Jan 10
25
Free Barbeque – Your Tax Dollars at Work.
A few months ago I blogged about the cost of
entertainment and how even a weekend surf at the beach was likely to cost
car parking fees, barbeque facilities use fees and of course, GST on the ice,
petrol, esky contents, (surf)
board wax and zinc cream.
In other words it’s hard for the average man in the street to
understand why he works 40 hours a week and then have to pay for the use of everything
that his taxes built.
On Sunday, I found a welcome exception to the rule “Work ‘em
hard and make ‘em pay for everything”.
Blackbutt
Reserve near Newcastle is a
prime example of your tax dollars at work for your benefit.
The car park, free.
The bush walks, free
The barbeques, free.
So what does cost money?
Well at the kiosk they advertise five cent and ten cent ice
blocks (icy poles).
If you want to visit the koalas, wombats, kangaroos and emus,
(animal encounter), then there are fees ($3.50), but in this article we are concentrating
on the non-fee earning aspects of the reserve.
Apart from the animal encounters, there are for free, roaming
the grounds, peacocks, bush turkeys and in “black duck” pond there are turtles,
ducks, and the largest eels I have ever seen swimming.
Until Sunday, I hadn’t heard of Blackbutt Reserve. (I was
introduced by my extended family, daughter in law and her hubby.)
The free model appears to work though as nearly every second
person I spoke to was a tourist from Canada, Germany, France or Sweden, albeit
back-packer class, yet tourists nonetheless.
(So that tells us that the economy is broke only in the
other countries….)
Nevertheless, Blackbutt Reserve is internationally famous
amongst the tourist folk who still spend money in traveling to Newcastle,
making purchases in the local shop (even if one group I saw barbequing were
only stir frying vegetables).
By my estimate, if I calculate the value of our family
barbeque, divide it amongst the adults to calculate average per head value, (approximately
$15 per person) and multiply that by the approximate number of tourists, (300+)
Sunday was worth around $5,000 in tourist revenue to the city of Newcastle.
Of course our group didn’t consume any alcohol, whereas most
of the visitors to the park had some form of alcoholic libation, which, added to
the value of road tolls, petrol, and associated miscellaneous government
revenue earners, made the day worth around $20,000 (counting the locals as well
as the tourists).
In other words, Government expenditure that facilitates budget
conscious weekend entertainment, makes the wheels of commerce go round and the
Government tax coffers heavier.
All without having to charge an entrance or parking fee.
There are signs around the park imploring visitors to not
feed the lizards or Kookaburras, warning that feeding them can turn the animals
into pests.
However to the delight of all (who viewed the incident), a Kookaburra
(obviously a federal tax collector) ensured that he was gaining benefit from
the said tourists by swooping under one of the several barbecue shelters in the
park and relieving a startled diner of his sausage; right off the plate.
The enterprising Kookaburra settled on a nearby branch where
he was soon joined by his mates calling on him to share the wealth. OK – there was
no diplomacy, it was more “Gimme some!”
An alert photographer snapped this piccie of the cheeky
bird.
“Photo by: David Jacobs J Media“
And yes, the sausage was a lot bigger before the “mate”
turned up to share (purloin) the spoils.
Blackbutt Reserve is a reminder of what this country used to
be like.
Let us hope that our representatives in Canberra
continue to allow its existence without having the Newcastle City Council be
forced to place coin-boxes on the barbeques, parking meters in the car park and
a kiosk for the almost ubiquitous $9.00 per car family entrance fee.
Very few of the people that run things “Grok” the free
model.
Here is an example of a bricks and mortar free model that is
returning on average between twenty and fifty thousand dollars per week to the local
economy.
As an indirect boost to the economy, Blackbutt Reserve is
showing the rest of Australia
what can be done utilizing the free model.
As any sensible sheep
farmer knows, a relaxed sheep grows more wool than a harried worried one.