nsw politics
3 Jul 2009
Democracy Dies At The Wheel
The NSW Government is so keen to host a lucrative world rally car championship that it has broken all of its own rules to secure the deal, writes John Pitt
This is a story about a car race, an autocratic state government and the abuse of democracy. It's not a happy story, but it's one that needs to be told. At stake is the very foundation on which this nation was built.Last week, just before breaking for the long winter recess, NSW State parliamentarians rushed through special legislation to impose a round of the World Rally Car Championship on two rural shires that are as far away from Sydney as it's possible to get: Tweed and Kyogle on the far north coast.
Ian Macdonald, as Minister for State Development, championed the Bill through the Upper House, having announced a few weeks earlier that the normal process of a development application being submitted to the local shire councils was being brushed aside. The opportunity for public debate and discussion on this event — branded as "the highest profile four-wheeled motor championship in the world after Formula One" — was summarily guillotined.
It doesn't take much to read between the lines. This was just too big a fish to leave to local, amateur politicians. Not only that but there was substantial opposition from all sides of the community that needed to be silenced, and quickly.
The rally is planned for September, it's already on the international sporting calendar and Macdonald was at pains to emphasise that such a major televised event was going to bring in $100 million to state coffers, as well as creating loads of jobs at a time of economic downturn. It's unclear where that figure has come from since no economic impact analysis has, to public knowledge, been carried out. Nevertheless, Macdonald says the event will "provide a unique opportunity to showcase the spectacular Northern Rivers area and generate increased international interest in the region".
But why have the shires of Tweed and Kyogle been chosen to host this spectacle?
Tweed is no stranger to controversy: the council was sacked by the State Government in 2005 because of allegations of deal-making between some councillors and developers and placed under administration. The shire is now back in the hands of elected representatives, but incredibly, the General Manager of Tweed Council and one of the key negotiators behind the controversial World Rally Car deal, Mike Rayner, accepted a position on the board of the event's organisers in Australia — Rally Australia.
Tweed is a naturally beautiful environment, dominated by Mt Warning, and acknowledged as such by the Federal Government. It is even being promoted by Tourism Australia to lure tourists to enjoy its natural charm and tranquillity, the biodiversity and abundance of flora and fauna.
When this ecological initiative was launched in a blaze of publicity by Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett last year he said: "The National Landscapes program demonstrates how properly managing and taking care of our environmental and cultural assets can bring enormous long-term economic benefit to these regions and the broader economy."
Pity no one told the NSW Government, which had been working assiduously with its private off-shoot, Events NSW, to bring the World Rally Car Championship to the region.
Negotiations with the rally organisers, the Paris-based FIA, had been going on in secret for a couple of years, ever since the WA Government decided in 2005 that the race wasn't economically viable and pulled the plug. According to Tweed Council documents, Mike Rayner facilitated a meeting between Events NSW and the NSW Minister for Tourism well before the rally was announced in September 2008 to Tweed residents and the NSW taxpayers. Rayner also secured significant support in kind and in cash for the rally from Tweed Shire Council without notice to Tweed residents and ratepayers.
No one knows why NSW was so keen to have this event and no one yet knows why it selected Tweed, and its neighbouring shire Kyogle, as the venue. Perhaps they thought two dozy little towns in the farthest part of the state would bend over backwards to host the show.
But if there is one thing people in this part of the world don't like it's being told what to do by Sydney-centric politicians. Having just got back the right to democratically elect their own council, people in Tweed especially were not going to take this lying down. They had waited three years for democracy and now the state was going to take it away again.
There's more. In a hammer stroke the NSW Government's special legislation would override the National Parks and Wildlife Act, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, the Threatened Species Conservation Act, the Forestry Act, the Water Management Act, the Fisheries Management Act and the Local Government Act.
During the debate in the Legislative Council, Greens member Ian Cohen summed up the view of many when he said:
"This bill takes away the power of the people most affected by this rally to have any say through the normal planning process. The New South Wales Government wants this event irrespective of environmental or human concerns. If this event is such a good thing, as the Minister said recently in Parliament, why does the Minister need special legislation? The people of northern New South Wales should not have to cop deals this Government has done to appease an international motor racing organisation and underwrite a private company, Rally Australia. The State should not be creating special legislation for one single corporate beneficiary — it is undemocratic. The unique environment of the North Coast cannot be rented out to whoever wants to use it. The due planning process should be allowed to proceed."
Sue Higginson, a solicitor with the Environmental Defender's Office Northern Rivers, goes further:
"Not only does the [Bill] prevent local councils and communities from having a say about the rally through the normal planning process, it also circumvents a thousand years of common law rights."
How's that for a healthy democracy?
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‘No one knows why NSW was so keen to have this event and no one still knows why it selected Tweed, and its neighbouring shire Kyogle, as the venue.’
