Exclusive: Trio of peak business bodies throw support behind MotoGP
Three of the state’s most influential peak bodies are backing the state government’s controversial plans to host MotoGP in Adelaide.
A coalition of influential peak bodies representing businesses and property industry interests has thrown its weight behind the state government’s plans to construct a new motorsports track in the Adelaide park lands.
InDaily can today reveal that the South Australian division of the Property Council of Australia, the Committee for Adelaide and the SA Business Chamber have joined forces to back Premier Peter Malinauskas’s controversial plans.
The plans – including the $96 million construction of a new track – have faced stiff opposition from environmental protesters as they will require the removal of 377 trees in the eastern park lands.
But in a statement, the trio of peak bodies say the event will “deliver a major economic boost, attract visitors, activate the city and reinforce Adelaide’s reputation as a destination for world-class events”.
“Great cities embrace ambition. They welcome opportunities that create jobs, stimulate investment and bring people into the CBD,” Property Council of SA executive director Bruce Djite said.
“The MotoGP has the potential to do all three.”
SA Business Chamber CEO Andrew Kay said his organisation that represents business owners across the state also supported the event.
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“At a time when many businesses are facing subdued demand and rising costs, South Australia should be prepared to pursue opportunities that bring new customers, new investment and new money into our economy,” he said.
“This has the potential to do more than reinforce Adelaide’s reputation as a great event city.
“MotoGP can build skills and workforce capability that position us for future opportunities and are transferable across industry sectors.”
While Committee for Adelaide CEO Sam Dighton, whose organisation is a membership-based group representing broad interests in the state’s capital city, said major events should be considered “more than just an economic dividend”.
“They deliver real jobs, visitor spend with significant supply chain opportunity for the whole of the business ecosystem,” Dighton said.
“We shouldn’t view major events as just a moment in time, or just a single week of activity; they leave lasting impact and are a proven opportunity for South Australia to create investment opportunities and attract global attention that will have lasting impact on our economy.”
The trio also joined the Australian Hotels Association SA CEO Anna Moeller in criticising the Adelaide City Council’s community consultation survey around the MotoGP track plans.
Earlier this week, Moeller said the survey had “no balance at all, to the point that it’s just a meaningless survey, and therefore a meaningless consultation”.
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The council last week launched its online community consultation, saying it would inform its response to the state government’s broader consultation around the MotoGP track plans.
The City of Adelaide’s survey asks respondents 20 questions gauging community engagement with the state government’s track plans, community expectations around the track and broader impacts on the community.
One question asked “what impacts do you believe the redevelopment will have on you?” while another asked, “which potential impacts concern you most?”.
Today, Djite said it was “another example of the Adelaide City Council’s pattern of resistance to initiatives that generate economic activity, investment and vibrancy in the city”.
“It is not sustainable to have a council which consistently dismisses business and prioritises objections over opportunities.”
In response, Lord Mayor Dr Jane Lomax-Smith today told InDaily that while it was “obvious that the MotoGP track development is going to happen”, “we can’t all sit on the sidelines and join the cheer squad waving flags”.
“As a responsible council we are trying to understand the impact of the event on all users of the city, beyond just the day of the race,” Lomax-Smith said.
“There are consequences that come with a 12-month program of road and building works and intermittent disruptions.
“Understanding the consequences so that the council and the state government can put in place measures to minimise any negative impacts is a good thing.”
The latest backing from the peak bodies follows sustained pressure on the government from environmental protesters to ‘Stop the Chop’. Protestors are concerned about the felling of hundreds of trees in the Adelaide park lands.
And yesterday, InDaily revealed how a former senior public servant questioned the government’s calculation of the expected economic boon from MotoGP.
The state government has said the event would deliver a $200 million boon for SA, but Andrew Milazzo – who in his 38-year policy career provided policy advice to six transport ministers, two ministers for road safety and the sole minister for transport services – claimed the government double-counted proposed expenditure and did not count the cost of road congestion.
This was rejected by a state government spokesperson who said Milazzo’s analysis was “flawed” and was “produced by known critics of the project, contains significant inaccuracies based upon false assumptions and should not be relied upon”.
Milazzo called on the government for more transparency around the costs of the track build, saying “estimates that I have done should not be regarded as a substitute for a comprehensive Cost-Benefit Analysis. Rather, they demonstrate why one is necessary”.
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