16/09/2010
NEWS STORY
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For the umpteenth successive year, the Australian Grand Prix has recorded a loss, leaving the state government to justify the situation to the taxpayers who are paying the cost. This year's event has seen a total loss of A$49.4m (£29.5m), and follows a loss of A$40m for the 2009 event, indeed, the losses have been steadily growing since 2005 when the Albert Park event lost A$13m (£5.3m).
In 2009, the event's organizers, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC), blamed the loss on the worldwide recession even though it was widely reported that its executives had pocketed A$150,000 in bonuses.
Referring to this year's loss, the AGPC told the Victoria state parliament that once again it is the global financial crisis which continues to have a significant impact.
However, with the state government committed to holding the event until 2015, the official report notes that one of the reasons for the continued loss is the inflated cost of actually staging the race including the fees paid to FOM.
The Victoria government continues to justify the losses to taxpayers by claiming that the money brought into the region by the event outweighs the losses. "The economic value of this event to Melbourne is in the order of A$62 million," Major Events minister Tim Holding told the state broadcaster ABC.
However, this claim was dismissed in 2007 when a government watchdog reported that the losses outweighed any measurable gain.
"Three years ago, the auditor-general found it does not produce the economic benefits the government has claimed," Peter Logan, of the Save Albert Park group, told ABC, "and he found no tourism benefit for Victoria. This cost of A$49 million is just a huge cost on all Victorian taxpayers."
"The event has produced a loss since the first race in 1996," added Save Albert Park president Peter Goad, "and the total cost to Victorian taxpayers now totals around A$255 million (£153m). The Australian Grand Prix Corporation's accounts show increasing costs, falling ticket sales and sponsorship revenue, and the trend lines show that over the next five years the event will lose a further A$365 million (£219m), bringing the total operating loss to over A$600 million (£360m).
"The Auditor-General's findings for the 2005 Grand Prix suggest that the 2010 event, with its operating loss of A$49 million, probably produced a net economic loss of A$40-45 million," he continued. "The State Government claims that the Grand Prix TV broadcasts and associated publicity brings additional tourists to Victoria. The Auditor-General could find no evidence to support this claim."
"The 2010 Grand Prix event represents a huge cost to Victoria, with absolutely nothing to show for it. The event is not good for Victoria's economy, and by sacrificing a public park for motor racing, our Government is demonstrating to the world that its 'Healthy Parks Healthy People' philosophy is just an empty sham."
According the Save Albert Park group, the Grand Prix Corporation's accounts show that ticket sales revenue fell from A$41.6 million in 2005 to A$24.6 in 2010. These figures suggest that far fewer out-of-state visitors attended the 2010 event and therefore visitor spending would be far lower.