Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Ford versus Holden; Brockie, Johnson, Moffat, Bond and Skaife—Bathurst is the home of motor racing in Australia. Every year the great race at Mount Panorama/Wahluu draws hundreds of thousands of racegoers and a global viewing audience. Your department has just pulled $12.5 million in grant funding for a second racetrack and won't allow an extension of the completion date or upgrades to the existing circuit. Will you agree to meet with me and the mayor of Bathurst to review this outrageous decision?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

KING (—) (): I thank the member for his question. I know he's a very passionate advocate for his community. Of course, there's the mighty Mount Panorama and the Bathurst 1000. My older brother goes every year. He rings me from the top of the mountain each October. It was a little wet last year. He's been going for a long time, and I know just how important it is.

I am absolutely happy to meet with the mayor. In fact, I actually spoke to one of the councillors from the Bathurst council about this very issue at the recent Australian Council of Local Government, and I'm also very happy to meet with the member about it.

The facts of the matter are these. This community development grant was announced almost three years ago now. There have been significant problems with planning approvals for the second racetrack, and the council has informed us that it is unable to meet the deadline to build this racetrack by 2026—that's how long they've got to get this done. So the grant has been concluded because it simply could not be delivered in the time frame required.

What I encourage the member and the council to do is to put in an expression of interest to the Growing Regions fund, a $300 million fund that opens on 5 July. I'd certainly welcome an application, if it then goes to application, from the Bathurst council for this project. I understand the council was seeking to move the funds to another project, still at Mount Panorama, but the previous Community Development Grants guidelines would not have allowed that to happen.