Six months ago the ACT government backed "further examination" of Gungahlin United's collapse.
But now it's backflipped on that stance and has rejected a petition calling for a government inquiry.
The man behind the petition says the government can't just "wash their hands of it" and the people of Gungahlin deserve answers.
Specifically, they deserve answers on whether the government could've acted sooner and prevented families from losing thousands of dollars in the club's eventual downfall.
Principal petitioner John Mikita said the government could at least fund a court-sanctioned public examination of the key figures involved in Gungahlin's demise - as per the advice of liquidator Eddie Senatore.
That would've forced key figures at Gungahlin United, like former president Neil Harlock, to face formal questioning under oath.
Senatore said Harlock didn't cooperate with his investigation.
It was something the government appeared to back in March when a spokesperson told The Canberra Times the government "fully supports any further examination of the situation".
But that stance has changed with ACT Sports Minister Chris Steel rejecting calls for an independent inquiry.
Gungahlin United folded last November under the weight of $688,000 in debt, which included $184,000 owed to the government in outstanding fees for sports ground hire.
Senatore found the club had been trading insolvent since at least December 2021.
Mikita's petition, which was sponsored by Liberal MLA Peter Cain, called for the government to conduct a "full, independent inquiry" into "whether any warning signs were identified and, if so, how they were managed" by the government.
But Steel's response, which The Canberra Times has obtained, rejected those calls.
Mikita was disappointed in the government's response of "nothing to see here".
"The liquidator investigated GUFC," he said.
"What hasn't been independently examined is the government's own role.
"You can't acknowledge years of financial problems, allow around $184,000 in government fees to go unpaid and then simply wash your hands of it.
"The Gungahlin community deserves answers."
Steel said the government continued to provide Gungahlin access to sports grounds while it attempted to recover outstanding debts.
He felt restricting access to grounds for training and playing wouldn't have been a "proportionate response" to the growing debt.
Senatore's report described the government's agreed repayment plan as "fanciful".
Steel said a government inquiry into Gungahlin United's finances would duplicate the one already conducted by Senatore.
He also said a governance review of Capital Football wasn't justified.
But he didn't provide an explanation why he rejected calls for the government to review its own role in allowing Gungahlin to continue operating while insolvent.
Gungahlin's unpaid debts to the ACT government accrued over several years while Yvette Berry was the sport minister and Steel was the treasurer.
Steel only took over the sport portfolio in July and said he was unable to comment on some of the specifics of the club's history or status as an organisation.
"The ACT government does not consider a separate inquiry into GUFC's collapse to be warranted," Steel wrote in his letter
"Such an inquiry would likely duplicate matters already investigated through the liquidation process and would be unlikely to identify material new information beyond that already identified by the liquidator.
"Similarly, the ACT government does not consider that a territory-led governance review of Capital Football is justified at this time.
"I am confident that both Capital Football and the ACT government would be open to supporting any new entity that may seek to establish itself."
Mikita said the government's response raised questions as to how much it knew about Gungahlin's struggles and when it knew it.
"So many questions to be answered that just seem to be now swept under the carpet from this government," he said.
"It's not good enough.
"We can't let this end in a simple letter saying, 'Oh no, sorry we're not going to do an inquiry'.
"We don't think that it's right."
