Why we should spend millions to get LIV Golf and Gather Round | David Penberthy
Dropping maybe up to $30m to get the AFL’s Gather Round the LIV Golf is a massive amount of cash – but was a good decision, writes David Penberthy.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The somewhat tasteless furore over the cost to taxpayers of Shane Warne’s state funeral is a reminder that there are some miserable types in the community who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
I know there are those who sneer at sport as a mindless pursuit. Equally, too, there are some who regard Warne as a yobbo whose bogan behaviour on and off the field should somehow deny him the recognition of a state-sponsored send-off.
Speaking as one of the many Australian blokes who woke up on a Saturday morning last March and spent the next few hours choking back tears watching Fox Sports, put me down as being completely indifferent to the $1.6m bill to taxpayers for the cost of staging his official funeral at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Not so much indifferent as totally in favour.
We waste a lot of money on stuff in this country, and this wasn’t a waste. It was a deserved send-off for someone who brought us a lot of national joy, a lot of international recognition, someone who loved his country and loved his kids, who did their father proud with their eulogies on the day.
So what, some will say. Plenty of other people are good fathers and they don’t get state funerals. If that is the case, let’s just leave state funerals as the preserve of politicians (often merely recognised for having done nothing more than their job), high-end artistic performers with a limited following, and eminent members of the clergy whose tangible contribution to broader society is often questionable to say the least.
The fact Victorian Premier Dan Andrews stumped up $1.6m for this event has flushed out the usual critics on Twitter and elsewhere running a zero-sum argument this money could be better spent elsewhere. Much of their indignation stems from the fact Eddie McGuire was “paid” $1m to stage the event.
The truth is McGuire himself wasn’t actually paid anything, rather the production company he runs that corralled all the talent and managed the logistics and staged the event was remunerated that sum for its effort and time. As irritating as Eddie might be at times to us South Aussies, the idea one of Warne’s best mates would use his passing as a money-making exercise is a baseless and undeserved sledge.
The assertion money can be better spent elsewhere is one we have heard from some quarters this week ahead of Gather Round and in the lead-up to the LIV Golf tournament next week. It’s framed on a flawed belief the money spent on something like a state funeral for a beloved athlete, or to secure the Gather Round hosting rights by slinging some dough towards the AFL, must of necessity come at a cost elsewhere.
The assertion has no basis in fact. We know (or guess) that Gather Round cost about $14m, and the four-year LIV probably cost a little bit more. Let’s say for the sake of argument the total bill for both is $30m out of the state’s $40m major-events fund. That money has not been found by cutting the health budget (which has increased to record levels), slashing education, or axing child protection case worker jobs. It’s a separate part of the government’s budget.
To use a cliche of which our Premier has become fond, governments need to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
But beyond that, the amount of money we will generate this weekend and next means that, whatever amount we have paid to secure these events, will probably pay for itself four times over in those industry sectors, which more than any were ravaged by the pandemic.
There is a broader societal value that can be placed on happiness. To employ some management gibberish, there is a genuine ROI – return on investment – from funding something like a state funeral for everyone’s favourite cricketer or a footy carnival for 180,000 people to enjoy.
The criticism of this in politics, going back to Ancient Rome, is that those in power engage in “bread and circuses” to keep the populace disengaged and distracted. Speaking for myself, and pretty much everyone I know, I am always up for a bit of disengagement and distraction.
I mean, we could always spend the weekend talking about the latest ramping figures, but I’d rather get along to Mt Barker to see Brisbane play the Kangaroos, then grab a feed afterwards at the Stirling Hotel.
The best politicians run on instinct. Former prime minister Paul Keating once bemoaned the fact that these days most politicians don’t know which side of bed they should get out of without a focus group telling them what to do. Long-serving politicians such as Bob Hawke and John Howard had a good instinctive read on the punters.
With what he has done with Gather Round and LIV, I think Malinauskas has read the South Australian mood accurately. This state is up for some fun. This state deserves to be recognised for the tourist drawcard that it is. And the people who run hospitality and tourism in this state deserve a leg-up after what they’ve just endured.
None of this is to let him or his government off the hook for the other, and much bigger, nuts-and-bolts challenges they face. But for now, spending money on this, in the same way Andrews did with Warne’s funeral, is something that resonates positively with the SA mainstream. Bring on the Gather Round, bring on the golf, and rest in peace Warney.
More Coverage
Starick: Trump’s emergency calls for big Aussie power play
I’ve spent 30 years writing about energy changes in Australia – most of them for the worse, writes Paul Starick.
What the hell is happening in our aged care homes?
Aged care staff are being asked to study a guide on neglect. Signs to look out for include residents with untended wounds, weight loss and fear. What, they need a guide to tell them that, asks Julie Cross?