FOUNDER'S $40 MILLION TAX BILL WILL NOT FORCE MONA TO CLOSE

The millionaire gambler and arts patron behind the $180 million Museum of Old and New Art, David Walsh, is determined to keep it running and says it is unlikely to close to the public. ''There is some risk but I would rate it as small,'' Mr Walsh said, of suggestions the Tasmanian museum could close as a result of his retrospective tax bill, put at about $40 million.