Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to add my support to the campaign for the establishment of an Adelaide motorplex facility. There is a great tradition of motor sport in South Australia which has involved a range of disciplines, from street circuits featuring Formula 1 and V8 Supercars to drag racing, rally driving and speedway racing. The first time an Australian Grand Prix was part of the Formula One World Championship was the first Adelaide Grand Prix in 1985. The Adelaide Grand Prix was held 11 times in total around the streets of Adelaide until the race moved to Melbourne in 1996.

After the Grand Prix left Adelaide in 1996, the street circuit had its first V8 Supercar race in 1999. This race, known as the Clipsal 500, has been an outstanding success and has won numerous tourism and event awards. The 2010 race was watched by 278,000 spectators and the Clipsal 500 has led the way in helping touring car racing again gaining widespread popularity. Murray Walker—for many years the worldwide voice of Formula 1 and motor sport generally—described the Clipsal 500 as ‘the world’s best touring car race’.

Many of Adelaide’s older residents will have fond memories of speedway racing at Rowley Park in Adelaide’s north-western suburbs, which for 30 years, until its closure in 1979, was the heart of speedway in South Australia. It featured the best local speedway racers as well as guest competitors from Europe and North America. Fans of speedway would remember the various classes of cars involved, including sprint cars, speed cars, Formula 500s and Street Stocks. Many local automotive businesses—car dealers, components suppliers and mechanics—raced speedway in their spare time and their names became synonymous with the car industry in South Australia.

Speedway racing continues in South Australia today at Speedway City at Virginia and in regional centres such as Murray Bridge, Waikerie, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. Solo racing, which was a large part of Rowley Park, continues today at Virginia and on occasion at Wayville Showgrounds. We have also seen drag racing, touring cars and other types of racing at locations such as the Adelaide International Raceway and Mallala, which is in the electorate of the member for Wakefield, who is in the chamber tonight. Neither location now meets the requirements for a quality motor sport complex.

All of these various forms of racing involve people who are passionate about motor sport coming together in a relatively safe and controlled environment. There is always a risk involved, as there is with any activity, but it is best that these activities take place in a controlled environment where the risk is minimised and where medical personnel are on site. Motor racing can also be a very expensive hobby, but for both speedway and drag racing enthusiasts the hobby is relatively accessible as a form of motor sport. Many people do not have the financial resources to enter competitions such as touring car or open wheeler competitions, but they are still able, on a limited budget, to compete in some form of speedway racing or drag racing.

South Australia is the only state that does not have a quarter mile track and dedicated drag racing facilities. Both enthusiasts and spectators in Adelaide often have to travel interstate to compete in or to watch their chosen sport. In South Australia we celebrate cars and the people who make them. We are home to the National Motor Museum at Birdwood. We honour classic cars in events such as the Bay to Birdwood and the Classic Adelaide car rally, which is due to resume in 2011. We pioneer and develop world class events such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Clipsal 500. It seems a contradiction that a city and a state with such a strong motor sports tradition does not have a dedicated motorplex facility.

My understanding is that the Adelaide Motorplex support group is privately funded by some automotive businesses in South Australia. They are asking the state government to make available to them a suitable piece of land, by either selling or leasing it to them. They have identified a site at Gillman which they believe suits their needs. I have discussed this site with Mayor Gary Johanson of the Port Adelaide Council, and I know that he strongly supports the development of such a facility on that site. I am also aware of discussions between the Coorong District Council and two motor sport bodies—Motorcycling South Australia and the Sporting Car Club of South Australia—to develop the old Mitsubishi test track at Tailem Bend for motor sport. This presents a significant development opportunity for the local community, although I accept that distance from Adelaide may be an issue for some motor sport enthusiasts.

South Australia, like all states, has issues with hoon driving and deaths from illegal street racing. In other parts of Australia it is often the view of police and the community that holding legal off-street drag racing events has reduced the amount of hoon driving and illegal street racing in those areas. I support the efforts of the Motorplex support group to have a motorplex facility established in Adelaide. (Time expired)