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The Australian
06-08-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Victoria's event industry crisis revealed in shocking new workforce data
The number of people working as event organisers in Victoria has plunged by almost 40 per cent since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, despite increases in other states, matching a sharp fall in spending on business events in the state over the past decade. Just days after Premier Jacinta Allan announced her government will legislate to make working from home a legal right, leaders in the industry – which organises events from conferences to weddings and music festivals – have pointed to a change in behaviour during Covid lockdowns they say is still costing the state's economy. Event industry leaders are also pleading with the Allan government to learn from its counterparts interstate and better engage with the sector to maximise its potential to create jobs, stimulate business for event suppliers, and generate revenue. Analysis of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data by event industry leader Simon Thewlis shows the number of event organisers in Victoria fell from 11,544 in 2018-19 to 7062 in 2024-25 – a slump of 38.8 per cent. Over the same period, the drop in NSW was 0.07 per cent, from 13,421 to 13,327, while Queensland recorded a 70 per cent increase, from 2566 to 4361. Victoria's slump accounted for the vast majority of the 5227 jobs lost in the sector nationwide, which fell 15.2 per cent from 34,375 to 29, 148. 'We've been telling the government since halfway through 2020 when the pandemic was biting that it would have long term impacts,' Mr Thewlis said. 'We've long been warning that the event industry was now based in Sydney, and the numbers show it. When you think back to us 10 years ago, that would have been unimaginable,' Mr Thewlis said. Figures prepared by consultants Ernst and Young for the Business Events Council of Australia show Victoria had a $10.0bn, or 36 per cent share, of national direct expenditure on business events in 2013-14. While not directly comparable, Tourism Research Australia statistics show that in 2024, Victoria's share of Australia-wide visitor expenditure on business events was a much lower 22.1 per cent. Regina Lysaught, managing director of event company VEE Agency and previously the Victorian chair of Meetings and Events Australia, said the pandemic had shifted consumer behaviour, with many Victorians developing a preference for avoiding in-person social interaction. 'Events used to be such an important part of Victorian culture, and that's changed a lot, and it's not a good thing. People are staying at home more,' Ms Lysaught said. 'The pandemic itself shifted everyone's behaviours. In terms of business events, I think the fact that we all got used to Zooming in and there was the option to watch conferences online, it's now an expectation that that's provided. 'In terms of social events, large festivals, I think people are preferring to spend their money at smaller, bespoke, unique festivals. The people who were coming of age during Covid, I guess they never had that rite of passage of attending large festivals and events, so it's not been part of their experience. 'Another trend we're noticing is that people are purchasing tickets closer to events, which makes it harder to plan, particular for smaller businesses.' Jarrad Thessman, who runs festival event management business Midnight Assembly, agreed the pandemic had contributed to challenges for the live music industry, pointing to 2022-23 statistics from industry body APRA AMCOS showing 1300 live music venues that host small to medium gigs having closed since Covid. 'There's definitely less interest in mass gatherings and social outings in that late teens, early 20s cohort, and the challenge for event organisers in all sectors is communicating the unique selling proposition of event attendance,' Mr Thessman said. 'We previously didn't require such overt communication of the benefits of in-person gathering. Now you've got to call out the benefit that comes from being in the room, and that's evident across corporate and business events, as well as festivals and live music.' Mr Thessman also pointed to the Victorian government's cancellation of the Commonwealth Games as a decision that was 'logical in the context of the state budget, but illogical in the context of the event industry, and failed to fully consider the benefit that could have come from that opportunity being correctly executed.' Bonnie Hamilton, who runs the largest event recruitment company in Australia, Apex Event Recruitment, said the labour force data came as little surprise, with her business currently advertising just three roles in Melbourne compared with 19 in Sydney. 'We've actually seen major growth in other markets like Queensland, WA and SA,' Ms Hamilton said. Opposition events spokesman Sam Groth said Labor had cut $6.6m from Victoria's business events program, 'one of the highest-yielding parts of Victoria's tourism and events sector'. 'It's no surprise industry professionals are heading interstate to find work,' Mr Groth said. 'Victoria needs a sustainable events calendar, not just one-off blockbuster events that deliver a sugar hit but offer no long-term jobs. The government must do more to support stable careers in this industry.' The Allan government said working from home 'works for families and it's good for the economy.' Read related topics: Coronavirus Nation Anthony Albanese and Emmanuel Macron are 'working together' to advance Palestinian statehood ahead of a UN conference on a two-state solution. Politics Australia's investment landscape faces its biggest shake-up since 1987, with billions in foreign investment at stake for Labor's clean energy and housing agenda.
