Ian Cohen moved to get Parliament to acknowledge the travesty of the Repco Rally that is happening over the next 4 days in northeastern NSW.
“My motion took aim at the Rally on all fronts – the degradation to the environment; the trampling on democratic process; the damage to aboriginal cultural heritage, and the social and health impacts of promoting unsafe driving,” says Mr Cohen.
“Naturally the same members who voted in support of the special event legislation to enable the Rally to go ahead also voted my motion down.”
“ Unfortunately it is too late to stop this dinosaur event but I wanted the House to acknowledge the failure of the Minister for State Development to respect the environmental and social values of Tweed Shire and Kyogle communities.”
“In the two hours of debate that ensued, Minister Macdonald trotted out his totally unsupportable argument about the great economic benefits the event will bring, despite Western Australia having declined to continue the Rally contract because it was not profitable.”
“The Minister also claimed that indigenous communities are in support of the Rally. They are not – and their representatives are saying proper consultation has not been undertaken and that the race runs through areas of significant cultural value.”
“The Minister also claimed that the increased presence of police would stop irresponsible behaviour over the weekend. The problem we are facing is after the Rally is over, when studies have shown that in other states motor racing events have inspired unsafe copy-cat driving behaviour.”
“There is no recourse now for local communities to stop the Rally. My motion also asked that, if this Rally must go ahead, the right of local communities to peacefully show their opposition must be respected.
“Lastly, my motion insisted that the NSW government actively monitors the environmental and social impacts of the Repco Rally. There was no proper Environmental Impact Study done before the event. If there are going to be four more of these over the next ten years we’d better have a commitment from Ian Macdonald that the impact of this weekend’s Rally is thoroughly examined. ”
“The Minister responded by saying there will be a review, however the lack of detail about how this review is to be conducted has not satisfied me that it will be independent and thorough.”
“I will be at the Rally this weekend to express my opposition to this inappropriate event that has been inflicted upon the people of Tweed and Kyogle shires and the beautiful north east of NSW.”
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