Tate has suggested that the 2018 host city could rescue the 2026 event with a streamlined edition after Victoria's decision to pull out.

He has claimed the project would only cost AUD$700 million (£363 million/$441 million/€419 million) but gaining Government support was always likely to be a major stumbling block.

Stirling Hinchliffe, Queensland's Sports Minister, insisted in July that it was "an emphatic no" to hosting the Games again after Victoria announced its withdrawal, claiming a ballooning bill of AUD$7 billion (£3.6 billion/$4.4 billion/€4.1 billion).

Palaszczuk said the state wanted to concentrate on hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Brisbane.

"I've told him [Tate] we do not have the time to do all the security arrangements that will be needed for his bid," she said, according to the Courier Mail.

"Our priority, and we've got a long lead time, is in relation to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"And I've told Tom this, that I don't think that bid can go forward without state and commonwealth approval because all the security arrangements are joint.

"There's also all the planning and transport.

"It takes years, it doesn't just happen overnight."

Palaszczuk, of the Labor Party, is facing re-election next year with cost of living said to be the key issue among voters.

Tate has claimed that hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games could benefit Brisbane 2032 as it would act as a dress rehearsal.

But opposition leader David Crisafulli has also rejected the plan to stage the multi-sport event for a second time.

"I don't want to be disrespectful of Tom, if anything, I love the fact we have a Mayor who says 'yeah, we'll grab that, that's great,'" he said.

"But that is not where the priorities are.

"There are so many challenges facing Queenslanders right now.

"I just think at the moment when you have people generally worried about whether or not they are going to have a roof over their head, when you have youth crime running absolutely out of control, a health system that's breaking, to talk about a sporting event and trying to scramble to make that work, well, life is about priorities.

"In my view the priorities in Queensland right now aren't aligned that way."

It was hoped that an official pitch for the Games could come from Gold Coast at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly in Singapore, scheduled from November 11 to 14.

The CGF had told insidethegames that it welcomed all discussions on the 2026 event, with Victoria's withdrawal forcing them to find a replacement host at short notice and leading to fears about the Games' very survival.

Federal Infrastructure Department secretary Jim Betts told a Senate Estimates Hearing that he didn't think there would be a Commonwealth Games, so tickets "wouldn't be worth the paper they're printed on".

He later attempted to clarify, adding: "Let me be very clear, I'm not responsible for any decisions at any level of Government about whether and when the Commonwealth Games might proceed."