Mr HAMPTON - 2007-04-19
Alice Springs is a great place to live and we love our motor sports here in the Alice. Can the minister please update the House on the new drag strip?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, with great pleasure I would like to tell you about the activities of CADRA, the Central Australian Drag Racing Association. In 2005, CADRA found out that it could not use the light aircraft runway any more at the Alice Springs Airport and they came to our government for assistance. They wanted to construct a one-eighth mile drag race strip at the Finke desert facility.
We were very happy to help and we provided an $800 000 grant. We also discovered there were some environmental problems, because the new facility will be on top of the Roe Creek bore field that provides water for Alice Springs. I had further discussions with CADRA last week, and I was pleased to provide an extra $250 000 grant to construct the necessary infrastructure to protect the water table.
When I met with them to provide the extra funds, I got a great surprise, because the members of CADRA were not whingeing about things not happening in their town. They told me $800 000 would deliver to them a one-eighth mile drag race strip - their own work, on their own initiative; they redesigned it. You are now going to have in Alice Springs a quarter-mile drag race strip of national standards. That will mean not only can they have their races in Alice Springs, but people from around Australia and all over the world will come here to have national and international meetings and to enjoy themselves. It will bring more tourists and money to Alice Springs.
I congratulate them for that. On top of that, they told me that if they need any more money, they are not going to be begging for money from the government; they are going to raise it themselves. Once again, I congratulate them. This is good news for Alice Springs. Member for Greatorex, I hope you are not going to whinge about it.
Dr Lim: In fact, minister, I gave them money myself.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, with great pleasure I would like to tell you about the activities of CADRA, the Central Australian Drag Racing Association. In 2005, CADRA found out that it could not use the light aircraft runway any more at the Alice Springs Airport and they came to our government for assistance. They wanted to construct a one-eighth mile drag race strip at the Finke desert facility.
We were very happy to help and we provided an $800 000 grant. We also discovered there were some environmental problems, because the new facility will be on top of the Roe Creek bore field that provides water for Alice Springs. I had further discussions with CADRA last week, and I was pleased to provide an extra $250 000 grant to construct the necessary infrastructure to protect the water table.
When I met with them to provide the extra funds, I got a great surprise, because the members of CADRA were not whingeing about things not happening in their town. They told me $800 000 would deliver to them a one-eighth mile drag race strip - their own work, on their own initiative; they redesigned it. You are now going to have in Alice Springs a quarter-mile drag race strip of national standards. That will mean not only can they have their races in Alice Springs, but people from around Australia and all over the world will come here to have national and international meetings and to enjoy themselves. It will bring more tourists and money to Alice Springs.
I congratulate them for that. On top of that, they told me that if they need any more money, they are not going to be begging for money from the government; they are going to raise it themselves. Once again, I congratulate them. This is good news for Alice Springs. Member for Greatorex, I hope you are not going to whinge about it.
Dr Lim: In fact, minister, I gave them money myself.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016