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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 3292 ..

MS DUNDAS (continuing):

of vocal supporters of the motor sport facility left the meeting concerned that the government had still not committed to building the facility.

I understand-and Mr Quinlan's amendment points to this fact-that the government is in the process of trying to acquire land in the Majura Valley for a correctional facility and a motor sport facility. I think that putting a motor sport facility next to the other largest noise generator in the ACT-the airport-is a sensible way to go.

I understand Ms Tucker's comments about needing to support corridors of ecological value across the ACT. That is important, and I hope it will be considered as we look at building a facility. There are concerns about motor sport not being an environmentally friendly form of entertainment, as it produces greenhouse gases and promotes the private car. Nevertheless, we need to consider the positive social impacts of a motor sport facility. It has the possibility of being a tourist attraction-something that I know this government has been keen to focus on recently.

I believe this will also address a number of concerns raised over the last few years about the problems we have been having, especially around the streets of Braddon, with cars practising burnouts up and down the drag strips, whilst a safe facility has not been provided for the people who wish to undertake motor sport to do so.

In the ACT, there are ovals, equestrian facilities, gymnasiums, halls, swimming pools and even a shooting range, to allow people with diverse sporting interests to undertake these sports. The Democrats are quite clear in their support for the establishment of a motor sport facility outside the urban area, to encourage and support people who want to participate in the sport to do so in a safe way-so they are not doing so illegally on the streets of Braddon at night.

As with anything, I believe it is best to have it in a way that can be supported and promoted, as opposed to a way that pushes the sport underground and makes it illegal. This is a legitimate sport, as are a whole range of things in which people in the ACT participate. Unfortunately, it has been on the backburner for far too long.

In essence, I would be supportive of Mr Stefaniak's motion, but we have before us an amendment from Mr Quinlan. That wants us to note that the ACT government is negotiating with the Commonwealth for the purchase of land which, if successful, will allow for the development of a motor sport facility and an ACT correctional facility. That is where our major contention is today-whether or not the government should be putting money forward to build a facility on land it does not currently have.

I am hopeful that the negotiations for the ACT government to purchase the land in the Majura Valley go well, and that the federal government recognises that the ACT should have first dibs on land within the border which the federal government owns. As I have already said, I believe the Majura Valley is one of the best places for the development of a motor sport facility.

I think the problem with Mr Stefaniak's motion-which Mr Quinlan's amendment seeks to address-is that we cannot call for the building of a motor sport facility in the Majura Valley because, at the moment, we do not have control over a lot of the Majura Valley.

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