9 January 2007

Giving money to Summernats

| johnboy
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The Greens’ Deb Foskey is asking some hard questions about the way $300,000 was given to Summernats (and, we might add, announced in the holiday hiatus) with no obligations as to how the money had to be spent.

“I don’t know why exactly Summernats asked for the money it got from the ACT Government – but it seems that the Government didn’t care how that money was spent” Dr Foskey said today.

“Nor do I know what Tharwa School could have done with $300,000, although I imagine it might have bought them a couple more years”

She goes on to ask how many other large businesses have been slipped a bung of our money in the last year?

I’d like to know how many of those (if there are any) made hefty grants to the ALP or employed unusual numbers of party members in that time.

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Growling Ferret8:41 am 10 Jan 07

It was a CT report – and trusting the general standard of CT reporting on Summernats, I’d take it with a grain of salt…

The only money Stanhopeless and crew should have any sway over is the kind that comes from the wallet sitting in their back pocket.

Taxpayer dollar isn’t for graft and corruption, and I would expect that given Mr Henry’s allegations that the money has been ‘gifted’ to him without any accountability attached be investigated immediately.

why do we need bigger and better to say it was a success?

Make it a smaller event for the hoons to show off their cars and be done with it.

BTW an arts/sports grant usually has very strict conditions on how the money is spent. So what were the conditions imposed on you Chic? Could you have pissed it up against the walls?

If it was a one off to tide Chic Henry over after a difficult last year, why not make it a loan not a gift? I reckon its a pretty safe bet that Chic’s hand will be out for an annual donation from now on.

So is Summernats a raging success bringing millions into the economy and bigger and better each year –

Or is it struggling, and needs urgent cash injections just to keep it alive?

Woody Mann-Caruso9:59 pm 09 Jan 07

Any claim that an agreement with the government was commercial-in-confidence pretty much went out the window when the ‘nats organiser told the Canberra Times that there were no strings whatoever attached to the funding.

did foskey say she was going to attend summernats next year and ride around in a solar powered car exposing herself – i reckon we can scrape up 300k to get her not to…

Vic Bitterman7:23 pm 09 Jan 07

Well said Barking Toad.

barking toad4:11 pm 09 Jan 07

$300,000 of public dosh tipped into summernats is money well spent when lined up with $80,000 for a statue of a very dodgy deceased politician

I note that despite the pre-Xmas claims that it was a once-off, Chic Henry in the CT today seems to be laying the groundwork for making it an ongoing thing.

Tharwa school would have lasted maybe 6 months extra with $300,000.

It’s astounding how few people realise how expensive running a school actually is.

If Summernats is really such a roaring success, then how come Chic had to ask the ACT Govt/Taxpayer to bail them out this year?

And I would really like to see a breakdown of where all this money that Summernats is bringing into Canberra really goes: Dickson McDonalds and KFC?

I assume that Le Chic will be declaring the $300K as income then?

They’re nothing like the same. First there is the issue of loan versus handout, second there is the issue of government money versus a transaction between two private entities, thirdly if a bank insisted on it being public knowledge no-one is forcing you to take the loan from them and fourthly no, I wouldn’t give a damn.

whingers liek foskey and fellow traveller seepi seem to forget that soem places provide fiscal incentives for entrpreneurs like chic henry to move their event.

summernats does inject a lot of money into the local economy.

im not sure the local business community would be happy if summernats moved to the gold coast.

especially if they found out one of the reasons for the move was local govt not supporting the event.

Bugger that. If you want public money then the public have a right to know what it’s being spent on. Don’t like it, don’t take our money.

would you be happy for your (current or future) mortgage schedules to be public knowledge caf? They are one and the same.

Considering the scrutiny and mutual obligation rules that individuals who receive taxpayers money come under, I think business welfare ought to be similarly scrutinised.

If the Government invests $300,000 in Summernats, and it returns millions into the economy, it seems like a reasonable investment.

When people come cap-in-hand to the government to ask for money, you would think the government would be in a strong position to insist that the agreement NOT be confidential.

How about rather than blame the government for this, a serious eye is actually placed on what the recipients of said funds have done with the cash, and what inherent benefit is delivered by the government dedicating its funds in this way? These answers generally can be only garnished by the parties in question.

Your comment, “with no obligations as to how the money had to be spent” is a bit, shall we say unfair, considering that many contracts signed between third parties and Government tend to be commercial in confidence, so it really is no-one elses business unless there is a stuff-up and it heads off to arbitration.

Woefully blind mate, as one header states

Growling Ferret1:58 pm 09 Jan 07

If Chic had said “additional security to make the event more family friendly”, noone would have questioned it. Instead, the $ went into the pool paying all the bills.

The bloke just needed to politician speak instead of being honest…

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