Motor racing and secret deals
Currently in Australia there are at least three campaigns against car races - in Adelaide, Canberra, and Albert Park. The crux of each campaign is that the race is in the wrong venue, and that government secrecy has been necessary to enable the use of that venue.
What is it about car races that makes governments resort to secrecy? Premier Bracks came to power promising decency, democracy and openness in government, after which he signed a totally secret new contract for the Grand Prix, justified by a report based on a confidential econometric model. He has now refused to release the contract with Bernie Ecclestone because to do so "would seriously harm the public interest".
How the retention or loss of a car race can be deemed to be in the public interest, rather than specific private sector interests, is beyond my comprehension. In the present state of total secrecy on the moneys flowing out of Australia to Formula One companies, there can be no confidence that the net economic benefits justify the increasing financial subsidies, the appropriation of public parkland, and other negative social impacts.
While the race remains at Albert Park, the financial, environmental and social costs will accumulate.
The Government needs to apply some vision and enterprise to the Grand Prix location issue. Its current position may be gauged from the response of John Thwaites, MLA for Albert Park and Deputy Premier, to Tim Gilley's open letter (below).

Ross Ulman, Convenor

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OPEN LETTER TO JOHN THWAITES
Dear Mr Thwaites                                               21 July 2000
This is an open letter to you regarding the holding of the Formula One Grand Prix motor race in Albert Park. We will be 
publishing this letter in a forthcoming newsletter together with 
any response you care to make.
We wish to express publicly our appreciation for the support and assistance you have provided in gaining access to the draft
of the economic impact study on the 2000 race and for our meeting with Mr Pandazopoulos.
Whatever your personal views, we understand that your 
pos-ition is bound by ALP policy. However we believe that this policy should be reconsidered as a matter of urgency. The ALP's ability to do this quickly was recently demonstrated in the reversal of their policy to move toxic waste storage from Coode Island.
We also believe that it is your responsibility as a local 
member to represent the views and interests of people in your electorate. The City of Port Phillip's position that the motor race should be moved out of the park reflects the strong local climate of opposition. We seek your response to the following questions.
1. Do you support the immediate full disclosure of all past and current contracts between the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Parks Victoria, as recommended by the Audit Review, including release of the details of rental fees paid by the Corporation?
2. Would you support negotiation for at least partial disclosure of the terms of the current race contract (contrary to the Audit Review's recommendation)?
3. Would you support the establishment of an independent inquiry into an alternative venue for the race?
4. Do you support a comprehensive public consultation process on the long-term future of Albert Park?
5. What would you propose for (a) reducing the time for the Grand Prix set-up/set down restoration works and (b) improving road safety on park roads (where the accident rate has been high)?
6. Do you support a new contract to hold the race in Albert Park when the current one expires in 2006?
We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely, Tim Gilley, Convenor

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LETTER FROM JOHN THWAITES
Dear Dr Ulman                                                  24 October 2000
I write in response to your open letter of 21 July regarding the Formula One Grand Prix in Albert Park.
I acknowledge your appreciation of my support and 
assistance and I will continue to represent the views of my local community. Since coming to Government I have sought to ensure residents are properly consulted and informed. I was therefore pleased to ensure that Save Albert Park representatives met with my colleague, John Pandazopoulos, the Minister for Major Events. 
I also thought it important that SAP have the opportunity to meet with NIEIR Chairman, Dr Brain to give your representatives the opportunity to have input into the Economic Impact Statement: 2000 Qantas Australian Grand Prix report. As you are aware following the release of this report, the Government announced that the Formula One Grand Prix has been secured to 2010 as part of a new Major Events Strategy to attract world class events to Victoria.
Earlier this month, in response to the Russell Report, the Premier announced the policy statement, Ensuring Openness and Probity in Victorian Government Contracts. The contracts entered into by the previous government have been released and are available on internet site: www.contracts.vic.gov.au.
When I met with a SAP delegation earlier this year, amongst many matters discussed was the possibility of public release of the rental receipts paid by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation to Parks Victoria. I am advised at a recent meeting with Minister Garbutt's adviser, these figures were formally released to you and that the adviser has made herself available for further discussions with you if the need arises.
In addition, John Pandazopoulos, the Minister for Major Events, is to chair a working party on future development and usage of Albert Park by sporting groups, the community and local business. The working party will comprise Parks Victoria, the City of Port Phillip, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and my office will be represented. Public consultation will take place to address traffic management issues, public access and set up/set down times of the Grand Prix. I trust that Save Albert Park will be part of that public consultation.
In reference to road safety through Albert Park, you may be aware that Parks Victoria and an independent consultant have reviewed the Graeme Bannerman report "Racetrack in the Park - Success or Failure". I believe that Minister Garbutt will respond to this report soon.
Let me assure you that I will work to continue to minimise any negative impacts of the Grand Prix on residents.

