COVID’s ball and chain

Funding appeal as historic site battles to survive

THE Port Arthur historic site — which suffered a $ 1.63m net loss last financial year due to a three- month forced closure — says it needs more government support.

The state government increased budget funding for the site’s management by 4 per cent to $ 4m. The Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority is Tasmania’s only tourism and heritage Government Business Enterprise.

It lost $ 3.73m in visitor entry fee, tour fees, hospitality earnings and rentals income during the COVID- 19 shutdown.

“As site visits and subsequent revenue streams diminished, combined with already depleted cash reserves, led to increased reliance on government funding to meet our operations and conservations expenses and highlighted the increased need for government support

as we pave our way for the future,” the authority’s annual report for 2019- 20 says.

The state government provided payroll tax relief of $ 569,000 to the authority and TasCorp provided more loans to meet the cost of wages during the site’s closure between March 21 and June 30.

The site employs 252 workers and $ 3.71m was spent

on conservation last financial year.

The number of visitors for the year prior to the shutdown was 270,685 with another 26,788 touring the Cascades Female Factory and almost 14,000 attracted to the Saltwater River coal mines.

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Michael Bailey on Wed

nesday called on the government to follow South Australia’s lead and implement genuine payroll tax relief in the budget.

Mr Bailey said SA business would benefit from $ 233m in payroll tax relief with many businesses not charged payroll tax between April this year and June next year.

“The last thing we should

be doing is taxing jobs. The best form of economic stimulus is to create jobs and as the Premier has said many times himself, we can’t tax our way to prosperity,” Mr Bailey said.

In Thursday’s budget, Premier Peter Gutwein announced $ 22m to extend payroll tax rebates and apprenticeship grants.