Andrews, Allan front media in Maryborough on Games, regional plans

Daniel Andrews and member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan, who is Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery, were in Maryborough yesterday for what they saw as a positive outing.

They were joined in their upbeat mission by Harriet Shing, the Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy.

But given the abrupt irrelevance of both delivery and legacy, it was left largely to the Premier to field questions from a hungry news pack who had made the trip from Melbourne to grill him about the decision.

Whether the Commonwealth Games Federation had been "blindsided", whether the prohibitive $6 billion figure was inflated, how much it would cost to cancel the Games and who had done the disastrous initial costing - these were all burning issues reporters wanted answers to.

But in a media conference that lasted an hour-and-a-half few answers were forthcoming, with the Premier repeatedly insisting he could not jeopardise negotiations currently underway with the Games federation in London by revealing details.

On why the Games couldn't have been moved to Melbourne to save money, Mr Andrews said the sole motivation for hosting them had been to boost regional economies.

Nevertheless, before the final call was made, "every possible option" had been considered.

"With reduced sports, with all manner of different changes, you could not bring this back to anywhere near the budget," Mr Andrews said.

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The decision had been made on Monday afternoon into the evening after the government's Expenditure Review Committee met over the weekend and on Monday morning.

For what were to be the host regions, the Premier reiterated the government's commitment to building promised infrastructure.

In Bendigo this includes a stadium expansion, new showgrounds exhibition space and redevelopment of the bowling club's greens.

In bad news for the city, the plan to construct a Flora Hill athletes and officials village which would be retained for social and commercial housing was left up in the air, with the initiative now to be added to the mix of those considered for backing as part of a new regional housing fund.

The new $1 billion fund was the centrepiece of the regional good news package announced in Maryborough on Wednesday, wich will see at least 1300 dwellings built across regional areas of the state, the ministers said.

Council to Homeless Persons CEO Deborah Di Natale was on hand to endorse the housing initiative, which she described as "a win for all those regional Victorians who've been struggling to put a roof over their heads".

With 6000 new dwellings needed every year for a decade to address the state's crisis the initiative was something to hold onto, she said afterwards.

Also carved out of the unneeded $2.6 billion Games budget was $150 million to build accommodation blocks for regional workers, such as the one in Maryborough where the press conference took place.

There is $150 million for regional tourism and events, $60 million for regional tourism infrastructure and another $60 million for a regional community sport development fund.

Another $35 million has been earmarked for regional community sport infrastructure and $25 million for community sports programs, with other sums of $5 million or more allocated to regional tourism industry development, growing food and fibre exports, Aboriginal economic development, council support, tiny towns and regional multicultural festivals.

Questioned by a reporter about the Opposition's claim she should consider her future, Jacinta Allan batted the criticism away.

"I am proud to serve as a member of Daniel Andrews' cabinet and I think over the past eight years or so I've demonstrated that I'm not one to cut and run when challenges get hard," she said.

"I, alongside the Premier and my other colleagues, will roll our sleeves up, work through the detail, work through the decision making processes and work to make the best decisions for the Victorian community."

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