(The following is based on a recent statement by the BRGHS) Members of the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society believe that the recent decision by Public Works to reopen part of the Boggo Road Gaol to tour groups on an interim basis is so badly flawed that theyhave little choice but to boycott the interim reopening and focus instead on the long-term future of the gaol.
I want to explain that decision to the public here, because it was a difficult one and perhaps unexpected and people need to understand why we made it.
The big picture is that long-term planning for the redevelopment of the siteby Leighton Properties is still underway. Those plans are not expected to be finalised and approved until later next year, and then the old gaol will be closed again and refurbished for reuse before opening on a permanent basis. In the meantime, part of one of the cellblocks has recently been opened on an interim basis for a four-month period, and a small business has given interim commercial control of the site under a Deed of License. It is that last part the BRGHS members have trouble with.
The big picture is that long-term planning for the redevelopment of the siteby Leighton Properties is still underway. Those plans are not expected to be finalised and approved until later next year, and then the old gaol will be closed again and refurbished for reuse before opening on a permanent basis. In the meantime, part of one of the cellblocks has recently been opened on an interim basis for a four-month period, and a small business has given interim commercial control of the site under a Deed of License. It is that last part the BRGHS members have trouble with.
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| The blue part is the only building open right now. |
The BRGHS feels that any participation on their behalf would be seen to condone and help normalise the current situation, so they wanted to send a clear messagethatthe members feel that what has happened is completely unacceptable.
In my own opinion, the gaol should not have been opened at all at this time. My attitude is‘do it once, do it right’ and to only open it when the site is good and ready and it could be done properly and permanently under a decent management model.
What we got instead was a bungled rush job. I'm not going to put down public servants who have found themselves in a difficult position not of their own making, but that's what it was. When the Public Works minister Tim Mander announced the reopening last week he said that not-for-profit groups like ours had ‘fair and equitable’ access to Boggo Road, but no access arrangements had even been put in place. If everybody had just waited a few weeks until after the New Year, these things could have been worked out, if not with us then with other stakeholders.
The BRGHS were later told in writing that all 'third parties' would have to pay an access fee set by the private business for the privilege of taking a tour group through this publicly-owned building. Figures were mentioned that would have swallowed up to 100% of any tour revenue. That is the info the BRGHS had in writing when making their decision.
The crazy part is that this business owner, Cameron ‘Jack’ Sim, has been VERY hostile to BRGHS volunteer activities over a number of years and has made it quite clear to the BRGHS that he would not allow any other activities at the gaol to adversely affect his business interests. He also believes he has some trademark rights over Boggo Road and has sent the BRGHS legal threats on the matter. Now the volunteers are expected to work hard for his financial benefit? Even participating in this temporary arrangement would have been a stamp of approval that the members of the BRGHS were not prepared to give. The BRGHS has been telling Public Works for years that they could not enter into any commercial relationship with Mr Sim but it seems that nobody was listening.
And so here we are.We are not squabbling kids and do not appreciate being treated as such. I challenge any public servant (my wife is one) or normal business person to put up with what some of our members have gone through and pretend nothing happened.
The BRGHS also has concerns with the way in which this decision was reached. Boggo Road is a large public asset that belongs to the people of Queensland, and there should have been a tender process. It might only open for a few months, and it’s only part of one cellblock, but the principle of the thing matters. How does this bode for other historical sites and volunteer groups across Queensland?
The BRGHS only found about any planned reopening by chance back in September when someone saw it mentioned on Facebook. It was later found out that not only had Premier Campbell Newman told Mr Sim back in June that he would open the gaol this year, but a few days later Mr Sim was telling people that he had already ‘got the gaol’. This whole decision is a 90 degree turn from where Public Works have been heading for the last few years and, to me, seems to have come from the top down. The BRGHS has worked really well with Public Works for years, but Campbell Newman did not even reply to their letters to him on this matter, including one that had been hand-signed by about 80 former officers with a combined total of over 1,300 years of service to the state behind them!
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| 1,376 years of service, then you get ignored. |
The BRGHS were never independently consulted on this matter without the business owner being present, and even the National Trust of Queensland, who are very interested in running the site, were completely excluded from discussions.
During the discussions, senior political staffers warned that if an agreement was not reached with Mr Sim then the state government would initiate an Expressions of Interest process. When the BRGHS decided that an EOI would be a good thing, the government ran a mile in the other direction. As I said before, Boggo Road belongs to the people of Queensland and there should have been some kind of transparent tender process, or at least a rigorous examination of the proposals, before making this decision.
On the bright side, this flawed arrangement is only for a short time and the big long-term decisions are yet to be made. I just hope that when that time comes, the state government goes through a more rigorous, transparent and inclusive decision-making process.
In the meantime, the BRGHS will continue to work on their plans for the long-term future of the gaol, and they strongly encourage people to wait until the site is opened properly and permanently before visiting it.
