Tell the Politicians
Email the Top Ten and tell them
that you want motor racing back at Lakeside International Raceway!
EXAMPLE LETTER
Date
Name
Title
Government
Body/Department/ Ministry
Address
RE: Lakeside
International Raceway - Heritage Listing & Hooning Solution
Dear
_______________,
I am writing to you
on behalf of the (insert number) members of (insert name of club).
We wish to express
our deep concern that the Queensland Heritage Council is considering cutting a
deal with the Pine Rivers Shire Council to have Lakeside International Raceway
removed from the permanent Heritage Register without any community consultation.
Heritage listing
currently protects the rare and vital zoning required for the facility to
continue to actually function as motor racing circuit.
Thus far,
stakeholders from automotive and motor racing clubs, the sport’s governing
bodies, businesses and local communities have been shut out or ignored
throughout the decision making process. Both the history and future of our sport
is being decided by people who have neither expert knowledge of the culture of
motorsport, nor do they care about it.
Meanwhile, the
community is begging for a solution to the escalating hooning and street racing
problem. We strongly suggest that Lakeside International Raceway be used to
separate the offensive activities from the residential areas and provide young
people on both the north-side of Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast with a safe
alternative to public streets. Currently, they have no option.
We only ask that
the same logic that has been successfully used in getting skateboarders off the
streets, be applied to young people once they get their driver’s licenses. If
there were no sports fields in your neighbourhood, would the kids stop playing
their games or would they be playing in the traffic?
Despite an obvious
and desperate lack of facilities, motorsport has grown and can no longer be
thought of as a niche sport. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that it
is the 3rd most attended sport in the country, more than rugby
league, cricket or golf. Demand for facilities for amateur motorsport is self
evident by the sheer pervasiveness of the hooning problem.
While the
Willowbank motorsport precinct services the western suburbs well, it is not
keeping up with demand, and more critically, it is too far away from the problem
areas to the north and south of Brisbane to be part of any practical solution.
Queensland’s
population, particularly in the south-east, has grown exponentially over the
past few decades, but we still only have the same number of facilities as we did
in the 1970’s due to the ‘not-in-my-backyard’ mentality that has stone-walled
entrepreneurs from obtaining suitable zoning to develop privately funded
motorsport facilities. Is it any wonder we have this problem?
In closing, we are
requesting your support for the preservation of Lakeside International Raceway
as a heritage listed Queensland icon. We would be grateful if you could
immediately contact the Heritage Council and other relevant Government
authorities with a view to working to re-open Lakeside as a club-level motor
racing facility as soon as possible.
We eagerly await
your response.
Name
Title
Club
Address
Telephone
Email
Website
PS: More
information on the subject can be obtained at
www.lakesideraceway.com.
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