The Guardian
02-08-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
VIP contract introduced by Tory peer left government owed £24m
They were the lucrative deals that epitomised the 'VIP lane' set up by Boris Johnson's government during the Covid pandemic, which gave priority for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to people with political connections. Peter Gummer, a former PR boss who has been Tory peer Lord Chadlington since 1996, had smooth access at his fingertips. The erstwhile adviser to John Major has 'close personal friendships with many senior Conservative party politicians', he has said, and as president of the Witney constituency association in the Cotswolds is 'close friends' with its most notable MP: David Cameron. When the pandemic reached Britain early in 2020, Chadlington was a director and shareholder of a company registered in Jersey, majority-owned and run by David Sumner, a serial entrepreneur then based in Dubai. During the first lockdown, Chadlington embarked on an effort to introduce a Sumner company to supply PPE. He contacted Cameron first, texting him at 7.13am on 19 April 2020. Cameron texted back that his own close friend Andrew Feldman, whom he had appointed to the House of Lords when he was prime minister, was working for the government on PPE procurement. Chadlington then texted Feldman, who said to get in touch on his new Department of Health and Social Care email address. By 8.04am, less than an hour after his initial text to Cameron, Chadlington was emailing Feldman, copying in Sumner, to make a direct introduction. 'David,' Chadlington wrote, addressing Sumner. 'This is my friend Andrew Feldman. He can help you with PPE we discussed this morning. Drop me off chain. Peter.' Sumner then sent Feldman an offer to supply PPE. Feldman forwarded it to civil servants operating the VIP lane, telling them: 'An interesting offer from David Sumner who was introduced to me by Lord Chadlington.' A week later, the DHSC awarded Sumner's UK company – a small, loss-making healthcare staff agency, SG Recruitment – a £24m contract to supply coveralls. A month later the government gave the company a second contract, worth £26m, to supply hand sanitiser. The full story of how this £50m example of the government's VIP lane commissioning turned out is only becoming clearer now. It was far from a success. Despite the government contracts, SG Recruitment, later renamed, went into liquidation in December 2023. The liquidators have just issued their official report. It confirmed for the first time that the DHSC entirely rejected as 'unusable' the PPE supplied under the first contract, and has put in a claim for the full £24m. However, all the money has gone from the company. It went bust owing £1.1m in taxes to HMRC. The liquidators found that payments were made out of the company to connected businesses and 'unknown third parties', some apparently overseas. The main bank account was closed in December 2021. Sumner transferred ownership of the company in March 2023 to a woman the liquidators said they believed to be a Philippine national, whom they were unable to contact. The sum total of money found was in an overseas transfers account: £5. The parent company, Sumner Group Holdings (SGH), of which Chadlington was a director then chair, went into liquidation earlier, in 2022. Chadlington's lawyers told the Guardian in June 2023 that when he put the Sumner companies forward for PPE contracts, he was unaware they had financial difficulties. 'He had no information which gave rise to financial concerns regarding SGH and/or SGR in April 2020,' they said. But the Guardian has seen evidence that indicates Chadlington was made aware in January 2020 that some SGH creditors were pushing the company, and Sumner personally, to repay at least $18m, claiming that they were owed in total approximately $30m at that time. There is also publicly revealed evidence that the Sumner companies were under financial pressure before Chadlington made his introduction. SGH was put into liquidation by a consultant, Douglas Geertz, whose fees were never paid. A 2022 court judgment noted that SGH's chief operating officer told him in the summer of 2018: 'I regret that SGH finds itself in very challenging financial circumstances.' In December 2019 other creditors had sued another Sumner group company in the British Virgin Islands for £2m. A published court judgment noted that: 'Relations [with these creditors] deteriorated in late 2018 and collapsed completely in September 2019.' The £2m appears never to have been paid. SG Recruitment, the UK company, had made losses of £700,000, and was financially reliant on SGH, in the year before it was awarded the PPE contracts. Despite all this, Chadlington used his