NSW Gallery of Art boss Michael Brand slammed for letting taxpayers pick up tab for fancy meals

A public art gallery director is under fire for spending thousands on fancy meals, alcohol and other expenses he billed to taxpayers during the Covid pandemic.

Art Gallery of NSW director Michael Brand put meals costing over $1,000 along with hundreds of dollars of separate wine purchases and other expenses on his government credit card. 

Radio host Ben Fordham called Dr Brand a ‘fat cat’ who was ‘having a laugh at our expense’ on 2GB on Tuesday morning.

Art Gallery of NSW director Michael Brand regularly dropped over $1,000 of taxpayer’s money to eat at some of Sydney top restaurants even as Covid slashed the gallery’s visitor numbers 

‘I think people in NSW will be saying, “this bloke’s kidding himself”,’ Fordham said, pointing out Dr Brand’s salary of $450K per year is higher than that of NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.

Fordham called the list of restaurants Dr Brand visited at tax payer expense ‘like something out of the Good Food Guide’. 

The receipts uncovered by a Daily Telegraph freedom of information request show that Dr Brand paid  $1,180 to eat at Otto, $1,043 at the now defunct Lucio’s, $1,033 at Firedoor and $779 at Franca Brasserie – all top end restaurants in inner Sydney.

Dr Brand spent  $779 at Franca Brasserie in Potts Point (pictured) in January but this is modest compared to the $1,000 meals he enjoyed at other top end Sydney eateries such as Otto and Firedoor

However, his taxpayer-funded largesse did not end there because in August 2021 he dropped $708 at Canberra’s Raku Dining before racking up $532 at inner Sydney restaurant Foreign Return a couple of days later.

Dr Brand also did not hold back on using his government Citibank credit card for alcohol purchases.

A favourite bottle-o was was Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay Cellars where he made tax-funded purchases worth $718 in August of 2020, followed by $212 the next month and $550 in December 2021.

In that same month he also spent $254 with a US company, Vintage Liquors. 

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The Art Gallery of NSW has defended Dr Brand’s taxpayer-funded largesse as hospitality, arguing that he has helped raise $109 million for its expansion and other projects

Other expenses picked by the taxpayer include a $420 taxi ride this year, $447.50 at Sit Back and Relax furniture store and $59 at outdoors clothing store Kathmandu.

Fordham noted much of the spending happened during a time of widespread hardship.

‘This was during (Covid) lockdowns when a million people lost their jobs and hundreds of businesses went under,’ he said.

‘It was a time of financial crisis but not for art gallery boss Michael Brand.’ 

During the Covid period visitors to the gallery plunged by almost two thirds, from 1,587,386 to 666,572. 

An Art Gallery of NSW spokeswoman defended Dr Brand’s expenses as hospitality to raise money from partners and donors. 

Radio host Ben Fordham argues that Dr Brand’s expenses, which included big alcohol purchases, furniture and a $450 taxi ride, do not pass the ‘pub test’ in a time of Covid hardship

‘This engagement has made possible the Art Gallery raising $109million dollars through its philanthropic capital campaign for its major expansion, the Sydney Modern Project, opening in December,’ the spokeswoman said.

‘Credit card expenses incurred by the director are authorised by delegated officers and the president of the Board of Trustees. These expenses are within approved limits and directly align with the role and responsibilities.’

Fordham said at a time the NSW government is under pressure to find more money for nurses, paramedics and teachers, this defence would not pass ‘the pub test’.

‘When you are working for the taxpayer your spending must align with community expectations,’ Fordham said. 

He did not suggest Dr Brand had broken the rules, as determined by the gallery’s board, but rather that the rules had to change.