The area was chosen because it is home to some of the best driving roads in the country. There is also a long history of rallying in the area.
It is disingenuous to suggest that support for this event is only coming from the ‘top-down’. The rally will be supported by local car clubs and hundreds of volunteers - many of whom will be from surrounding regions. Local businesses will enjoy a significant boost from the competitors, volunteers and spectators that come to participate in this event.
While I agree entirely that the way the NSW govt. steamrolls democratic processes is a disgrace, most of the opposition to this event derives from a misplaced, hysterical, fear of rallying. The community, environmental and political groups in question have demonstrated that have never attended a rally, nor do they understand the sport on any level.
Do you really think that a field of around 50-100 cars, travelling a few hundred km’s over the course of one weekend will result in permanent ecological damage to the shire? Really? More damage is caused by 4wds and dirt bikes every weekend of the year. The impact on threatened species? Are you kidding? Hitting the local flora and fauna is not a great way to win a rally and these guys are the best drivers in the world. I think we can be pretty certain that Rally Australia will not trigger any ecological tipping points, nor drive any species to extinction.
If the NIMBY’s opposing this event put as much effort into the everyday land-use decisions being made by their local council imagine what they could achieve for the local environment! Rallying is not v8 supercars, these people need to get a grip.
By the way, please do not imply that being part of the ‘national landscapes program’ makes the region any more environmentally ‘precious’. The program is about getting overseas tourists to our most developed eco-tourism regions - so that we can extract the maximum amount of money out of them. The tourism industry does not want tourists going to national parks in the middle of nowhere where they cannot get them to spend money. Cheers.
I am not against car rallies, per se, actually have a bit of a soft spot for them, but I am not sure that I would want one in my back-yard. The noise factor would be horrendous, plus all the road traffic and inconvenience.
But in this day and age, I reckon car rallies, and car racing, is getting to be a bit over the fence, and waste of valuable resources. Just NOT P C, hey!
Also, if the WA Govt. says that the rally is not economically viable, how come NSW reckons this one is going to be any different?
As for Democracy, I reckon State Governments (and Feds also) these days just laugh at it. They just over-ride public opinion as a matter of course in their frenzies to please particular pressure groups,and vested interests. They know that the dumb voters will succumb to blandishments, lies and ‘spin’ come election time.
And Howard and Rudd showed just how easy it is to wipe Laws and Regulations when they over-rode Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Laws to impose ‘Martial Law’ and outside occupation on the NT Indigenous peoples!
Anna "Margaret Thatcher" Bligh in Queensland has just shown how easy it is to completely over-ride Labor Policy and Public Opinion in a decision to sell off as many Public Assets as they can, probably to the Chinese, in a massive fire sale, mainly because she is just too damned stupid to see a few years into the future when Rail, in particular, MUST become the natural choice for freight of all commodities, and passenger traffic, especially in a large state such as Queensland.
Forgetting the coal traffic of course, because she is just trying to get rid of this bloody big ‘white elephant’ before it becomes completely redundant, hoping that any buyer is as dumb as herself.
Or maybe she or some of her Ministers may have some shares in some coal and trucking companies, and are looking for a quick buck. Bad timing, folks!
Major problem is that QRNational probably gets any profits it can use from Coal traffic in Queensland and the Hunter to support other freight activities all over Australia, and without these short term cash cows, QRN may well be un-sellable at any price, unless it obtains subsidies from State and Federal Governments, or Road Registrations for Trucks brought to a level where it becomes more a level playing field. At present, Trucking and Roads are heavily subsidised for Heavy Freight, while Rail infrastructure, even with the last Federal Budget, is the very, very poor relation.
Trucking Companies and Road and Car organisations have lots of friends in Governments, while Tim Fisher has been sent to far off back-woods places (like a few centuries in the past!) where he can not annoy Rudd and Co. with his enthusiastic Rail support.
Tim, come back, we need you! Dazza.
I am heartily sick of people who assume that, just because an area has "some of the best driving roads in the country", spoilt blokes in million dollar cars have a perfect right to use those roads for their pointless activities, no matter what the people who live on those roads might think.
I’ve lived in the Kyogle are for nearly twenty years. My partner has lived here for over thirty years. We both state categorically that there is NOT a history of rallying on Kyogle’s residential roads.
This event, and the obscene legislation that was rushed with indecent haste through the NSW Parliament to rubber-stamp it, tramples over residents’ rights and makes a mockery of local planning.
Repco Rally Australia would like us to believe they’ve negotiated with various groups — Aboriginal, wildlife, neighbourhood committees, etc — and come to an amicable agreement with all.
Some of the groups they claim to have reached agreement with have never even been contacted by RRA or by the people writing reports for them!
