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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 3277 ..
MR STEFANIAK (continuing):
The economic report of 2001, which the government has, states:
It is well known that motor vehicle racing attracts many interstate and overseas visitors. Most familiar is the attraction of Formula One and 500cc Motor Cycle Grand Prix events and CART events such as the Gold Coast Indy. However, all types of motor sports have their fans and all have the ability to attract spectators from outside the local community. A new Canberra dragway would attract spectators from not only the local region in NSW but from Sydney.
The report went on to say:
The major source of economic impacts are:
The capital/ construction cost for raceway facilities
The capital/construction cost for vehicles
The operating and maintenance costs for the raceway facilities
The operating and maintenance costs for a racing team
Expenditure by interstate visitors.
The direct impact deriving from the above sources has been compiled from discussions with raceway operators and from a variety of published sources including recent studies of drag racing expenditure and of the impact of the drag racing Winter Nationals at Ipswich in Queensland, and of the Perth Motorplex Facility.
The report estimated the cost of construction at $6 million and took the operating cost of the dragway from data there. Remember, the dragway operated at no cost to government, as with every other motor sport.
The report indicates that the new facility-it is just talking about a dragway-would generate an additional $6.2 million in gross state product annually and 126 jobs, which is not something to be sneezed at. A major motor sport facility in the Majura Valley could also provide lots of other options as well. The airport might be interested in truck parking there. Mechanical industry infrastructure could be built around it as well. It could be more than simply for racing motor cars and dragway racing. There is a lot of potential in terms of money coming into the territory on an annual basis in building such a facility. Indeed, I think that it would prove to me quite a good investment for the ACT government.
This government disappointed lots of people by seemingly reneging on what they considered to be a promise to go ahead and build a dragway. It now has the opportunity to change that by accepting this motion and committing to building a dragway and a motor sport complex in the Majura Valley. A lot of work has been done on that. Two major reports have been undertaken. The time for trying to opt out of the commitment has past and I think that it is incumbent upon this Assembly to ensure that this government lives up to the expectations concerning its election and builds a motor sport facility, including a dragway, in the Majura Valley.
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