General News
22 October, 2024
EDITORIAL: Leadership to blame for downfall of iconic event
The finger has to be pointed at the CEO and the board for the demise of the Mount Isa Rodeo.
Make no mistake, the downfall of Mount Isa’s most iconic event can be attributed to poor leadership.
While Isa Rodeo Ltd blames a myriad of reasons for its dire financial state, including a slow Outback tourism season and the impacts of the pandemic, the fact remains that CEO Natalie Flecker and the board, led by chair Rowena McNally, failed in their duties.
When Isa Rodeo Ltd took the reins from Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo Inc, there was said to be more than $1 million in the bank.
This was after paying all its bills and providing generous financial support to local community groups.
In the space of six years, not only has Isa Rodeo Ltd burned through those funds, but it has also managed to get into debt worth several hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Where has the money gone?
There is no suggestion of any impropriety from the Isa Rodeo Ltd staff or board members. However, the organisation clearly had a spending problem.
While tourism numbers did grow under Isa Rodeo, local participation dropped off.
In fact, locals had no choice but to boycott this year’s event because the ticket prices were simply not affordable for families.
Is it any wonder the locals stopped supporting the event like they did in the halcyon days? When the event was run and done this year, Isa Rodeo Ltd had four staff members on its books and none of them lived in the 4825 postcode.
Of the board members, just two had Mount Isa addresses.
The rise of FIFO in the mining industry had already been a kick in the guts for Mount Isa, and Ms Flecker’s decision to do the same by moving to Brisbane was another nail in the coffin.
Yet there still appears to be no accountability from the leaders of Isa Rodeo Ltd – no detailed explanations, no apologies to those who are owed money.
When the news broke on Monday morning that it had opted to go into voluntary administration, they didn’t even have the courtesy to inform Mount Isa mayor Peta MacRae, who found out via the media.
You’ve got to feel for the mayor, who just last week had been putting her own reputation on the line by trying to get Isa Rodeo’s leaders in a room with interested locals to perhaps salvage a positive outcome for the event and the community.
There are still too many unknowns to make predictions as to what will happen as a result of the voluntary administration.
However, there are enough big hitters in Mount Isa that are keen to make sure a rodeo goes ahead in August next year, which means you can bet that the show will go on.
As for those who are owed money, we can only hope they get paid every cent, or at least close to the full amount.
It’s a terribly sad situation for Mount Isa and the community is rightfully angry at those who oversaw this once-great event’s downfall.
Perhaps the administrators will find the answers many have been searching for.