Yours sincerely, John Thwaites, Member for Albert Park

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Money for Parks spent on "Corporate hospitality"
It has been revealed by the Government that from 1997 to 1999 Parks Victoria elected to be paid either fully or partly in corporate entertainment facilities (at the Grand Prix) to the value of $202,000 instead of demanding much-needed cash to fund Victoria's parks. 
Save Albert Park had previously been informed that this was happening and pressed the Government to investigate this scandalous dereliction of responsibility on the part of Parks Victoria. In 1998 FOI applications for information on cash payments made to Parks Victoria, and corporate entertainment in lieu, were refused on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.
The Park is clearly in need of funds to implement road safety measures, repair the lake wall and complete the master plan in the northern section of the Park. It is an easy matter to blame the previous government. 
If the Bracks Government is serious about parkland, those responsible in Parks Victoria should be held accountable for this misuse of public money and for the neglect of the interests of public parkland under their care.
It is not good enough for the Government to merely promise that the "the full $100,000 cash paid" will "continue in future years". 
The current maximum rental of $100,000 is now a totally inadequate payment for a park that has been revalued from $137 million to $403 million since the $100,000 figure was set in 1994. 
The AGP Act 1994 should be amended to provide for a 
minimum commercial rent for the period and area occupied. The 2000 race involved direct costs to Parks Victoria of $44,600, leaving an effective net rental revenue of only $55,400. 
We believe that under the present rental arrangements, which are nothing more than a subsidy of the Grand Prix, Parks Victoria should be billing the AGPC for all costs.

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Government rejects Audit Review recommendations
The release of 50 of the Kennett Government contracts on 11 October again highlighted the fact that the Grand Prix and Casino contracts are the only ones that will not be disclosed. 
It was followed by an embarrassing report in the British Sunday Express newspaper reporting the non-disclosure and quoting Mr Ecclestone as saying "If the Victorian government makes an official request to us to have the contract made 
public, we would give it consideration. There's nothing sinister. We haven't threatened to pull out of Melbourne." The Bracks Government has shown no willingness to negotiate any disclosure, or even to implement the recommendations of the Russell Audit Review Report on Government Contracts, which stated that:
"In future negotiations for the renewal of the contract, the Victorian Government and its agents should signal a clear intention to proceed on the basis that as much as possible of the new contracts would be publicly disclosed. To the extent that it can be negotiated in the context of the Government's wish not to put the race at risk, exclusions should be limited to narrow and specific issues of commercial confidentiality."
The Report goes on to say "In this context, the Review accepts that fees payable to the international contracting parties could come under this heading for the duration of the contract, but that previous fees should be disclosed at a later date."
The Government has also shown no interest in amending the Australian Grands Prix Act 1994 to remove the exemptions of the Ecclestone contracts from the Freedom of Information Act. 
No government that takes open government seriously should allow exemptions from the FOI Act, which contains adequate trade secrets and public interest protection provisions.
One very small step towards more transparency in the running of the Grand Prix was the release of several minor contract documents
1. A Code of Conduct for Contractors
2. The three-year Recurrent Works licence for 1998-2001
3. The proforma of the licence issued for specific Works undertaken by the GP Corporation.
The Recurrent Works licence provides few teeth to enforce the conditions of the set-up/take-down arrangements (for race infrastructure in the Park). It states that the Corporation:
- is required to "use its best endeavours" to ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct by its contractors and employees
- should remove all temporary structures from sport fields and the Park "by the date indicated" on the Playing Field Occupation Plan and the Programme
- should "maintain bicycle and pedestrian access". 
All matters of dispute are ultimately in the hands of the Minister. In the present climate this can give little confidence to defenders of the park.
The specific Works licence includes provision for Works, which are "exclusively for the use of the Corporation", and imposes maintenance requirements on Parks Victoria. The licence contains a crucial clause, which provides for the removal of Grand Prix infrastructure when the contract expires:
"Subject to the Corporation receiving the necessary funding and approvals from the responsible Minister and Treasurer as the case may be, on the expiry of the Australian Formula One 
contract between the Corporation and the Formula One Constructors Association, including any extension granted to such contract, the Corporation shall, at its expense, remove the Works from Albert Park and reinstate the site to match 
surrounding conditions, unless otherwise advised by Parks Victoria."
On 24th October, Sherryl Garbutt's office provided SAP with some minor additional information on the costs of the GP to Parks Victoria and payments made by the AGPC. Significantly, the documents included a letter from Sherryl Garbutt, Minister for Environment and Conservation, noting that "I have been advised that documents relating to the set-up and set-down works is (sic) the property of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation."
The current licence does indeed contain a Confidentiality clause that requires Parks Victoria to keep confidential any information supplied to it "for the purpose of or in any way in connection with this Licence or showing compliance with this licence." 
It is disappointing that the Bracks Government should have allowed the signing of a new licence (for 2001-2003) before any opportunity was given to comment on the current Licence (expiring on 30 June 2001) or to debate the confidentiality clause. SAP has formally requested the release of this new Recurrent Works Licence. 
While the Programme and Playing Field Occupation Plan remain secret, neither the Corporation for Parks Victoria can be held accountable. 
The continued secrecy relating to operations having direct impact on park access and safety is unwarranted and is not in the public interest.

