Sydney Opera House maintenance, repair costs exceed $86 million
The shocking cost to maintain and repair the Sydney Opera House has been revealed, as the budget is blown on the world-renowned venue.
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An eye-watering $86.141 million has been spent in three years on the maintenance and repair of the Sydney Opera House, as funding figures reveal the exorbitant ongoing cost to taxpayers.
Newly appointed Arts Minister Ben Franklin released the budget and expenditure of repairs and maintenance for cultural institutions across NSW — with expenses for the historic Opera House dwarfing funding allocations for other state-owned facilities ben tens of millions of dollars.
Mr Franklin said $28.589 million had been spent in the 2019-20 financial year on the Sydney Opera House, followed by $35.807 million in 2020-21 and another $21.744 million in the 2021-22 financial year to-date.
Meanwhile, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences cost taxpayers $5.230 million in the last three financial years, The Australian Museum saw $4.847 million in repairs and maintenance fees.
The State Library of NSW cost taxpayers $3.137 million in the last three financial years, while maintenance at the Carriageworks cost $1.368 million.
The Daily Telegraph can also revealed The Sydney Opera House blew its budget for maintenance and repairs by a massive $3.211 million over three years, after the NSW Government allocated a total budget for maintenance work at $82.929 million.
The Figure released by Mr Franklin, following questions by Shadow Arts spokesman, Walt Secord, do not include the money spent as part of the $104.5 million Arts Maintenance and Upgrade Fund — designed to “improve accessibility, sustainability and functionality of our arts and cultural venues”.
NSW Shadow Arts spokesman Walt Secord ripped into the NSW Government, telling NewsLocal newly-appointed Arts Minister Ben Franklin needed to review the priorities of his predecessor, “who approved the maintenance and repair schedules for the State’s cultural institutions”.
Mr Secord questioned the priorities of the NSW Government, arguing it had spent more than $86 million on maintenance and repairs “while families in western Sydney were struggling with tolls, inflation, mortgage stress and cost of living pressures”.
“Make no mistake, hardworking taxpayers will feel like they are subsidising oyster-eating, chardonnay-sipping, tuxedo-clad opera-goers and their designer-brand wives and mistresses while western Sydney families are being clobbered on a daily basis by cost of living pressures,” he said.
“This is so typical of this wasteful and misguided State Government.”
“The Perrottet Government is pouring tens of millions of dollars into the Sydney Opera House.
“The $86 million spent on maintenance at the Sydney Opera House is equal to more than five million round trips from Penrith to the CBD on the city’s high-priced tollways.”
“The Perrottet Government is simply disconnected from the day-to-day reality of the financial pressures facing NSW working families.”
A Sydney Opera House spokesman said the world heritage listed building contributes $1.2 billion to the economy each year, revealing a further $182 million had been spent on upgrading the Opera House in the last three years.
“It is the nation’s most visited tourist destination, one of the world’s busiest performing arts centres and a $2.65 billion NSW cultural asset,” the spokesman said.
“Given its intensive use for almost 50 years, the Opera House requires ongoing care and attention to ensure it can continue to meet the needs of the community.”
The spokesman said more than $86 million was spent on maintenance of the building structure and its theatres, “and their many systems including fire protection, electrical, hydraulic, security, heating, ventilation and airconditioning”.
“In addition, over the same period, $182 million has been spent on the Opera House’s renewal program and other building upgrades, including extensive upgrades to performance and foyer spaces, improved accessibility, a new function and events space, and the transformation of back of house office areas into a new purpose-built Centre for Creativity which opened to the public earlier this year.”
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