Page 3094 - Week 09 - Thursday, 13 October 2022
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How are those funds being spent? Is it in line with how we are spending our public funds and is it in the public interest? I am not really sure whether Canberrans consider horseracing an art, a sport or some other form of entertainment. But, however you badge it, this funding really is not in step with the way we fund those other activities.
Each year the Brumbies get $1.8 million. The Raiders get $2.6 million. The Canberra Capitals and Canberra United get $1.6 million over four years. Community sport and recreation grant recipients get up to $10,000 each. Amp It Up! recipients get up to $45,000. The Canberra horseracing industry get more than the Brumbies, Raiders, Capitals and Canberra United combined. They get 177 times as much as the luckiest Amp It Up! recipient. They get 800 times as much as community sports. Why do they get so much more? I cannot tell you. I do not think it is because they are more important. Most Canberrans cannot remember the name of a single local racehorse, but I bet every single person who lives here could name one local sports team or one local artist.
I want to talk briefly about the betting operations tax. Tax is so dull that people shut down when you start talking about it. My comms officers keep trying to stop me talking about tax; they just find it too dull to discuss. I think that is probably why we have had a few myths spring up around this. I think it is important to get the correct information out there.
The ACT government collects a tax on the racing industry. That tax is not collected from ACT horseracing alone; it comes from golf, rugby, motocross and other sports. There seems to be some confusion about how much of this tax is generated from betting on ACT horseracing, so I asked the Treasurer during estimates. The Treasurer confirmed that, each year, the ACT government collects a tiny amount in wagering tax on ACT horseracing. Some people may have been surprised to hear that. I was not.
The Australian gambling statistics confirm it. ACT horseracing generates less than $250,000 each year in betting operations tax. The ACT government is giving $8 million of public funds to that industry each year. Now, $250,000 of tax for an $8 million grant is a good deal, but, of course, that is not really how our taxes work. You do not get your tax back.
Tax is spent on services that are in the public interest, like health, education, public housing and the climate crisis. But I have repeatedly heard people say that this tax is a reason to give the industry money. I have heard people say that if we stop funding the industry and they stop paying tax we will be worse off financially. It is simply not true, and it is a very flimsy reason to hand over $8 million each year and $100 million in total.
I also want to talk about jobs. Jobs here in the ACT are really important. We are doing well on that front, but we always need to support jobs and we always need to support workers and we always need to make sure that everyone has access to meaningful work. I have also heard people say that we need this MOU to support jobs. I am struggling with that argument too. Thoroughbred Park’s wage and salary bill was $1.675 million last year. That is less than a quarter of the public funds they received. It looks like around 30 FTE jobs to me.
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