connections to contact senior Conservative figures from April 2020, including Matt Hancock, then the health secretary, promoting Sumner as a supplier of PPE. Chadlington encouraged Sumner to secure contracts, messaging him after the approach to Feldman with 'Brilliant. Keep going' and 'Excellent. Looks like you have an inside track.' Chadlington has twice been investigated by the House of Lords commissioner for standards for his approach to Feldman, under a section of the conduct code that says peers 'must not seek to profit from membership of the House'. Chadlington did not tell either investigation that he sent the email introducing Sumner to Feldman. He told the commissioner's second inquiry in August 2023: 'I did not facilitate an introduction.' He was cleared of any misconduct both times. Chadlington has now disclosed that email introduction and the text messages he exchanged with Cameron, Feldman, Hancock and Sumner, after he was asked to provide evidence to the Covid-19 public inquiry. It published the messages and his witness statement in May this year. Chaired by Heather Hallett, the inquiry is considering the VIP lane as part of its examination into how the government handled the pandemic. The Covid Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) group, which represents relatives of 7,500 people who died of Covid, is an inquiry core participant. The CBFFJ's lead lawyer, Pete Weatherby KC, has been very critical of the VIP lane and highlighted SG Recruitment as a key example. The inquiry is looking at how Chadlington's introduction affected the contracts being awarded, but not at whether the PPE was ultimately delivered. Johnson's government's operation of the VIP lane has been widely criticised for prioritising politically connected companies ever since its existence was leaked in October 2020. As the government frantically scrambled to fill depleted stockpiles, it spent £12bn on PPE in 2020-21, of which almost £9bn had to be written off because it was substandard, defective, past its use-by date or overpriced. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has pointed to evidence that VIP lane contracts cost £3.8bn, almost 30% of the total, and delivered more expensive and more unusable PPE than non-VIP contracts. Hancock and other ministers have defended the VIP lane, arguing that it enabled the government to prioritise credible offers. Chadlington was a director of SGH from 2018, then was appointed chair in April 2020, starting the role in June 2020, his lawyers said. In his statement to the Covid inquiry, Chadlington said that it was later, 'within a few months' of becoming chair, that he and his fellow SGH directors did become 'increasingly concerned' about the way the business was being run. 'We were concerned about unpaid wages and fees, contracts falling through, and increasingly vague and confusing responses from Mr Sumner and the management team to questions from the SGH board, as well as Mr Sumner's apparent overoptimism about the state of the business.' Despite this, as late as April 2021, Chadlington was enthusiastically supporting Sumner to bid for a further government PPE contract, telling a fellow director that Sumner was being asked to quote 'on a huge (and I mean huge!) contract' to supply gloves. That showed that the government 'have no doubts about our legitimacy', he wrote to the director. The same day he messaged Sumner, encouraging him to publicly market the company as a government supplier. Ultimately the company was accepted as a possible supplier of gloves, but no contracts were awarded. Chadlington has repeatedly said he did not personally benefit from the PPE contracts, telling the Lords commissioner's first inquiry in 2022: 'I received no commission, bonus or direct financial benefit from the two contracts awarded to SG Recruitment Limited.' The Guardian has seen SGH filings in Jersey showing that in the year after the award of the contracts, Chadlington was issued with 27.5m new shares in the company, which he appears not to have paid for. Chadlington's lawyers said the shares were not a bonus, they were 'growth shares' issued to him and the other non-executive directors after he became chair and reorganised the board. Three months after supporting Sumner to bid for the PPE gloves deal, in July 2021 Chadlington resigned from SGH. All the non-executive directors were owed fees, he has said, and they resigned at the same time. Chadlington was owed $100,000 director's fees when SGH went into liquidation, almost $350,000 in consultancy fees, and a $180,000 loan. Sumner, who is believed to be in the Philippines, replied to the Guardian's questions by email. He said the DHSC reduced the amount of hand sanitiser bought under the second contract, paying £16.6m rather