Ballarat politicians, leaders and a local athletics icon appeared a Senate inquiry into the cancelled Commonwealth Games yesterday.
At the hearing in Bendigo, Ballarat’s Deputy Mayor Amy Johnson said there was no discussions with the city before the government went ahead with a commitment to host and said many projects have been delayed as a result of the focus on the games.
She called for direct funding to be made available to compensate councils and businesses who may have suffered losses due to the axing of the games.
City of Ballarat councilor Ben Taylor also spoke about how CEO Evan King had to be ‘very careful’ about what was explained to councilors, due to the signing of a non-disclosure agreement.
Representing Athletics Australia, Ballarat’s Steve Moneghetti highlighted the disappointment in the local community after losing the Games.
“There was such excitement about having [the athletics] in Ballarat, and any infrastructure is probably on the backburner right now because there’s still that coming to grips with not having the athletics in Ballarat,” he said.
The next public hearing on the games axing will take place on September 7 in Canberra.
