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8.2.3 Mr Lionel Morrell (President - Tasmanian Ratepayers' Association Inc.) QVMAG Governance Issues
1. Collectively, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery's stakeholder, ratepayers and donors have accumulated collection assets in the order of $240 million, have underwritten in the recurrent budget, something in the order of $60 million plus, over the last decade; have funded significant capital expenditure that Council argues is confidential as an operation matter; has largely excluded ratepayers from taking any part in or being permitted to offer comment, criticism or critique, relative to such operational matters; and that pre-COVID-19, stakeholders and ratepayers have been underwriting the QVMAG's costs in excess of $50 per visitor per annum. Then, over time, on our assessment, Council has failed or has been unable to provide expert institutional governance and it is very concerning to ratepayers that Council has allowed for the blending of the functions of governance and management. This has reduced the QVMAG's capacity to operate purposefully and deliver on performance indicators determined collectively by governance and funding agencies, and in turn, seriously reduced its funding opportunities. Furthermore, this diminishes and devalues the trust the ratepayers and supporters have invested in the QVMAG and security of its collections and is against the interests of stakeholders in Tasmania nationally and internationally. Council has been unsuccessful in shaming our State Government into trebling the funding it currently provides. Consequent to all this will Council now consider abdicating its governance role in favour of an expert Commissioner and Board of Governors, formally charged with proactively reviewing and renewing the QVMAG Charter and a purposeful Strategic Plan; transition the QVMAG into a stand alone Regional Community Cultural Trust say, within a decade; establishing working entrepreneurial alliances with like institutions in Tasmania, nationally and internationally and consider doing this in the current financial year?
The Deputy Mayor, Councillor D C Gibson, responded by saying that the Council is in the process of completing a review of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery which will address the matters raised in your question. It is intended that the details of the review will be publicly released later this year.
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