QUESTION TO THE CITY OF LAUNCESTON

The questions below were submitted to the City of Launceston' Ordinary Council Meeting April 16 2020 and taken on notice to be answered at its next scheduled meeting.

QUESTION 1 

In the interests of ratepayers facing financial distress as a consequence of the COVID-19 Crisis will Council please provide an update on: 
• How many QAVMAG employees have been stood down; 
• How many QVMAG employees have been redeployed and to what tasks; and 
• What program adjustments are being made at QVMAG relative to appropriate community engagement, specifically Internet facilitated engagements; 

and These things given the significant public money as well as the substantial community resources committed to and the QVMAG operation currently and over time. 

QUESTION 2 

Given the substantial amount of funding from ‘the public purse’, community donations and commitments plus the infrastructure committed and capital works relative to the operation of the city’s ‘Cultural Network’ and that ‘Council’ is the default ‘governance body’ cum ‘trustees’ the QVMAG, Prince’s Theatre etc. why is that on a typical Council Agenda: 
• There is no reporting of QVMAG acquisitions or deaccessions/disposals of collection material; 
• There is no reporting of loans arrangement for QVMAG collection material and the costs and/or income derived; · There is no reporting of updated staffing arrangements relative strategic purposes; 
• There is no reporting of updated program development with income and/or cost projections; 
• There is no reporting of research outcomes and the costs attributed to such undertakings; 
• There is no reporting of strategic forward planning relative programming across Council’s ‘cultural network’; 
• There is no reporting relative to income generation across Council’s ‘cultural network’ and performance measures being achieved or otherwise; 
• There is no reporting relative to capital works and/or infrastructure provision and the associated funding? 

QUESTION 3 

In the context of the COVID-19 Crisis: 
• What percentage of Council staff have been stood down on full pay and or required to take up their leave entitlements; and/or 
• What percentage of Council staff have been redeployed to other duties; and/or 
• What percentage of Council staff have been stood down without pay; and · How is the current staffing strategy being funded and/or subsidised by State or Federal COVID-19 ‘relief funding’?