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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (9 August) . . Page.. 2696 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

The GMC400 was a well-managed and safe event. An integrated approach to safety planning was adopted from the start, building on last year's experiences. The safety committee included relevant staff from the Australian Federal Police, ACT Emergency Services, ACT WorkCover, the ACT department of health, St John Ambulance and coordinators of the event. The event has a working plan for emergency response that can be modified each year to comply with any future changes in layout or procedures. The AFP and ACT Emergency Services provided tremendous support for the event, and we thank them for working with all the stakeholders to ensure its success.

Converting the streets of the Parliamentary Triangle into a circuit for the GMC400 introduced temporary disruption to traffic. This year, event organisers worked with the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Urban Services to minimise inconvenience to motorists. Learning from year one, a detailed communications plan was implemented and, with outstanding support from Canberra's media, information about road closures and alternative arrangements was publicised well in advance of the event.

The park and ride services offered by ACTION buses received a high approval rating from spectators who made the decision to leave their cars at home. Although some concerns were expressed about the potential for such events to encourage speeding on our roads, police reported that there were no noticeable increases in traffic offences over the June long weekend. Locally let contracts were worth over $2.7 million, and included the laying of race kerbing, transportation of equipment, provision of security, civil works and portable building hire.

Turning to the promotion of the national capital, the GMC400 was telecast throughout Australia and New Zealand. It featured on TV magazine programs such as RPM and Trackside and was replayed on Fox Sports. In New Zealand, the race was shown on TV One. Excellent shots of the national capital, including aerial shots of the Parliamentary Triangle, were used liberally throughout the telecasts, highlighting many of the major attractions. Race commentary positively promoted Canberra and the special unique location of the event throughout the telecast.

The GMC400 engaged an overall audience of 28.2 million people. Dedicated race day coverage attracted over 1.9 million viewers, while almost 24 million people watched news items about the event. TV magazine programs featuring the GMC400 amassed an audience of 2.6 million people. The media coverage was extensive and the overall publicity value was conservatively estimated by Sponsorship Information Services at over $1.2 million.

In terms of financial performance, the GMC400 has been professionally managed. Expenditure in 2001 was well under budget. Revenue in 2001 was reduced, due to a drop in ticket sales. As I have said, ticket sales for these sorts of events are easily affected by weather and market forces. The preliminary results, yet to be audited, indicate that there was an operating loss of some $1.45 million. The expected cash result for the event is a shortfall of $1.17 million, which excludes depreciation and in kind contra. CTEC has advised that the event does not expect to require funding other than the amount already allocated by the ACT government for the next three years. The five- year budget for the event has made some allowances for potential variations.

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