123 SPORTS, ARTS, CULTURE & COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE 9 23 OCTOBER 2008 DUYFKEN 1606 REPLICA FOUNDATION – RESPONSE TO COUNCIL REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Ian Lowth IL/ht: 10/25/1-05: #1857218 RECOMMENDATION: That Council note: a) the additional information provided by the Chair of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation in relation to Council's request for additional information stemming from its consideration of the Foundation’s Report for the period to June 2008; and b) the intent of officers to monitor outstanding matters as identified in the report. INTRODUCTION: The Chair of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation has provided a response to matters raised following Council consideration of the Foundation Report to Council for the period to June 2008. BACKGROUND: The Foundation report was considered at its SACCS meeting of 21 August 2008. Council requested additional information from the Foundation in relation to a number of matters. Specifically it requested: • more specific data to be included in future reports to Council, for example the number of visitors across the reporting period; individuals vs. organised groups; a list of the organised groups; log of sailing events for the period; details of passenger numbers; details of specific charters, etc; • submission of a firm schedule for the ship’s activities for the period July to December 2008 cross referenced to the contract's generic annual program; • a response to the suggestion that a Councillor to be appointed to the Board of the Duyfken; • an economic analysis of the benefit to the Cairns economy of the investment in the three year project; • strategy to avoid future operating losses as have occurred over the last two financial years. Agenda – Sports, Arts, Culture & Community Services Committee – 23/10/08 - #1855609 124 A further request was submitted to the Foundation seeking details of the status of the audit of the Foundation’s financial statements and of its efforts to prepare a marketing/business plan. COMMENT: The Foundation Board met in Cairns on 9 October 2008. Board members were present either in person or by telephone. The General Manager Community and Cultural Services was invited to attend as an observer. The response to Council's request for additional information has been received after this Board Meeting (refer Attachment A). Based on the responses, there are three issues that Council will continue to monitor closely: 1. A major issue is the non-completion of the Audit of the financial statements. The Chair of the Foundation attributes the delays to the very poor state of the financial records transferred from Fremantle to the Cairns Office. However, it was observed at the 9 October 2008 Foundation Board meeting that the Foundation Treasurer, Mr Bruce Peden, was ready for the accounts to be audited. The Board provided the approval for the audit to proceed. 2. The composition of the Board and the arrangements between Cairns and Fremantle based members is not yet settled. The Board agreed that a Fremantle Board member would visit Cairns within the next month to resolve differences. The matter of Council representation on the Board will be addressed after this. 3. The marketing of the activities and programs of the Duyfken has proved problematic for the current staff of the Foundation. The absence of an adopted marketing plan and the lack of marketing capabilities among the paid staff of the Foundation have not assisted. The Foundation has relied heavily on volunteer assistance. The Chair has committed to submitting a copy of the Foundation's marketing plan to Council when it is adopted. CONSIDERATIONS: Corporate and Operational Plans: The contract between the Council and the Duyfken Foundation is captured in Council's Operational Plan under the Cultural Services and Facilities Branch. Statutory: There are no statutory obligations. Agenda – Sports, Arts, Culture & Community Services Committee – 23/10/08 - #1855609 125 Policy: Cairns City Council agreed to support the project in June 2007, in partnership with the State Government and the Cairns Port Authority, on the basis that it offered the potential to be a significant educational and tourist attraction for the City. Financial and Risk: The Duyfken Foundation is supported financially as follows: Support provided by : Period of Agreement Annual Grant (ex GST) Cairns Regional Council 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2010 $150,000 x 3 years Department of Premier and 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2010 $100,000 x 3 years Cabinet Cairns Port Authority $50,000 (in kind) Under the Grant Agreement, Council is required to pay instalments of $75,000 ex GST, on the Foundation delivering six monthly milestone deliverables to the satisfaction of Council. Milestone Deliverable/ Due Date Date Paid by Council Supply to be provided to Council 1. Arrival