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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (30 August) . . Page.. 2623 ..

MR BERRY:. They have had some assistance; okay. I can remember some subsidies-I do not know whether they were anti-smoking, anti-drinking or something like that-coming from the health portfolio ages ago, but they were minor. I also remember the police promoting drag-racing. They had their own drag-racing car and they used to go out there with it to encourage people to drag-race on this strip, rather than on the streets, and they were doing a good job. The social impacts of this form of racing are well known. It gets youngsters and older fellows, mostly, off the streets; although Ms Splatt, the leading drag-racing woman in the country, would say that she has broken that mould, and she has.

Mr Speaker, drag-racing was something that members of the government have had no sympathy for. They cannot pretend that they have it all of a sudden. They had sympathy for their mates out at the airport. Terry Snow did not want this drag strip there and he got his way. That is essentially what happened. Of course, if the government had taken an entirely different view, we would not be having this debate today; so quit the duck shoving and cop the responsibility.

Mr Speaker, there have to be negotiations with this group. I know some of the people who are connected with this sport and I know that they have a strong commitment to their sport. These people are small operators in the scheme of things. They are nothing like the people from the V8 supercar race who have a reputation for bending the figures to suit themselves. These people are ordinary ACT punters who have not had a dollar from government and who have been out there-

Mr Humphries: That is not true.

MR BERRY: Okay, for some promotions, but they built the dragway with their own vehicles and their own equipment. They built the thing themselves.

Mr Humphries: Didn't they build it when you were in office?

MR BERRY: I do not know whether it was when I was in office.

Mr Humphries: I think it was while you were in office. You did not support them.

MR BERRY: They did it themselves. They did not ask for any support.

Mr Humphries: Oh, they did not ask for any support!

MR SPEAKER: Order! I do not want cross-conversation.

MR BERRY: They did not ask for any support because they are committed to their sport and they were providing a return of $1.5 million a year to the ACT community which has been cut off because of your particular sympathies. That is what it is all about; it is because of your particular sympathies. If these people had had your endorsement, as your mates at the airport have had on several other matters, they would have been racing their cars and $1.5 million would have been flowing every year into the territory. Stop denying it; everybody knows it. It is too late for you to ignore your lack of contribution to this sport.

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