SA tourism boss grilled on major events
The SA Tourism CEO faced questions on LIV Golf’s timeline and Tour Down Under’s links to fossil fuels in parliament.
SA Tourism CEO Emma Terry said it’s “still too early” to know if LIV Golf 2027 would go ahead, and defended confidential costs of events and Santos’ partnership with the Tour Down Under in parliament this morning.
Liberal spokesperson Dennis Hood questioned Terry on LIV’s future and the taxpayer costs of the event in this morning’s Statutory Authority Committee at Parliament House.
Hood referred to Premier Peter Malinauskas’ comments in May that the government would need to know by October whether LIV Golf, expected to be held at the Kooyonga Golf Course in February, would go ahead.
Asked if we would know this month, Terry said “we expect to know soon”.
“There’s obviously a bit for them to work through in terms of their own structure and how that all plays out, and they’re going through a process in that,” Terry said.
Her comments come after Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said the event looked “unlikely” and Kooyonga Golf Course filed a motion with the US Bankruptcy Court seeking confirmation by November 6 whether LIV will proceed with its agreement to hold the event.
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Terry said if it does go ahead, the state has a “wealth of experience” to work quickly, but “equally…LIV need to work as quickly as they can to try and shore up their position”.
She said there was “no risk to taxpayers” as no taxpayer money has been paid to LIV Golf for the 2027 event.
Hood also questioned the “commercial in confidence” status of LIV Golf, asking, “Why shouldn’t the taxpayer know what we’re paying for and what we’re getting for it?”
LIV Golf, along with the Michelin Guide, Gather Round and now-defunct music festival Harvest Rock, are all listed as commercially confidential, with no figures available on how much taxpayer dollars are spent on these events.
This week, the state will know which restaurants receive the coveted Michelin stars – a joint venture with the state government’s tourism commission and Michelin.
While SA’s costs remain under wraps, Tourism New Zealand paid $6.3 million to secure Michelin in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, according to the New Zealand Herald.
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Terry said that broadly, confidentiality around event costs was because “South Australia is in a highly competitive environment” and disclosing costs would be a “reputational risk”.
“We know that events are something that all of the states are wanting to, and are very competitive and compete with each other,” she said.
“We know the speculation around things like Gather Round, for example, and other states wanting it here… It puts us at a disadvantage in terms of securing and attracting those events going forward, and so when you weigh up all of the elements of that, part of our act and remit is to act commercially within the bounds of government, and to be able to secure benefits for the South Australian economy and for South Australians as well.”
SA Greens MLC Melanie Selwood also questioned the Tour Down Under’s ties to oil and gas giant Santos.
Selwood said she had obtained an email chain between Tourism Commission and Santos representatives via Freedom of Information that she claimed showed “the spin used to promote gas’s role in the future energy mix”.
She claimed Santos was one of the country’s top two climate producers, “with its Barossa gas project projected to emit 380 million tons of greenhouse gases over its lifetime” and whether SATC believed Santos was “an appropriate sponsor”.
Selwood referenced that at least three councils had pulled out of advertising Santos on council properties due to environmental reasons, including Adelaide Hills Council, which had “declared a climate emergency” and was concerned about the sponsorship.
Terry said the Tourism Commission had spoken to councils about the relationship with Santos “but equally about the benefits of the event more broadly”.
“We have great relationships with councils, and we enjoy the conversations we have with them, that’s I think the strength of this event is it delivers so much for regional South Australia, and it has a true collaborative approach,” she said.
The Tour Down Under contract with Santos had about two years remaining, Terry said.
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