Out of the race, Dick Smith gifts $1m to charity

Dick Smith will give $1mn to charity out of frustration with his plan to recreate a historic air race.

Businessman Dick Smith. Picture: David Smith

Businessman Dick Smith will today give $1 million to charity out of frustration with the Turnbull government, which he says failed to back his offer to provide the same amount to recreate the 1919 London-to-Darwin air race that kickstarted international air travel.

Such is Mr Smith’s disappointment that he will give the $1m he had earmarked for the air race — which would have used electric planes in the recreation to spark a new round of innovation — to the Rotary Australia Benevolent ­Society.

“I’m incredibly disappointed,” he told The Australian.

In 1919, Australian prime minister Billy Hughes offered £10,000 to the first aircrew to reach Darwin from London.

“Back in 1919, people had no idea the planes that were used in World War I could actually do long distances,” Mr Smith said.

“Billy Hughes came up with the original idea and it was the start of long-distance air travel.

“I thought wouldn’t it be great if 100 years later we did it with electrically powered planes.

“It would be all about inno­vation because electrically powered aircraft can do about 300 nautical miles (now) and you need about 500. It would mean you have three years to extend the boundaries; innovate to get better storage. Which would help every bit of alternative energy.”

Mr Smith said he encountered the same problem in all his aviation dealings with government: “Nobody makes a decision.”

He said he had mentioned the project directly to Malcolm Turnbull and then wrote to the Minister for Innovation, Greg Hunt. “I can’t even remember his name he’s so dynamic — but I wrote to him and he didn’t commit himself to anything.

“At one stage they said, ‘What do you want?’ and I said, ‘It would be great if you match the money but you don’t have to, just come with some enthusiasm for it’. But I got nothing.”

Mr Smith said the aviation community had been overwhelmingly supportive of the idea. “But no doubt the minister would have been advised, ‘Oh minister small planes crash, I wouldn’t suggest you get involved with this.’

“They are so risk-averse and so politically correct — even with Dick Smith on side putting the money in, they couldn’t bring themselves to support it.

“So I’m giving a breakfast talk ... at the Rotary Club of Wahroonga and then I’ll hand $1m to them.”

Yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Hunt maintained that his department’s lack of involvement was a financial issue: “We respect his initiative, but the government can’t fund every proposal for using taxpayer’s money,” the spokesman said.

“We’d be very happy for Mr Smith to provide his own funds rather than calling on taxpaying Australian families There is no barrier to Mr Smith paying for this himself.”

Rotary Australia Benevolent Society chairman Michael Perkins said the Smith donation would allow Rotary to “mobilise projects targeted at helping those desperately needing assistance get back on their feet”.

“The impact will be felt throughout all of Australia, from cities to the outback.”

The donation is part of more than $4.1m Mr Smith is giving to charities and organisations from the sale of his Cessna Citation aircraft. He sold the plane in disgust at ever-increasing maintenance costs caused, he said, by years of industry mismanagement by both major political parties through the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. “Every time you blink, CASA comes up with a more expensive equipment to be fitted to your plane,” he said.