Mr Phillips has asked premiers and chief ministers for expressions of interest by July so that an Australian city could be chosen by the organisation at its November board meeting. Mr Phillips said while it would be “unusual” for a country to host the games again after just eight years, 2026 remained realistic for Australia. “Our understanding is that Canada has expressed interest in 2030 so we believe there may be a window for Australia in 2026,” Mr Phillips said. Durban in South African was to host the games in 2022, but was stripped of its rights last year after a trail of missed deadlines and financial problems. It would have been the first time Africa hosted the games. Birmingham will host the games instead.

Mr Foley said 2026 would coincide with the planned opening of Sydney’s new airport at Badgerys Creek and would speed up the north south rail link, which will initially link St Marys to Western Sydney Airport. It could also fast-track the metro rail line from Parramatta to the CBD, Mr Foley said. “We will also need a new athletes village, and whether that be at Olympic Park or Camellia or we modernise and renew a housing estate in Mount Druitt, it would provide an opportunity for affordable housing,” Mr Foley said. The issue of sporting infrastructure in Sydney has plagued the state government. It is spending $300 million building a new 30,000 seat stadium at Parramatta but was forced to change its plans to demolish and rebuild ANZ stadium at Sydney Olympic Park.

Instead, it will refurbish ANZ and turn it into a rectangular ground and will knock down and rebuild Allianz at Moore Park. Mr Foley has opposed the demolition and rebuild of both stadiums. The chairman of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Peter Beattie, said hosting the games in western Sydney was an obvious choice. Mr Beattie, who also chairs the NRL, said western Sydney had the sporting infrastructure to support a Commonwealth Games but it would also prove a huge boost to the region. “The great legacy of the Gold Coast games will definitely be the transport links that were prioritised for the games,” Mr Beattie said.

“The thing with something like the Commonwealth Games is that it motivates governments, it motivates oppositions, bureaucrats and it motivates corporate Australia.” Mr Beattie said transport upgrades on the Gold Coast, which included a $440 million extension of the light rail network, would have been years away had it not been for the Commonwealth Games. Mr Foley said the state government could not afford to delay any plans to bid. “My criticism is that we have heard nothing from the government for about a year now about the Commonwealth Games and the bidding process needs to get underway,” Mr Foley said. Mr Foley said he would give his bipartisan support to hosting the games, but the government needed to get moving with the process.