I’ve been in touch with local Aboriginal women who are distressed at the possibility that some of their sacred sites will be violated by rally activities. Under normal circumstances legislation exists to protect these places but the Motor Sports (WRC) Bill 2009 wipes out that protection. RRA hasn’t spoken to them to find out where those sites may be. Fine words have been spoken by rally organisers but they’re empty rhetoric.
Nigel E. is obviously totally ignorant of local government and planning in the area otherwise he wouldn’t have made such puerile comments about those of us who are NIMBYs. Oh yes, Mr. E. … we accept that term because our region is one of extraordinary ecological value and environmental fragility. We really DO MEAN "not in our backyard" because you’d have to be badly misinformed or just plain ignorant to think the area was in any way suitable for rallying merely on the grounds of its roads being unsealed!
The selfishness displayed by motorsport organisers in demanding that a WRC event be run here will put at risk the World Heritage ranking of our area. This, in turn, will impact badly on one of our biggest industries … that of eco-tourism. So much for concern for our economic welfare!
If motorsport fans don’t like the bad name their ‘entertainment’ has, they need to look to themselves and the people who organise the events. The next generation will think us truly insane to have still be running fossil-fuel based events at a time when peak oil and global climate change is impacting on us.
(Please, oh please, spare us the ‘case not proved’ rubbish … we’d better home climate change IS man-made because if it’s not we in really deep do-dos about which we can do nothing!)
And before anyone whinges about rally cars using only small amounts of fuel — we know that. It’s the air freight and passengers that do the damage. A member of a WRC racing team flies almost 140,000km per year. Tally the amount of freight (cars, parts, fuel) etc per team and you’re into frightening CO2 emissions territory.
It’s time this motorsport madness (sic) came to a permanent end!
Rally Australia, bing it on!
Sack the NSW government, I’m all for it! Atheistno1
I fail to see how because a community has never attended a rally, nor understand the sport on any level means it’s alright to force them to hold one.
There you have it.
Atheistno1: a fine example of the motorsport fan.
The most cogent, well-thought-out, original statement s/he can come up with is "bring it on".
Oh well done mate … what a fine ambassador you make. And Kyogle and Tweed are supposed to be thrilled at the thought of thousands of people just like you descending on our otherwise attractive corner of Australia?
I must speak Atheistno1’s language for a moment … and suggest that anyone who thinks rallying is worth watching would be well advised to go and themselves a life!
kyogle eye
Like dazza, I am fond of rallying, and did a fair bit informally myself growing up round Orange and Bathurst.
Sadly, though, I have to side with Nimbin’s NIMBYS. Motor sport in general is just not the sort of activity that will make it into a hopefully more sustainable future.
Not to say that I support the rantings of kyogle_eye, who appears to suggest the rally cars will be diverted from the usual fire trail through sacred sites and CWA tea rooms. While I appreciate that they are speaking for a small group, I am unconvinced the broader population is on their side and they might do well to continue to think globally but act locally by convincing some of their fellow Kyoglites to be less red around the neck area.
Rally driving, just like other high pollution sports, will phase out when we phase out the industries that support them, being motor manufacturers and oil companies. Treating them as a cause rather than a symptom will not work.
One major correction Rally Australia in Perth was viable and certainly not a white elephant , the government’s curious rationale was that the event’s ROI was not as high as they wished, so profitable but not enough to satisfy government greed.
The rest of the comments suffer from a lack of rationality .
I would expect people to be completely unaware of club level rally events as we run them with respect for the tracks used and in consultation with any people that may be impacted , traditionally late at night in remote areas.
As for pollution , the sport is just not of sufficient a scale to be a significant polluter , any of the national football codes , with their games under lights , interstate travel etc would have a far larger carbon footprint.
Motorsport demonstrates that driving can be done with great skill , a stark contrast to the average level of ineptitude that sees so many die on the road.
As for the political processes involved , well that is the state of the nation and people keep voting for them.
kyogle_eye, can you please explain how the ‘extraordinary ecological value and environmental fragility’ of the area will be damaged by 50-100 cars, driving a few hundred km’s on existing public roads, over the course of one weekend?
When you’ve done that… can you explain exactly how the event will put at risk the World Heritage ranking of the area? I was under the impression that world heritage listing provides better protection and more stringent development controls? Why hasn’t the event been referred under the EPBC Act if it’s such a threat?
Explain how the rally will impact badly on eco-tourism and not expand the profile of the area? You seem to assume that rally supporters and eco-tourists are an entirely different target market – I can assure you they are not.
AND REALLY… the desecration of sacred sites – do you really think any organisation wants to be implicated in such a thing???? Absurd. There is no evidence to support any of your claims (RRA-specific ones, I agree with the sentiment directed towards the NSW govt.).
kyogle_eye, you belong to a small and hysterical minority that has proved incapable of undertaking an objective assessment. If RRA is really the biggest environmental issue facing the shire, then you have it sweet.
