00:00 Building tunnels in Melbourne's west.
00:04 The Westgate tunnel project is $4 billion over budget and years behind schedule, but
00:10 it is going ahead, unlike the Commonwealth Games which the government scrapped over cost
00:15 blowouts.
00:16 This is absolutely unconscionable.
00:18 Daniel Andrews and his team are facing twin state and federal parliamentary probes into
00:22 the cancellation.
00:23 But as to the question of whether the Premier or his deputy will front the state inquiry...
00:27 No, this is an upper house inquiry.
00:31 A rule called exclusive cognisance means the state's upper house has no power to compel
00:35 MPs from the lower house.
00:37 Could you think of something so contemptuous of the Victorian people who are concerned
00:43 about the financial compensation and damages we're now going to have to pay.
00:47 They chose an upper house committee, they need to deal with the confines or the opportunities
00:52 that are presented by the avenue that they chose.
00:54 Even before the Games were culled, a federal inquiry had concerns about whether the infrastructure
00:58 would be built in time.
01:00 It now wants to hear from the Premier about why it's been cancelled.
01:04 They have to front up and explain that.
01:05 They have to be accountable for that decision and they have to be transparent.
01:10 State MPs and officials are not compelled to appear at Senate inquiries.
01:14 The Premier's office only received his invitation this morning.
01:17 Why has the Deputy Premier chosen to cut and run by refusing to confirm that she will appear
01:22 before the select committee?
01:24 It's just basically a political stunt would be my view.
01:27 I think this is just all about trying to call witnesses in front of cameras and a bit of
01:32 theatrics.
01:34 Even without the Premier's parliamentary performance, the fact this inquiry won't report until 2025
01:40 gives the opposition a chance to keep this issue well and truly alive.
01:44 The key is to find out how and why the government got the cost of the Games so horribly wrong.
01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]