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Albert Park Advisory Committee
On 22nd September three Save Albert Park representatives attended the first meeting of the Albert Park liaison committee, convened by the City of Port Phillip. The meeting canvassed a range of matters: current condition of the park, set-up/take-down period, road safety, park management and future relationships. 
We were informed that Parks Victoria does prepare an annual post-race report, which, unlike Save Albert Park's report, is not publicly released. Parks Victoria has suggested a collaborative approach, which we hope may make its reporting more open. The meeting was told that Parks Victoria is preparing a brief for a review of the Master Plan. It was encouraging that Parks Victoria representatives indicated that they wanted to reduce barriers to sharing information 
A major issue continues to be road safety in the Park and the failure to implement the recommendations of the Road Safety Report prepared for Parks Victoria by Greg Tucker and Associates. Parks Victoria has commissioned the same con-
sultant to review Graeme Bannerman's latest report "Racetrack in the Park - Success or Failure". Recent correspondence from Parks Victoria claims that "The consultant's advice is that the casualty accident rates within Albert Park are within typical ranges of comparable metropolitan roads". We have asked for a copy of the report and will continue to pursue this matter of public interest.
The full minutes of the meeting are available at the SAP office. 
ALP State Conference
About 40 members of SAP greeted delegates to the ALP State Conference at the Melbourne Town Hall on 21 October. Distinctive yellow placards yet again sent the message that the Grand Prix in Albert Park is a financial failure shrouded in 
secrecy and dressed up as an economic bonanza, and for its own good should be re-located to a permanent, purpose-built track.
Delegates were handed a leaflet revealing the "secrets" of the Grand Prix contract. Based on international and local information, it seems highly likely that the basic licence fee for the 2000 race was about $17 million, payable in US dollars, and subject to an annual inflation increment of around 10%.

Parklands Code
After recent assurances from the Office of the Minister for Environment and Conservation that a draft code was imminent it now appears that the development of the draft is several months away. 
SAP will be seeking assurances about the future of this 
electoral promise of the Bracks Government.

SAP Grand Prix sponsors?
No, we're not in the business of sponsoring motor racing but we got a laugh out of it!

Channel Nine programming

For the second race in a row, Channel 9 made the commercial decision to broadcast live the Mercantile Mutual Cup (i.e Shield Cricket in old parlance) at the expense of the Formula One Grand Prix, which was relegated to an 11pm replay when fans already knew the result. 
There's a message here for those who still push the propaganda about the race bringing overseas exposure.

