Businesses back calls for government to reveal $26M COVID-19 grant recipients

Business owners want to know who was – and wasn’t – able to secure $26M worth of taxpayer-funded COVID-19 grants, but the government insists the secrecy is to protect businesses from "undue hardship".  LATEST >>

• Govt won’t reveal ‘highly distressing’ list of businesses who received $26M in pandemic grants
• No clarity around who received Tasmania’s taxpayer-funded stimulus business grants

KIM Gardiner from Tara’s Richmond Farmstay counts himself among those wondering how the state government’s $26 million in COVID-19 business grants were handed out.

As his business was shut down by the pandemic, Mr Gardiner was among the first to fill out the paperwork for $15,000 in emergency payments.

After a lengthy wait he was told he had been unsuccessful but was later given secure $4,000 in state government help.

Mr Gardiner said publishing the names of successful businesses would make it easier to understand how fairly the various grants schemes were administered.

“I would be interested to see who was on there and who’s not,” he said.

“I don’t care if our names are on there because, obviously we applied. You shouldn’t be afraid to say yes, I applied — unless you really shouldn’t have been getting it in the first place.”

He said the stories he had heard about who had been successful has raised questions about the administration of the scheme.

Kim Gardiner from Taras Farm Stay says he would like to see the list of the COVID business grant recipients revealed. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“No wonder the government doesn’t want to release it because they’d be in all sorts of hot water, in my view, probably a lot of others as well.”

Gary Hayes from Aspire Adventure Equipment in Launceston said his business had received government help and couldn’t understand why people would object to that being known.

“I can’t imagine why they would be unless one business got it and the business next door didn’t get it,” he said.

Labor leader Rebecca White in state parliament. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Labor leader Rebecca White said there was no good reason for the government to keep the grants money secret.

“It’s really important when millions of dollars of taxpayer funds are being spent to support small businesses there is transparency around how that money is spent in the interests of taxpayers understanding how it’s been allocated,” she said.

“This has turned into a farce because the government’s refused be transparent about where $26 million of taxpayers money has gone.”

Health Minister Sarah Courtney. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Small business Minister Sarah Courtney continued to insist the continuing secrecy was to protect businesses.

“I don’t want to do anything to undermine the mental health of these businesses, I don’t want to do anything that could put more undue hardship on these businesses in what has been the most extraordinarily difficult year,” she said.

“For some of these businesses, the decisions that they have made have been very traumatic for them and further disclosure of these details, particularly for some businesses, the advice is that it could cause significant more distress for them.”

Greens leader Cassy O'Connor. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the government's decision did not pass the pub test.

“This is simply the Liberals doing what they always do when it comes to public money, and that is applying maximum secrecy, it is in their DNA not to be transparent with the people of Tasmania.”

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