Senator Bridget McKenzie asks questions to Neil Fergus, chief executive officer at Intelligent Risks PTY LTD at the Senate inquiry into Australia's preparedness to host the Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralypmic games.
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00:00 What was the rationale about the organising committee having a drop-in, drop-out velodrome
00:07 in Bendigo? Look, I absolutely applaud the notion of trying to get sporting infrastructure into
00:17 regional Victoria, but velodromes don't make money. Velodromes cost money,
00:24 and I'd be very surprised if Cycling Australia had any enthusiasm for doing that in Bendigo
00:31 when there's a velodrome, world-class facility. John what's it called? John Cain. John Cain
00:39 Velodrome. Thank you, Senator. So, no, I don't understand that Bendigo proposition.
00:45 And was concerns about that proposition raised in any meetings that you were a part of or
00:53 on the margins of those meetings? Yes, on the margins, absolutely.
00:58 So the concerns about the drop-in, drop-out velodrome at Bendigo were on the margins discussed?
01:04 Yes. Velodromes are very expensive structures, and they're no cheaper doing temporary ones. The
01:10 surfaces are very specialist materials. Actually, we asked Cycling Australia this when we were in
01:20 Bendigo a couple of weeks ago, because my understanding is that velodromes are incredibly
01:25 expensive. Was there any ballpark figure touted on how much this particular temporary piece of
01:35 infrastructure was going to cost? I have a vague recollection it might have been $120 million.
01:41 Right. I couldn't swear to that. No, no. Give or take.