trench, a growing discipline in Australian shooting, giving the community even more variety.

Projects underway

Of the 17 sporting upgrades promised across regional Victoria only three have been delivered, and 13 are underway.

In Bendigo, bowls facilities are also being upgraded as part of the legacy projects.

Bendigo Bowls Club president Geoff Briggs said while the Games’ cancellation was initially upsetting, the club’s upgrades will leave them in a stronger position.

“I guess from the initial excitement of the announcement it was a bit devastating for us all about the cancellation,” Mr Briggs said.

Mr Briggs said the redevelopment will help secure the club’s future and allow it to welcome more players and community groups.

Cost blow-outs

Back in 2023, when the state government scrapped the Commonwealth Games, it blamed significant cost blow-outs for abandoning plans to host the event across regional Victoria.

After initially budgeting $2.6 billion for the Games, then-premier Daniel Andrews said skyrocketing costs would make it at least $6 billion to host them.

“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools to host an event that is three times the cost estimated and budgeted for last year,” Mr Andrews said at the time.

Instead, he announced a $2 billion spending package for regional Victoria to deliver promised sporting upgrades.

The funding included a $1 billion Regional Housing Fund to build 1,300 homes in the regions.

Regional Housing Fund statistics show that by June 30 last year $91.5 million had been spent on construction across projects tied to the Games, with the government expecting to spend a further $420.3 million by June 30 this year.

However, the state is still waiting for many of the housing projects to be delivered.

The projects include housing construction on vacant land on English Street in Morwell and 50 social homes at Pound Road in Colac, which have been delayed until 2027 or 2028.

Plans also included developing an athletes’ village with 1,800 beds at the Ballarat saleyards site, which would have later been converted into social housing.

Victorian housing minister Harriet Shing said the government was working to deliver the housing and sporting projects linked to the Commonwealth Games at the same time.

“We’re doing a lot of work around at least 1,300 new social housing homes across rural and regional Victoria,” Ms Shing said.

“So not temporary housing, which is what the athletic village accommodation would have been, but permanent housing. 

“That means that people can move into it and can call it their permanent home.”

She said the government was also delivering social and affordable housing through its Housing Big Build fund, which included $2.25 billion for rural and regional Victoria.

Civil works on 72 homes at the site at English Street, Morwell would begin next month, Ms Shing said.

Games go to Glasgow

Despite Victoria’s withdrawal, the Commonwealth Games will still take place in 2026, with 2014 host Glasgow in Scotland set to deliver a scaled-back event from July 23 to August 2 this year.

Former Olympic cyclist and Commonwealth Games medallist Kathy Watt said the cancellation was a lost opportunity for young athletes.

“It just gives them impetus to keep going and be inspired to go on for the next Olympics.”

Watt also questioned the government’s decision, pointing to the 114 million English pounds ($215 million) budget for Glasgow.

“If you’re going to give such a huge budget to Glasgow to hold the Games, surely that budget could have been used for running it here,” she said.

“Use the velodrome that we already had or give up other opportunities to the towns or things like that if you couldn’t have it there for some reason.”

Geelong City Council Mayor Stretch Kontelj said spending about $580 million on the Games not being held was a shame.

“Putting it to one side, no point crying over split milk,” Cr Kontelj said.

“We’ve got to look at maximising the legacy projects, and to that extent we’re grateful here in Geelong that at least those projects that were promised will be delivered.

“Not on time, but at least they’re being delivered. We’re working closely with the state government to ensure that.

“And then working on how we maximise the potential of those projects for the region going forward.”