Longford Grand Prix Expo: Gov’t in attempt to claw back $370,000
The Mercury has learnt that a portion of the $370,000 provided to the proponent of a Midlands motoring event remains unspent and will be returned. The CEO has broken his silence to rebut claims.
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The organiser of an aborted motoring event in the Northern Midlands is in a position to return less than one-seventh of the grant it obtained from Events Tasmania to host the event, which was pulled earlier this month.
Last August, it was announced Singapore-based DX Industries, a racing circuit design company led by chief executive Jeremy Dickson, would host the Longford Grand Prix Expo on March 11–12.
DX Industries received a $450,000 grant from Events Tasmania to support the event, but earlier this month Mr Dickson announced it would no longer proceed. He cited economic headwinds including labour shortages and rising inputs as the reason.
Earlier this week, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said that $370,000 of the $450,000 grant had been provided to DX Industries. His colleague Felix Ellis MP said the two parties’ legal teams were involved, in a bid to itemise how the grant money was spent and what could be recouped.
The Mercury understands that approximately $50,000 of the $370,000 provided has not yet been spent by DX Industries and has either been returned, or is in the process of being returned, to the state government.
The event, which superseded the long-running, locally organised Longford Motorama, was to celebrate Longford’s rich motoring heritage, with the town famously hosting the Australian Grand Prix in 1959 and 1965. It was expected to pull up to 15,000 punters.
Costs incurred to the aborted Expo that the Mercury has been able to confirm include hiring out Hadspen’s Entally Estate and catering from Rosevears restaurant Hubert & Dan for August’s launch event, engaging leading Sydney PR firm The Mint Partners, and presenting at last October’s Motorclassica motor show in Melbourne, in conjunction with Visit Northern Tasmania.
On Thursday, Mr Dickson told the Mercury the event’s demise was distressing.
“Everyone is running around assuming the worst, that $370,000 has been misappropriated,” he said.
Mr Dickson said he informed the state government on January 12 that DX Industries wasn’t in a position to deliver the event.
“I told them that we’d like to reimburse funds we haven’t spent. If we were in the business of misappropriating funds, would I have done that?” he said.
“It’s not a cash grab, I have not made a single cent. If anything, we are in the red.
“The only reason that funding existed was through 14 months of work that we undertook before we even got paid a single cent.”
After the expo’s collapse was revealed, Mr Rockliff announced a new $150,000 Events Tasmania grant to host a replacement event, The Long Weekend Longford motorsport showcase, which will run from March 10–13. All tickets sold for the expo will be valid.
The new event is being organised separately by Justin Brown and Rob Knott, both formerly associated with the Longford Motorama.
Longford racing identity and journalist Neil Kearney, who emceed the launch and was set to take a key roll at the Expo, will transition smoothly over to the new event.
New Events Tasmania grant for replacement Longford motoring event
Premier Jeremy Rockliff has announced a new Events Tasmania grant to ensure the Northern Midlands gets its promised grand prix extravaganza, after the previous organisers pulled the plug in spite of a $450,000 grant, $370,000 of which was spent.
Singapore-based motor sports firm DX Industries previously unveiled the Longford Grand Prix Expo, feting the town’s rich motoring history – it held the Australian Grand Prix in 1959 and 1965 – in August last year.
It was to be held on the weekend of March 11–12, but DX chief executive Jeremy Dickson announced on January 13 he had pulled the plug due to a “combination of difficult economic conditions, such as infrastructure costs and ongoing supply chain issues and labour shortages”.
The announcement raised eyebrows, in light of the fact DX had spent $370,000 of its $450,000 grant, provided by Events Tasmania.
However, Longford will still see some action for the petrol heads that weekend, with Mr Rockliff announcing a new $150,000 Events Tasmania grant to host a new event, The Long Weekend Longford Motorsport Showcase, which will be held from March 10–13.
“Following the unfortunate cancelation of the Grand Prix Expo event in recent weeks, I’m pleased that our Government is able to support the organisers of a new motorsport showcase in Longford,” Mr Rockliff said.
“The enthusiasm shown in ensuring the motorsport and Northern Midlands communities don’t miss out on sharing their motorsport history has been great, and I’m sure the event will be a success.
“The Long Weekend in Longford will include historic cars and motorcycles from several significant collectors in Tasmania, including some of the racing cars from the original Longford motorsport days.”
The event will be led by Tasmanian motorsport icons Justin Brown, Robert Knott, John Talbot and Neil Kearney.
The Long Weekend in Longford has confirmed that all tickets sold to the GPX will be honoured at their new event.
State government’s attempt to claw back $370,000 from aborted event
The state government is in conversation with the Singaporean-based company behind an aborted motor event, which received $370,000 of a $450,000 grant, in an attempt to ascertain what the money was spent on.
DX Industries, a circuit design and motor development company, announced last August, to great fanfare, the inaugural Longford Grand Prix Expo, celebrating the Northern Midlands town’s rich motor racing history, would be held on March 11–12.
The expo was to replace the longstanding Longford Motoroma, which was last held in March 2022. It was projected to pull in 15,000 punters.
However, on January 15, local rag The Northern Midlands Courier revealed DX chief executive Jeremy Dickson had pulled the plug two days prior “due to a combination of difficult economic conditions, such as infrastructure costs and ongoing supply chain issues and labour shortages”.
“Unfortunately, these factors together have the potential to diminish the experience we hoped to deliver,” Mr Dickson said.
The event received a $450,000 grant from Events Tasmania, of which $370,000 had been “expended”, according to Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
“We are disappointed the event is not going ahead,” Mr Rockliff said.
“There is rigour around these (grant) processes, we will ensure full transparency around exactly where those funds have gone and focus on retrieving those funds.”
Minister Felix Ellis earlier suggested that the lawyers would be called in.
On Tuesday, Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White said the event’s collapse raised “serious questions about the government’s use of taxpayers’ money and what controls are in place to ensure it is used appropriately”.
“Events Minister Nic Street needs to explain what $370,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent on,” she said.
“Where was the oversight by Minister Street to ensure that the money was being spent properly and how were the grant recipients able to spend that much money before it became apparent that the event may not proceed?”
Ms White’s statement has raised eyebrows within the state government, in light of the fact there was “bipartisan” support for the expo, according to Mr Rockliff.
The Mercury understands that one of the event’s biggest backers was in fact Labor MP for Lyons Jen Butler.
It’s understood Ms Butler wrote a letter last April, before the expo was publicly unveiled, to Mr Street expressing her fulsome support for the proposal, noting it would provide significant benefits.
A Labor source agreed that there was bipartisan support in principle, but that was conditional on the event actually providing bang for buck for taxpayers.
On social media, the Historic Car Club of Tasmania said the Longford Motorama “never have been pushed aside in the first place” by the failed expo.
Motorama organisers Rob Knott and Justin Brown are attempting to revive the Motorama as a replacement.
Mr Dickson did not return the Mercury’s call on Tuesday afternoon.
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