News from Monza
One of our members has recently renewed contact with our sister campaign at Monza. The Monza coalition of four groups has had some successes: the number of days for use by high performance cars has been reduced from 200 days to 12 and there is more control over race-related parking. 
However, permanent race infrastructure has increased (a warning for SAP), the Park is still subject to considerable damage over the race period, and the historic forest is now threatened with a tree disease which led to the removal of 500 trees in 1999. In addition, there are plans to run an Indy 500 Grand Prix. The Monza group is still pursuing legal action over noise pollution, erection of buildings, and track modifications made without approval from local authorities. SAP wishes them strength in their continued fight to save this historic park. 
Photographs of the Park
We are seeking more photographs of Albert Park Reserve prior to the implementation of the "Master Plan". If you can help, please label them as completely as possible, either on the backs of the photographs themselves or on an attached note.

Newsletter contributions
Copy deadline for the December Newsletter is Tuesday, 21 November. The editorial group welcomes articles from members, news of community group events and other campaigns. 

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Albert Park issues raised in the Senate
Senator Lyn Allison, a long-standing member of Save Albert Park, has been active in recent weeks arguing on two key issues close to our hearts. 
Firstly, in speaking to the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Amendment Bill 2000 she argued for the immediate implementation of the recommendation of the Rassaby Report that all exemptions for sporting and cultural events cease in 2001, not 2006, on the grounds that there is "just no safe level of tobacco use and we believe that there is no safe level of tobacco advertising. Allowing high profile events, such as the Grand Prix in Melbourne, to promote tobacco products undermines, in our view, the intent of the Act and the effectiveness of the general ban on advertising." 
Senator Allison noted the veil of secrecy, which prevents a proper assessment of the value of events and the history of breaches of conditions applying to exemptions. 
"We are disappointed that the government has bowed to pressure from international sporting organisations and tobacco companies that have no interest in protecting the health of the Australian community."
In the light of recent events and reactions to political protests in Melbourne, Senator Allison's contributions to the Australian Civil Authorities Bill 2000 on the importance of protecting the right to peaceful protest is timely. She drew on her experience of SAP's park actions to illustrate how easy it would be under the proposed legislation for government to misrepresent acts of peaceful protests, and thereby justify the use of the armed forces. Senator Allison hypothesised that a threat to the Grand Prix, as a major event important to Australia's standing, could be justification.
We are reminded of the array of police force used against us in our campaign. We see it as essential that we were able (in the main) to exercise our rights to reasonable limits of non-violent civil disobedience without fear of unreasonable use of force by the police, and could assume that disobedience of the law would invite arrest and not physical assault. 
SAP joins Senator Allison in reiterating the importance of these rights and the need for all governments to respect them, even when the protests may challenge government directly.

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FROM THE VIGIL
The Vigil is back in six-days-a-week mode. Those who had a few months holiday are happy to be back. Some even admitted that their habits were hard to change and found themselves observing their neighbours across the road!
On this subject, there's a Vigil story worth retelling. Members may recall that some years ago the AGPC was awarded the GP of the Year by the media. (This merely meant that the taxpayers of Victoria had spent more on food and refreshment for the media than any other Grand Prix - but that's getting off the subject).
The Vigil noticed that all the Grand Prix employees had assembled on the footpath outside the GP building. Interested and vigilant, one SAP member focused her binoculars on the group. The group noticed they were being observed and soon there began a long-range conversation across Albert Road with many friendly wavings and 'good mornings' shouted back and forth. 
Our vigiller then directed her binoculars further up the footpath and saw a tall man with red hair approaching the employees. He was carrying some sort of trophy; in the same manner a mother proudly carries her newborn. He had a puzzled look when he became aware that the attention of the GP employees was directed across the road and not at him. Obviously this was meant to be his 'big moment' and someone had misread the script. When he realised who was upstaging him and his prized trophy his expression quickly changed. 
To quote the person relating the story "It wasn't a puzzled look. It wasn't anger. It was pure hatred."

Port Phillip
Community Festival
Sunday 19 November
10am - 5pm
Alma Park, Alma Road, East St Kilda
Save Albert Park will have a produce and craft stall.
Makers of crafts, jams, chutneys, biscuits, cakes etc.
please leave your goods at the SAP office no later than Friday 18 November.
Helpers are also wanted for the roster on the day.
Leave your name at the SAP office.


Christmas shopping!
Do your Christmas shopping at 
SAP's
Christmas Food and Craft Stall
Tuesday 5 December
6pm (before the monthly meeting)
Christmas cakes
puddings o biscuits
sweets o jams
crafts o toys
children's clothing
Leave your donations at the SAP office on 
Monday 4 December or Tuesday 5 December.

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