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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 3280 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

the whole process, another parameter, is the airport-the requirements of the airport and the political clap that accrues to the airport in terms of land and land around the airport.

There are, I would have to say, some issues to be worked through in terms of what might and might not happen within the near vicinity of the airport. It might impinge upon its capacity to grow at a future time and the potential for the airport, a correctional facility, a dragway and the other motor sport facilities to coexist in that area, so it is not a simple situation. I know that it becomes simple in opposition, but it is not a simple situation.

I think that this Assembly overall is mature enough to note that the government needs to be allowed to go through those negotiations and to play the politics that are associated with the airport and its capacity to influence decisions and its actual needs and the needs of Canberra for the growth of the airport, as well as the correctional facility and the dragway.

I remain, I have to say, unconvinced that the existence of a dragway would change markedly the propensity of people to indulge in street drag-racing, unless that facility was open and then policed. With the current environment and the insurance imbroglio that we have been through for the last year and a half or so, if you were the drag club responsible for that area you would not leave the gates open, you would not let people on it, you would not let uncontrolled drag-racing take place. You would not allow, and I certainly would not allow, cars that were not totally modified to meet drag-racing standards onto a dragway.

I know that in the past the story was different, that there was a little bit of "let it rip", and the police were involved. The police had their own hot car that they used to encourage their members to go out there and race the kids. But I think times have changed a bit. I doubt very much whether I would want to be associated directly with uncontrolled drag-racing taking place at any time that a few people felt like involving themselves in it.

I have, as sports minister, spent quite an amount of my time at various meetings along the motor sport racing facilities in the Fairbairn area and some of them do not need to change their facilities. The go-kart club is a very well organised club. It has a very well advanced facility, a very well respected facility, and the only hitch, as for a number of other areas, is the curfew that applies there, particularly on a wet day which slows down their races a bit.

I just happened to be at a function the other night with Lee Donnelly, who looks after the motorbikes. Having made their arrangements with the Subaru rally people for an upgrade of their course, they are quite happy where they are. (Extension of time granted.) If we take out the fact that we are not making a quantum leap towards V8 car racing and we take out those sports which are quite happy now or reasonably serviced now-I doubt that the hill climb would fit immediately into the middle of a sports facility-and we do not anticipate a positive decision on going back to full blown V8 car racing in the territory, we are probably not looking at much more than a drag strip itself and the facilities and accoutrements that go with that as needed to satisfy quite a number of people.

I have had people come to me and say that it is a pity that we cannot have a V8 car race in the ACT; a cab driver did so the other night. However, at the same time, they were all

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