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A government tourism fund that handed out hundred of millions dollars is being criticised for a lack of transparency and clarity.
An Auditor General's report released today confirms many of the concerns small operators raised when the $290 million Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Progamme was allocated in 2020.
It says Ministers handing the money out struggled themselves to define what a strategic asset was. Some criteria was unclear.
Tens of millions of dollars were given to businesses owned by profitable parent companies - when the money was supposed to support struggling businesses. And official advice to halt the programme was ignored.
The AG concluded the limited documentation meant it was hard to determine value for money or to adequately explain the decisions.
Here's Tourism reporter Tess Brunton.