Malinauskas reveals Rachel Griffiths’ Adelaide 500 ‘fee’ with hint at Sam Smith cost

The Premier has revealed how much was paid for Rachel Griffiths to attend the Adelaide 500 along with a clue as to how much the government paid to host Sam Smith.

The state government paid less than $500,000 to host British singer Sam Smith at McLaren Vale earlier this month, while $10,000 was donated to a charity to secure the attendance of actress Rachel Griffiths at last year’s Valo Adelaide 500.

The exact figure paid to host Smith at the d’Arenberg Cube has not been revealed, but the opposition had claimed it could have been between $1-1.5m based on Smith’s usual fees.

Premier Peter Malinauskas on Wednesday said the SA Tourism Commission spent “less than half” of the $1m figure.

“As far as I can go, without compromising the confidentiality arrangements that are in place, which are standard operating procedures… it’s not even of half the amount that was being proffered around by the opposition,” he said.

The amount paid to Zara Tindall, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth, and her husband Mike for their appearance at the Adelaide 500 also remains secret due to commercial-in-confidence arrangements.

Zara and Mike Tindall hit the Adelaide 500 track. Picture: Supplied

Mr Malinauskas on Wednesday defended payments made to celebrities, which he said were crucial to boosting the profile of South Australia to international markets and in line with current practices.

“Once upon a time governments would pay celebrities like Paul Hogan to throw another shrimp on the barbie for a television advertising campaign,” he said.

Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard, actress Rachel Griffiths and Deputy Premier Susan Close. Picture: Supplied

“Now, the world goes towards spending money on social media amongst those people who have the greatest sway.”

He said the government had boosted investment in tourism marketing to help industries hardest hit by the pandemic.

“This time last year we had a tourism and hospitality industry that was on its knees, still suffering rather severe restrictions and they were paying big sacrifices,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas said the “modest” $10,000 paid for Griffiths could be disclosed because it was donated to a charity.

Asked about the cost of Griffiths’ flights and accommodation, Mr Malinauskas said “it wouldn’t be unusual for Major Events to make a contribution to travel arrangements in some instances”.

Carrie Bickmore among famous faces at exclusive Sam Smith show

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The opposition said taxpayers have a right to know how much of their money was being spent to lure celebrities to the state, and called for the amounts to be disclosed.

Government accountability spokeswoman Michelle Lensink said the public has also been kept in the dark on how much was paid to secure the controversial LIV Golf tour and AFL Gather Round.

She said Mr Malinauskas should instead “be focussed on fixing our health system first”.

“Labor promised to fix ramping, but it’s the worst it’s ever been in South Australia’s history on Peter Malinauskas’ watch,” she said.

“Peter Malinauskas needs to be open and honest with South Australians and reveal exactly how much taxpayers coughed up to fund these celebrity soirees, so the public can judge for themselves if they got value for their money, not just vanity.”