Revealed: Councillors back one entity, Experience Gold Coast, to promote the city
The fate of the Gold Coast’s peak tourism, education and arts bodies has finally been decided, with details of a new super promotion group revealed. FULL DETAILS
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Southern Gold Coast business leaders fear they may not have a strong voice in the city’s new super promotion group.
Councillors at a special council meeting on Friday ticked off the city’s peak tourism, education and arts bodies becoming a single super promotion group, in the Coast’s biggest shake up of event management.
Experience Gold Coast will see Major Events, HOTA, Placemakers Gold Coast, Study Gold Coast and Destination Gold Coast become one entity removing several boards of directors.
Council CEO Tim Baker who conducted the review estimates it will result in more than $6.8m in direct savings to ratepayers along with single promotion branding for the city.
Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the announcement but its business leaders do not want the south left behind in the merger.
A Chamber spokesperson said the joining of Connecting Southern Gold Coast with Major Events Gold Coast in the past had led to the under-marketing of southern Coast events.
It caused an “under-representation of the southern Gold Coast economy in the local market”.
“The Chamber invites local government representatives to work with us to ensure that the (latest) merger does not leave the southern Gold Coast economy and business community behind,” the spokesperson said.
“We are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure that this merger serves as an opportunity to strengthen the southern Gold Coast’s economy.”
A board of directors will be appointed for the one entity. The direct savings each year will be reinvested into the entity for tourism, events, arts and education outcomes.
A $1.5m community arts fund will also be created.
Mr Baker expects to appoint an interim CEO for Experience Gold Coast this week.
He says there will be room for independence among the remaining entities like HOTA.
“But what one CEO does is it brings a constant and strategic vision across all of the entities,” he said.
“So they can deliver the best possible outcomes for the Gold Coast.”
But community campaigner Nicolle Archer has questioned the benefits of the merger and potential negative impact on the arts.
“Once again, the tourism industry swallows everything in its reach. The arts don’t exist for tourism,” she said.
“Centralised power is not best business practice. Whatever savings have been made will be lost and easily matched with broader economic impacts. One person doesn’t have the capacity or skill set to play such a mega role across the industries.”
EARLIER:
The Gold Coast’s peak tourism, education and arts bodies will become a single super promotion group, in the city’s biggest shake up of event management.
It will be called Experience Gold Coast.
City CEO Tim Baker at a special council meeting on Friday starting at 10am outlined the findings and recommendations from the Funded Entities Review.
Council had employed Deloitte to focus on Major Events, HOTA, Placemakers Gold Coast, Study Gold Coast and Destination Gold Coast which cost ratepayers about $54m annually.
The Bulletin in an exclusive report on Friday outlined several options including bringing all the groups into a single entity with one tourism and promotion brand, or joining some of them but leaving HOTA to retain its own board and identity.
Councillors after four hours of debate backed the CEO and recommendations of officers.
HOTA will become part of the new commercial-promotion body Experience Gold Coast. But it will still continue to manage “its philanthropic” focus on the arts.
A board of directors will be appointed for one controlled entity.
The move will result in about $6.8 million in direct savings for the City each year which will be reinvested into the entity for tourism, events, arts and education outcomes.
A $1.5 million community arts fund will also be created.
Mayor Tom Tate outside the meeting told the Bulletin: “The findings are clear. We need an overarching strategy, a better governance structure and more alignment.
“We don’t need multiple boards, multiple visions and duplication of effort.
“The work we need these entities to do is too important. We need them to be one team, heading in the same direction, together.
“Today’s decision will see our city adopt the proven formula of other global cities by creating a single entity to drive growth and opportunities in these key areas.”
He said city CEO Tim Baker would now begin the process of appointing a transitional CEO and advisory committee to bring together the five functions.
Mr Tate said the City had engaged with the entities throughout the process and officers would continue to keep them informed of the changes.
“I would like to thank the board members for their hard work and commitment to the Gold Coast during one of the most challenging times we have seen,” he said.
Experience Gold Coast is expected to be operating by the end of the year, based at an office in Surfers Paradise.
EARLIER:
The City’s leading tourism, education and arts bodies can be merged into a supergroup saving ratepayers almost $7 million, an investigation will reveal.
City CEO Tim Baker at a special council meeting on Friday will outline the findings and recommendations from the Funded Entities Review.
Council has employed Deloitte to focus on Major Events, HOTA, Placemakers Gold Coast, Study Gold Coast and Destination Gold Coast which cost ratepayers about $54m annually.
The Bulletin understands the future options to be decided by councillors include:
* bringing all the groups into a single entity with one tourism and promotion brand.
* move towards a single entity but allow HOTA to retain its own board and identity.
* leave the existing set up alone and continue with groups lobbying the City for funding.
A council source said the report and investigation by Mr Baker had identified up to $7m which could be saved by bringing the entities under one roof.
“The single entity is the recommended resolution. That’s where the CEO would like it to land,” the council insider said.
“But HOTA could be brought under the single entity yet have its own identity. This is if councillors view that arts and culture needs to be separate to tourism promotion.”
The HOTA compromise would enable the new super group to negotiate with major star acts and events while the cultural precinct continued its charity and creative arts focus.
City leaders in the lead-up to the poll in March next year want to avoid duplication of costs given affordability remains a top issue.
They also want to avoid the repeat of embarrassing mistakes where top city-backed promotions clash on an event calendar.
“We had the Groundwater musical festival on the same weekend as the V8s (the Supercars). “That was not very smart thinking. It did not go down well at all here,” the source said.
“In the next decade (in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympics) there will be a lot of commercial interest in people bringing big major events here.
“We are the secondary Olympic city. We want to get a single entity (and point of contact). You want a CEO on good coin on a single board (to negotiate these commercial events).
“It costs almost $60m a year to run all these entities. It’s a huge cost. There could be savings of $6.8m.”
Mayor Tom Tate is understood to be strong supporter of saving costs by having a tourism-promotion body pushing single branding for the city.
The Bulletin has been told “there would not be mass sackings” rather removal of duplicated roles where existing staffers could seek new contracts. But board positions would go.
Mr Baker has declined to comment. However, in an exclusive interview in June last year he was asked how the City could keep a control on spending on the entities.
“We spend $54m on the controlled entities. There is an emerging theme appearing here. I’ve asked council and councillors (in a unanimous vote) have agreed to do a comprehensive review (over the next six months) of the entities,” he said.
“We will look at governance, funding and KPI performance. We will do it with them. Watch this space.”
Council insiders suggest there is an appetite among councillors for savings but not at the expense of HOTA’s creative and charity side.
Major Events, Study Gold Coast and Destination Gold Coast are either “marketing an event or a facility” and could be amalgamated.
“Councillors all agree we can find savings and efficiencies in combining the functions of similar organisations,” the insider said.
“But it’s the cost to our creative reputation. If we do want to save money, is there a way the creators can be kept autonomous from the bean counters.”
The report will also consider the future of second tier of organisations including the Swell Sculpture Festival, Gold Coast Show and Gold Coast Eisteddfod.
Councillors are expected to review and debate the report in a closed session before ticking off on recommendations.
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