World Championship Rally organisers are continuing to meet with border locals in an effort to allay community fears over round ten of the event being staged on their doorsteps.
Today it was Murwillumbah’s turn.
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World Championship Rally organisers are continuing to meet with border locals in an effort to allay community fears over round ten of the event being staged on their doorsteps.
Today it was Murwillumbah’s turn.
The person speaking in support of the rally in this news report is just plain wrong!
The socio-economic report is far from “independent”. It relies time and time again on the untested opinions and assurances of the rally organizers.
It gives no real basis for he predicted economic benefit.
It fails to consider any negative impact on tourist numbers (and spending) from the region developing a reputation for car racing. In 2007 alone, Tourism Australia figures indicate that tourists spent over $1.1 BILLION in the Northern Rivers region. The bulk of these visitors undertook nature-based tourism experiences. We don’t know how many of them would change their plans because the question was not asked.
The report starts from a base of anticipating a positive outcome in both social and economic terms. The authors seem too ready to accept assurances and advice form the rally organizers without testing them for accuracy.
The report’s prediction of economic benefit is a guess! No more – No less.
The underlying bias in the report is evident when local community concerns are considered. They are invariably dismissed based on the opinion or assurance of the rally organizers.
As to the speakers claim that there is no evidence linking copycat or dangerous driving with motor sport events, I suggest he do a search of the academic literature!
Why can’t they implement Plan B and take this High Speed Rally somewhere more appropriate ! Listen to the people, we don’t want it here, for so many reasons. It’s not the right place for it ! It will give our young inexperienced drivers added incentive to try their skills along certain stretches of our narrow back roads.
I for one do not wish to encounter them careering round a blind corner of Byrill Creek Rd when I drive along it, being a much shorter route when heading westward from Tyalgum, as I regularly do.
I also do not want to see and encounter more speed on the main road from Uki to Kyogle, it is also narrow and winding with the new stretches allowing for increased speed, only to suddenly revert back to the worst stretches of the narrow winding road.
These types of roads will be prime targets for ‘would be rally drivers’, to test themselves, or dare their friends.
To say that there is no evidence of copycat driving is just ridiculous, I know several people who have expressed their desire to try these very roads at high speed, just because of all this discussion, which is also causing division within our community.
We don’t need this sort of event here! We don’t want to encourage that sort of tourist here. Can you imagine mixing them, with the weekend drivers, from Brisbane and the Gold Coast who travel leisurely, around these roads, looking at the scenery, every weekend.
Some wanting to go slow, some wanting to rally race, and the poor old locals, just wanting to get from A to B