Cairns 01/07/07 01/08/07 2. Mid-term 07-08 generic 01/01/08 07/04/08 program 3. Completion of 07-08 generic 01/07/08 /09/08 program 4. Mid term 08-09 generic 01/01/09 - program 5. Completion of 08-09 generic 01/07/09 - program 6. Mid term 09-10 generic 01/01/10 - program Sustainability: No matters arising. CONSULTATION: The Foundation Board, Chair and Shore Manager Agenda – Sports, Arts, Culture & Community Services Committee – 23/10/08 - #1855609 126 OPTIONS: That Council: 1. Note the report as provided and the intent to monitor outstanding matters as identified in the report; or 2. Note the report as submitted and request additional information from the Board; or 3. Reject the report as submitted and request a replacement based on a specification to be provided by Council. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that Council note the report as provided and the intent of officers to monitor outstanding matters as identified in the report. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A – Email from Chair of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation 14 Oct 2008 Attachment B – Email form Chair of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation 29 Aug 2008 Ian Lowth General Manager Community and Cultural Services Agenda – Sports, Arts, Culture & Community Services Committee – 23/10/08 - #1855609 127 Attachment A Email received from the Chair of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation 14/10/08 From: Kevin Byrne Sent: Tuesday, 14 October 2008 1:56 PM To: Lowth Ian Cc: Cian Pereira Subject: DUYFKEN Dear Ian, As I do not have the luxury of secretarial support please accept this email as my response to the issues raised by the CRC in relation to the above. Before I respond specifically, I need to go over a bit of history so that everyone is across the facts and the background. This email should be read along with my previous correspondence regarding this matter. [REFER ATTACHMENT B TO THIS REPORT] Some background. When the DUYFKEN was doing it’s around Australia sail in 2006 I was contacted by Mr John Longley, Foundation Member, to visit the ship and to specifically discuss whether the ship could be home based In Cairns for a period. Longley left before I could meet him but I went down the wharf to meet with the Captain Gary Wilson. At that meeting was a Captain Kasper Kuiper, the resident Dutch Consul in Brisbane and also well known Brisbane maritime identity and soon to become a member of the Duyfken Foundation. It became quickly obvious that the future of the ship in Australia was problematic if it returned to Fremantle at the end of it’s round Australia voyage and that the Dutch Government was eyeing it’s purchase from the Foundation. I returned to my office and began to make some enquiries as to whether the CPA and the State Govt would be interested in a tripartite arrangement to have the ship return to Cairns for a period of three years to establish whether it would be a viable concern here. It was obvious that the Freemantle based Duyfken Foundation saw more opportunities for the ship on the eastern seaboard of Australia than in Perth and rightly held the view that it’s connection to Australia is more appropriately represented by it’s location in Cairns. Remember that the original DUYFKEN made landfall at the Pennyfarther River just north of Weipa. With this background in mind I went to Sydney with Mike Burgess in late 2006 to meet with John Longley to discuss future options and for Mike Burgess to give me an idea on the general state of the ship. At the meeting John Longley again reiterated the importance of the ship becoming “viable” and relevant to our historical past otherwise it would suffer an uncertain future. It was his view that there was a better chance for this to occur on the east rather than the west coast of Australia. Following the visit to Sydney, I contacted the member for Cairns, The Honorable Desley Boyle and the Chairman of the CPA, Mr Clive Skarrot to seek their support for the tripartite arrangement. I commenced negotiations with the Premiers Office via a Mr Peter Henneken which took some 3 months. Once this was achieved a report was prepared for Council and the financial aspects of the relocation were agreed. All this was done with the assistance of my staff at the CCC. Agenda – Sports, Arts, Culture & Community Services Committee – 23/10/08 - #1855609 128 The Duyfken at this time was back in Sydney on it’s way north. The ship entertained the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway in Sydney before sailing for Cairns. During this time I was in contact with the Mayor of Fremantle, Peter Tagliaferri regarding the transfer of the assets to Cairns and the details of how the transfer would be effected to enable the smooth operation of the vessel. It was verbally agreed that I would replace Peter Tagliaferri as Chair of the Foundation and that Fremantle members would resign and be replaced by Cairns members.