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probably find a way to stop the motor racing entirely. Unfortunately, that would not lead to the sort of compromises I hoped to achieve when I sought to get residents together with motor racing last year. Perhaps because of the ill feeling that has developed over the years, that was not possible.

I believe that Mr Humphries, in his capacity as Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, thinks that either the site should be closed down or the law should be changed so as to make so many exemptions unnecessary. It is a weird way to operate; we have a law that we continue to operate under exemptions. The danger is that the noise pollution control would be governed by the needs of the motor racing sport rather than by the needs of ACT and local residents. But at least Mr Humphries recognises that the system is not working.

Mr Stefaniak, as Minister for Sport and Recreation, recently told the ACT Motorsport Council that the number and level of exemptions for the Sutton Park driver training track should be increased greatly. Apparently Mr Stefaniak suggested to the ACT Motorsport Council that they should apply for a number of dates for use of the Sutton Park track for racing. I have a letter, signed by Mr Stefaniak, to Mr Humphries in which he writes:

Last year I became aware of a direction issued in 1993 by the previous government by, I believe, Bill Wood, the former Minister for Training, for the Sutton Park facility only to be used by motor sport four times a year. A commitment was given to motor sport that this arbitrary restriction, which I understand breached a previous commitment by the former Labor Government made in 1992, would be lifted and that motor sport would be allowed greater access to the facility.

What we see is Mr Stefaniak, in his letter of 28 April this year to Mr Humphries, not only encouraging the wider use of the current racing facilities but also using the driver training facility for further racing. The letter suggests that a meeting should be held between a range of people and officials to sort out details. It continues:

As Minister for Training, I am enthusiastic for this facility to have greater use and for motor sport to access it in accordance with our abovementioned commitment.

In his letter, Mr Stefaniak did mention:

... I would envisage that most activities at the facility involving motor sport would be subject to exemptions under Section 16 of the Noise Control Act.

In other words, it is going to be noisy - so noisy that it does not fit in with the legislation we have passed in this Assembly. Is Mr Stefaniak suggesting that the number of exemptions be increased so that residents suffer noise pollution every second weekend instead of one in three, or even more noise? Would Mr Stefaniak, I wonder, be so keen to support this activity so close to housing if he happened to live in that housing?

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