To keep it in perspective: 50-100 cars, a few hundred km’s, on existing roads, on one weekend out of 52.
See you at the rally,
Nigel.
PS: As for the carbon impact, read Jonah’s post below…
Nigel I think we will have to attempt some more explanation or they will all think we have the budget and talent to run WRC cars LOL :)
Were do we start road touring , classic events , route charted , pace noted or my favourite nighttime navigational, events ?
Think all up we tread lightly compared to Dad and kids out in the 4x4 for the weekend .
This is the same way they rammed through the V8 Supercars so they can hoon around Homebush Bay. That area is becoming an excellent sanctuary for many birds, including visitors that fly in from Siberia. The idea of cutting down mature trees to make a race track for another bread and circuses attempt to distract the voters and look after their mates is disgusting.
I used to go on rally checkpoints with my father when I was younger. I remember a white knuckle drive in wet conditions to get to the checkpoint on time somewhere near the Wedding Bells state forest that had his little Corolla wagon taking corners that a rally driver would be proud of. I also remember a story (apocryphal perhaps) of one of the early WA rallies. The current world champion was warned about the danger of kangaroos so he had a special set of roo bars fitted to his car. He was out of the race within 20 km after he took his front end out hitting a wombat. Poor bloody wombat.
Perhaps they could combine with the Shooters and have the navigator attempt to shoot ferals out of the window while at high speed through national parks. Great for the cameras.
I have no doubt car clubs and many others will support this Dave - but it was not approved in a democratic fashion and there is no clear proof of what the community will get out of it that is to it’s advantage or disadvantage.
Having anything rammed down your throat without proper process and consideration of the people to be affected by that decision, is always against democratic values. It doesn’t matter if a few hundred or even thousand people support it. Someone with an interest in a particular subject area will accept any problems rather than miss out on such an event.
Rather like Gunns pulp mill in the Tamar Valley, Tas.
I’m all for rallying in the bush …. on mountain bicycles … on already formed tracks, and low impact guidelines.
Car racing - just another pitch to the former One Nation mob, splintered now into cars, shooters, Hill Song, other wasps. Crude, crude, crude politics.
ALP dog whistling?
Gutsy article from an ALP member too. Bravo.
A rumor is circulating that there are moves afoot to launch an legal case against the repco rally to get it stopped in Tweed shire. I have no idea if this is actually true and i would like to hear from anyone who has any information about this. I am going to hold off buying tickets at the moment until I know what is going on.
Readers will be interested to learn that efforts by the mayor of Tweed Shire Council, Joan van Lieshout, to have the general manager, Mike Rayner, resign from his position on the Repco Rally board were defeated 5-2 at council this Tuesday (July21).
Only the council’s one Green councillor, Katie Milne, supported the mayoral motion which sought to rescind the decision passed last November giving Rayner the authority to sit on the board.
A complaint alleging breach of the council’s own Code of Conduct and Business Ehtics has been sent to the mayor. But given that this would have to be discussed by a committee stacked with Rayner appointees this course appears lost.
The mayor has to seek re-election in September and it is likely she will be voted out.
Her relations with other councillors (including the post-administration bloc of Warren Poleglase and Phil Youngblut) have soured to the point where there is little if any communication between meetings.
John Pitt
FFS!!! GRAEME F
these arent race tracks.
no trees have been cut down to clear room for the rally.
hitting wildlife is a 1 in 10000km chance.
You could say the same about say.. bush bike riding for instance, your riding down ALREADY CLEARED ROADS WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE AT LEAST 50 YEARS AGO and you happen to run over a caterpillar…. BAN BUSH BIKE RIDING IMMEDIATLEY!!!! they may aswell go carry a gun and go hunting. so your logic makes no sense.
and to clear this up THE COMMUNITY IS NOT FORCED TO BEND OVER BACKWARDS TO HOST THIS!! this is run by professionals who have been in the buisness of running rallies all over australia. My father recently ran a rally down in the Eden-Bombala region, what was the feedback… COME BACK NEXT YEAR PLEASE! they loved it infact they didnt just watch. They got out, helped set up stages and vying for permits which were approved by the Eden-Bombala forestry. Not 1 protestor.
What ever happened to good old sport. Where the community would back it instead of risking drivers lives by throwing rocks at cars and waving yellow flags?
Oh an another thing, this looks extremely bad. In the economic crisis we should be promoting australia, not de promoting it. Think of it this way all you troublemaking, green, anti this anti that extremists, the more money that goes into the australian budget the more money that can come out! for wildlife reserves etc.
Enough said
OH and remember kyogle eye, whats your favourite sport? I could come up with pages of why that sport is BAD (thats what you are implying). How about instead of throwing rocks at cars you go and plant a few bloody trees huh? maybe that will make a difference!!!!!!