Ms O’CONNOR – I’m just trying to clarify: the Pre-Election Financial Outlook Report of June this year makes it clear, as one of the risks it identifies, that once Stadiums Tasmania has acquired UTAS and Ninja stadiums, it will require additional funding of approximately $11 million a year to operate and maintain its assets. So that’s additional funding. What is your understanding, as minister, of where that funding would come from?
Mr DUIGAN – Should that funding be required, we would seek, as I say, to have those venues deliver the maximum returns that they can so any funding exposure for the government is minimised. That’s the intent of Stadiums Tasmania.
Ms O’CONNOR – So connected to that in budget paper 2, volume 2 is on page 113, ‘Statement of Comprehensive Income’. Can you explain the ‘expenses’ line item, employee benefits, and what it means in the out years in terms of FTEs? The contrast between what’s happening, for example, in the health system, where we’re seeing jobs being cut, and clearly more jobs being created in Stadiums Tasmania, what does $4.732 million equal in terms of FTEs working for Stadiums Tasmania on the projections here?
Mr DUIGAN – I don’t have that in front of me, but in broad terms, as Stadiums Tasmania acquires more venues, the need for more employees goes up commensurately. James is – more to it than me.
Mr AVERY – You see that it’s actually pretty flat across those latter years: that’s a staffing structure that reflects an organisation that owns and operates multiple venues. By that stage it should be four venues. It is also reflective of an organisation that is required to acquire and deliver content in all those venues, but it’s also an organisation that currently is delivering capital projects, including the $130 million redevelopment of UTAS Stadium and the $12 million project at the Silverdome. There could be others in addition to its own capital projects in relation to those venues.
CHAIR – It’s all funding out of state. That’s all funding by equity? That’s all in the budget paper 1? It talks about the equity contribution for the state. It’s not through money generated by the state.
Mr DUIGAN – Federal government? Commonwealth government?
CHAIR – All of that. Sixty-five is ours. Twelve for the Silverdome is ours and $6 million of other capital works is ours. Did you want to ask a question on that?
Ms O’CONNOR – What’s the projected number of FTEs to be working for Stadiums Tasmania in 2028-2029?
Mr AVERY – It won’t be significantly greater than what we have at the moment. We have staff at our venues, obviously. At the moment, in the last 12 months since acquiring two venues, we’ve increased staff. Our head office headcount is eight at the moment. It wouldn’t be a significant increase beyond that in the outer years. Obviously, we’d need to as we pick up a couple more venues, increase our headcount, but nothing significant. Which is why the numbers reflect that, at head office.
Ms O’CONNOR – The total expenses across that period increased by $16 million to 17 million.
Mr AVERY – But not employee benefits.
Ms O’CONNOR – No, that’s right. Employee benefits start to jump from this next budget year. We understand it’s about the acquisition. There’s a very significant uplift in expenditure too, some of which clearly will be subsidised by the state.
Mr AVERY – That’s to run the venues.
Ms O’CONNOR – Employee benefits? Is that to run the venues?
Mr AVERY – No, we’re talking about two different things here. The expenditure is in there to run the venues. The grants, or funding, to offset that is not included in those outer years.
Ms O’CONNOR – Minister, is it fair to say that the CEO of Stadiums Tasmania from a remuneration perspective, is paid at a relatively equivalent level to a secretary of an agency, a whole government agency? Sounds like it.
Ms THOMAS – Looks like it in the figure in the annual report.
Mr DUIGAN – It’s got a big job to do.
