The shows must go on

GOING to the annual Royal Hobart Show has been a tradition for thousands of Tasmanian families, and the event was steaming ahead towards its bicentenary milestone event next year.

It’s a remarkable feat for a community event anywhere, and shows the values of tradition and the sentiment of the country visiting the city.

The thought of it not going ahead this year, at a time when a bit of fun is exactly what the doctor ordered, is another major morale blow dished out by the COVID-19 pandemic. More cruelly, any cancellation of the state’s major event also puts the state’s other 23 agricultural shows in jeopardy.

There is the issue of what social distancing restrictions will be enforced by the State Government in October when the event is scheduled.

From yesterday, the limit for outdoor events was raised to 10. The Royal Hobart Show can attract around 10,000 per day.

While smaller shows may attract smaller and more manageable crowds, without the state’s centrepiece event in Hobart, major show vendors will unlikely be enticed across Bass Strait as they rely on the entire circuit to make their visits profitable. It leaves the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania with a difficult choice it says it will make by June 1. But it’s not just this year’s event that faces uncertainty.

THESE SHOWS ARE TRADITION AND WHILE THE VIRUS MAY OVERRUN THIS YEAR’S EVENTS, THE SHOW MUST AND SHOULD GO ON.

The RAST is a member of Agricultural Shows Australia, which yesterday put an urgent submission to the Federal Government for a Recovery and Support Package for all the nation’s agricultural shows to ensure they can survive beyond coronavirus.

The ASA estimates that Australian agricultural shows contribute approximately $1 billion to the national economy.

They have called on the Federal Government to invest in a $42.4 million support package to ensure the survival of the events beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. They want the money to pay for the various organising societies’ overheads, such as power and rates, to keep them alive until next year.

As the normal calendar of annual events evaporates, it is unlikely many show societies, including in Tasmania, will return to a positive cash flow until next year at the earliest.

The RAST says it does not meet the criteria for state assistance for tourism, even though it operates one of Tasmania’s largest motorhome and caravan parks. It says it also doesn’t meet state criteria for arts assistance, despite the Royal Hobart Show hosting Tasmania’s largest annual community art exhibitions.

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the Federal Government would consider any funding request based on merit. But state and local governments should be expected to offer support also.

These shows are tradition and, while the virus may overrun this year’s events, the show must and should go on. Shows put smaller towns on the map.

They put the spotlight on agriculture and family fun, and events like them will be important in rebuilding morale, giving much- needed economic boosts and restoring that sense of community we need in order to see Tasmania out of this pandemic. Responsibility for all editorial comment is taken by the Editor, Jenna Cairney, Level 1, 2 Salamanca Square, Hobart, TAS, 7000