than £26m, so £40.6m for the two contracts. Sumner said the company had the required commercial and regulatory experience to supply PPE and delivered in accordance with the contracts, and that profit margins were 'circa 15%', although he did not provide evidence for this. He did not answer questions about the payments made out of SG Recruitment, or the closing of its bank accounts in 2021, but said that all money was 'accounted for properly'. In relation to its liquidation, he said the company 'was sold to a third party' almost a year before, 'so it is very disappointing that the new owners had not made a success of the company'. He said he did not accept Chadlington's criticisms of his management. Of the SGH liquidation and questions about the $30m debts creditors were claiming, Sumner said: 'SGH Jersey was not a contracting party and so not relevant.' After Chadlington provided his messages to the Covid inquiry, the Lords standards commissioner has since opened a third inquiry. The possible conduct breaches are the same as previously, but also this time whether he failed to act on his 'personal honour'. That appears to be a question of whether he was not fully transparent with the two previous inquiries. Chadlington's lawyers responded to the Guardian's questions by saying that he did not act in any way improperly 'in connecting Mr Sumner with Lord Feldman'. They said it was up to the government, not Chadlington, to carry out due diligence on SG Recruitment. In relation to questions about his knowledge of SGH's financial position, and the $30m debts, when he introduced Sumner for government PPE contracts, the lawyers said: 'Our client understood that while the company had faced some cashflow issues, these were common to most startup businesses.' He only became concerned about SGH's viability later after he became chair, in particular by the beginning of 2021, they said. In his witness statement to the Covid inquiry, Chadlington said: 'While I was not involved in the awarding of contracts for PPE, I was proud that, by making the necessary introductions, I had played a very small role in helping the country during a national emergency.' A DHSC spokesperson said after Labour was elected to government, it has sought to recover money from PPE contracts that did not deliver. He did not answer questions about SG Recruitment, saying the DHSC cannot currently discuss specific companies. A spokesperson for the CBFFJ said: 'While our loved ones were dying, often without the PPE that could have protected them, the system enabled political insiders to use their connections to secure public contracts. It is devastating to learn that the PPE from one of SG Recruitment's contracts was rejected as unusable. This is exactly the kind of evidence the Covid inquiry should be examining. Bereaved families deserve answers. The public deserves answers. Justice means getting to the bottom of how this happened, who benefited, and who should be held accountable.'
Wales Online
21-04-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Woman, 25, who had back pain 'from exercise' died year after diagnosis
Woman, 25, who had back pain 'from exercise' died year after diagnosis Kate was fit and athletic, and was told she had sciatica from 'exercising too much' Kate Drummond who was misdiagnosed with sciatica (Image: © 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved ) An athletic 25-year-old whose back pain was misdiagnosed as sciatica died from bone cancer less than a year after a 'grapefruit-sized' tumour was found in her pelvis. Kate Drummond was 'fit and healthy' when in 2020 she began to experience bad back pain, but she initially put this down to 'poor posture' or working out too much, according to her 33-year-old sister Kelly Drummond. After the pain radiated to her hip, Kate was diagnosed with 'probable sciatica' after visiting the A&E department of her local hospital in Devon in May 2021 – and Kelly said it was noted she was 'one of the youngest patients (doctors) had ever seen' with the condition. After going on to seek an MRI scan through private care, Kate was given the 'life-altering' news she had a 'grapefruit-sized' tumour in her pelvis in August 2021. She underwent treatment for several months but deteriorated 'rapidly' in January 2022 as the disease quickly spread to 'almost every part of her body', including her lungs, liver and other bones. Kate died in March 2022 in hospital and her sister Kelly is sharing her story for the first time to urge others to 'listen to your body' and 'advocate for yourself'. Kate (left) with her sister Kelly (middle) and her mum Michaela (right) 'We'd be silly to not assume that things could have been slightly different had she been diagnosed sooner,' said Kelly, a personal trainer from Devon. 