DON’T BE SHEEPISH

BUSINESSES CALL FOR GRANTS TRANSPARENCY

BUSINESSES — including those who have received the state government’s COVID- 19 grants — are calling on the full list of recipients to be disclosed.

The government refused to reveal which businesses received a share of $ 26m for fear of stressing already underpressure firms.

However, Kim Gardiner from Tara’s Farmstay at Richmond, who received a $ 4000 grant, said it was important the government was transparent.

FARMSTAY operator Kim Gardiner is among those questioning how the state government’s $ 26m in COVID business grants was handed out.

As his business — Tara’s Richmond Farmstay — was shut down by the pandemic, Mr Gardiner was among the first to fill out the paperwork for $ 15,000 in emergency payments.

After a lengthy wait he was told he had been unsuccessful, but was later given $ 4000 in state government help.

Mr Gardiner said publishing the names of successful businesses would make it easier to understand how fairly the various grants schemes were administered.

“I would be interested to see who was on there and who’s not,” he said.

“I don’t care if our names are on there because, obviously, we applied. You shouldn’t be afraid to say yes, I applied, unless you really shouldn’t have been getting it in the first place.”

Mr Gardiner said the stories he had heard about who had been successful raised questions about the administration of the scheme.

“No wonder the government doesn’t want to release it because they’d be in all sorts of hot water, in my view, probably a lot of others as well.”

Gary Hayes from Aspire Adventure Equipment in Launceston said his business had received government help and couldn’t understand why people would object to that being known.

“I can’t imagine why they would be unless one business got it and the business next door didn’t get it,” he said.

Labor leader Rebecca

White said there was no good reason for the government to keep the grants money secret.

“It’s really important when millions of dollars of taxpayer funds are being spent to support small businesses there is transparency around how that money is spent in the interests of taxpayers understanding how it’s been allocated,” she said.

“This has turned into a farce because the government’s refused to be transparent about where $ 26m of taxpayers’ money has gone.”

Small Business Minister Sarah Courtney insisted the continuing secrecy was to protect business operators.

“I don’t want to do anything to undermine the mental health of these businesses, I don’t want to do anything that could put more undue hardship on these businesses in what has been the most extraordinarily difficult year,” she said.

“For some of these businesses, the decisions that they have made have been very traumatic for them and further disclosure of these details, particularly for some businesses, the advice is that it could cause significant more distress for them.”

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the government’s decision did not pass the pub test.

“This is simply the Liberals doing what they always do when it comes to public money, and that is applying maximum secrecy,” Ms O’Connor said.

“It is in their DNA not to be transparent with the people of Tasmania.”