Concerns about a controversial plan to build a racetrack in Burswood have been acknowledged by the WA premier, alongside a concession he got it wrong when he opposed the construction of adjacent Perth Stadium.
High-profile federal politicians have this week weighed in on WA Labor’s $217 million election commitment, which includes the creation of a multi-purpose entertainment precinct and street circuit.
Premier Roger Cook announced the project on the campaign trail in January sitting in a sleek F1 racing car.
Madeleine King throws support behind Burswood racetrack
“The Perth Street circuit will put WA on the global motorsports map,” he said at the time.
“It would turn the roads here around Burswood Park into a racetrack, allowing around about 50,000 people, and local and interstate visitors to turn out each day for a multi-day race event.”
“Importantly, the racetrack will be lit up under lights, allowing for night racing, right here on the foreshore of the Swan River.”
A social media ad promoting the Burswood street circuit during the WA election campaign. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
Opponents have run a highly vocal campaign since then, citing worries about damage to amenity and the environment.
The government has since sought to clarify what it called “misconceptions” the motorsport track would be used frequently, with it hosting just a “one-off annual event”, and being used for other sport and entertainment purposes at other times.
‘Perversion of priorities’
Mr Cook today acknowledged the criticism, comparing it to concerns he once held about the Barnett Liberal government’s construction of Perth Stadium.
The Perth Stadium now attracts millions of visitors to events every year. (ABC News: Nicholas Martyr)
“Looks these projects always produce a certain amount of debate and community conversation,” the premier said on Tuesday.
“I remember when they were building [Perth] Stadium, that had a whole range of conversations, and opponents, I know there were opponents to [Perth] Stadium because I was one of them.
“There’s a photo of me standing in a puddle in gumboots saying how this is a dreadful place to put a stadium, I was wrong, [Perth] Stadium is a great facility.”
Roger Cook was a fierce opponent of Perth Stadium while in opposition, which he now concedes was a mistake. (AAP Image: Rebecca Le May)
In his criticisms a decade prior, Mr Cook accused the government of the day of having an “extraordinary perversion of priorities”.
“It is extraordinary that this government, at a time when it is enjoying record revenues, and at a time when it is spending money like a drunken sailor on things such as the football stadium and the tourist precinct at Elizabeth Quay, is cutting resources to what matters most — the education of our kids,” the then-shadow health minister told parliament in 2014.
The remarks resemble those made by the current Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas, who has accused the Cook government of having its priorities wrong.
Opposition leader Basil Zempilas says the majority of people don’t want a racetrack in Burswood. (ABC News: Courtney Bembridge)
“I tell you what I would do, I tell you what our team would do, it would scrap the Burswood Park racetrack today … and we would send that money urgently into health,” Mr Zempilas said last week.
Surveys and polls
Mr Cook’s comments come after high-ranking federal Member for Perth Patrick Gorman called for the state government to scrap the project due to widespread community concern.
Government ‘spinning’ results of Burswood racetrack survey
The comments sparked a rift within the Labor Party, with federal Resources Minister Madeleine King on Monday saying the proposal was a “terrific idea”.
The state government said public consultation showed “significant” support for the project, with 76 per cent of survey respondents providing “positive ideas” about the development.
The Liberals labelled that “spin” and conducted a survey itself, claiming just five per cent of respondents supported the street circuit.
An artist’s impression of a proposed $217.5 million motorsport street circuit and entertainment precinct at Burswood Park. (Supplied: WA Labor)
However it’s unclear what questions were asked, with Mr Cook rubbishing the poll.
“We’ve seen dodgy polling before,” he said.
“There was a poll, six months and one day ago, it was a poll of the WA people, and it made a decisive assertion and a decision to back a WA Labor government.”
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