'When Kate's tumour was found it was large, they described it as grapefruit-sized and it was suggested she may have had cancer in her body for up to two years. Article continues below 'What started as some lower back pain turned into cancer within a matter of days, which then turned into multiple cancerous tumours in almost every part of her body – the rapid progression was shocking. Kate's story shows just how unpredictable cancer is and clearly, early diagnosis has been shown time and time again to save lives.' Kelly said Kate, who worked in customer care for a local company, first noticed something 'wasn't quite right' in the late summer of 2020 when she developed 'intermittent' lower back pain. 'She put this down to working from home, it was the Covid pandemic, and she thought this was due to poor posture or a slightly uncomfortable working set-up,' Kelly said. 'By January 2021, the pain was more persistent and she had some new pain radiating into her hip as well.' Kelly said Kate thought the new pains could be because of changes in her workout routine and potentially 'over-training'. By April that year, however, the symptoms worsened and her hip was 'warm to touch' and showed 'slight swelling'. Kelly said Kate started to seek help from her GP, who prescribed her with pain killers, before she had a blood test in May 2021 which revealed an indicator for inflammation was 'considerably elevated'. Kate was sent to A&E at a local hospital, which Kelly did not wish to name, on May 27 2021, where she had further blood tests and an X-ray, and was told it was probably sciatica – a common condition where pain is felt in the leg when the sciatic nerve, which runs down from the lower back, is irritated or compressed. An MRI scan revealed Kate had a 'grapefruit-sized' tumour in her pelvic region 'They noted she was one of the youngest patients they had ever seen with this condition, particularly that extreme,' Kelly said. She added during this time Kate's pain was worsening, she was 'struggling with everything' and her mobility began to decline. A spinal physiotherapist became concerned with her symptoms, Kelly said, and Kate decided to take her care private to have an MRI scan. On July 7 2021, Kate was informed the scan had revealed a large tumour in her pelvic region with numerous deposits on her spine. After having a biopsy at Birmingham Hospital, Kate was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer that can start in the bones or soft tissue, on August 3 2021. It was found 'in a matter of weeks' the disease had spread to Kate's lungs, liver, skull, jaw and other bones in her body. 'The news was life-altering, mainly for Kate, but also for her friends and family,' Kelly said. 'I felt shock and disbelief, but also a bit of guilt as well as you think 'could I have done more to push her to seek help sooner?' 'It all felt really unreal and it shouldn't happen to someone so young, especially someone so fit and healthy.' Kate was given emergency radiotherapy and began a course of chemotherapy treatment for several months, where Kelly said she showed signs of improvement. 'She remained so strong and so positive the whole time, it was beyond us and we will never understand it,' Kelly said. Kate was misdiagnosed with 'probable sciatica' She added Kate's health 'rapidly declined' from January 2022 as her liver and kidneys started to shut down from the disease. 'It just all changed from there, it was a rapid downward spiral that kind of came out of nowhere,' Kelly said. Kate died on March 17 2022. Kelly said she and her family members are still struggling to process the loss. 'Kate was never meant to die, it was an aggressive cancer but she was never given a terminal diagnosis until the last few weeks,' she said. 'It just shows how very, very suddenly things can change.' Kelly said Kate's message would be to 'listen to your body' and 'advocate for yourself'. 'She would also want to encourage people to make the most of your life that you're lucky to have,' Kelly added. 'Don't wait, and laugh more, I think she would say.' Kelly said Kate's health 'rapidly declined' from January 202 Kate's family and friends continue to honour her in their day-to-day lives by aiming to live for the moment and be more present. 'Kate was the most kind and considerate person and people were just generally drawn to her, she was really warm,' Kelly said. 'She had really good wit and she was just hilarious – she had this amazingly infectious laugh. We all say her laugh is what we miss most about her.' Article continues below April marks Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month for the Bone Cancer Research Trust, the UK's leading charity for primary bone cancer. To find out more, visit their website here:
