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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
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Motions

Murray Bridge Racing Club

Debate resumed.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (11:45): I am very pleased to enthusiastically support the member for Hammond in this motion regarding the Gifford Hill redevelopment. He seeks that the government commits funding to complete the project, that the government achieves some policies that will support job growth and regional development in this area and helps the potential state-of-the-art facility to be completed.

This is a very important issue, and it is a very sad fact that in our state the racing industry gets not one dollar of government funding. I think that is a great shame because, regardless of what anybody thinks about the racing industry specifically, it is an exceptionally important industry for our state, and it contributes to our state economically incredibly strongly and, of course, for those who choose to participate socially, very importantly as well.

But even for an economic rationalist, just looking at the economic side of the racing industry should be enough for the government to understand that this is an incredibly important project in an incredibly important regional city in South Australia—Murray Bridge. Murray Bridge has a lot to offer and lots of positives, but it also has plenty of challenges, so a project like this that would contribute significant economic and social benefits would be at least as welcome there as anywhere else.

This project has been proposed, supported, developed, nurtured and grown over many years by the Murray Bridge Racing Club, and they have worked incredibly hard to get it to the stage where it is. I know that Regional Development Australia Murraylands and Riverland has also contributed largely, as have many other people and organisations in the Murray Bridge area. They have done the hard work, and they have got themselves this far already. They have done a tremendous job, and this is a project that deserves government support.

The racing industry is one of the largest employment contributing sectors in Australia—a fact not many people would know—and the member for Schubert quoted 3,500 jobs, I think, in racing in South Australia. That is big enough in itself, but that is just direct employment—and 3,500 people is nearly two Holdens, if I have my numbers about right, in terms of direct employment. If you put that in context, why on earth would the government not want to support the racing industry?

This is a really productive new development but ,when it comes to employment, it is important to consider all the flow-on jobs, all the hospitality jobs and all the jobs tied up with the equine industry, with transport, with vets and with strappers. There is a huge diversity of employment within and outside the direct employment the racing industry offers our state. When it comes to the actual participation in the industry, you would not find anywhere in Australia a more welcoming, open-hearted industry than racing.

The great benefit of participation in the racing industry is that you get to do it at whatever level you want to do it. Whether you are a person who has the capacity to own shares or own horses or whether you want to be a jockey or a trainer and actively involved at that sort of level, or whether you want to be a person who goes along and enjoys what the industry has to offer, you get to do it on your own terms and the racing industry welcomes you to do that.

You can get dressed up in the finest clothes you could possibly imagine or you can go in neat casual clothes. You can drink or not drink, eat or not eat, gamble or not gamble. You can be a man or a woman, young or old, Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal. You can be any type of person, the racing industry will make you welcome at their track to participate however you would like to. You would be welcome to come through the gates and just watch, or you are welcome to own 50 horses, if you want, and pay to have them trained, pay to have them raced and take your chances that way, or, as many people do, anywhere in between.

That is the strength of racing and that is why it is such a critically important contributor to our economy and, very importantly, to city and country. It is a very important contributor to regional development. That is why this project is so important because it would give a very significant boost to the South Australian region between Adelaide and Victoria, not just Murray Bridge. They have done their sums; the Murray Bridge Racing Club and RDA have done a very thorough analysis. This is not going to hurt the Mount Gambier Racing Club; this is going to help the Mount Gambier Racing Club. This is not going to hurt the SAJC; this is going to help the South Australian Jockey Club and Morphettville. This will significantly upgrade the offer in that important part of the state where people from Adelaide can easily travel to take their horses, to participate or just to watch and enjoy. People from Victoria would go to Murray Bridge to race or to watch. So, they have thought this through very carefully.

The government may not want to change its stance on financially supporting the racing industry in South Australia, but I join with the member for Hammond and my colleagues in asking the government to fulfil its commitment to support regional South Australia, to fulfil its commitment to support regional communities in South Australia. The government, the Premier, the member for Frome the Minister for Regional Development should all be 100 per cent behind this project, whether they are interested in racing or not. This will be a highly successful regional development program and even if they only want to consider it purely from an economic cost benefit analysis, the numbers stack up. I strongly support the motion.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (11:53): I rise to strongly support the motion by the member for Hammond. This house knows that my background was as a veterinarian before I came into this place, but I started out in a racehorse practice. I have seen firsthand the impact on the lives, the industry and the economy of this nation of horseracing. The development at Murray Bridge is just another brick in the wall of building a much bigger and better industry, not only nationally but also in South Australia and the regions. That is why the government needs to get behind this project, it needs to get behind the Murray Bridge Racing Club, heed this motion, heed what has been said in this place already about the funding and make sure that this project comes about.

As I have said, I have seen the impact on racing. I encourage people in this place to go to Thoroughbred Racing SA's website and have a look at the Economic, Social and Community Benefits of the South Australian Racing Industry Report. It covers the three main codes: the gallops, harness and the dogs, and I will go through some of the stats. It is quite a comprehensive document, 70-odd pages. It is very comprehensive, and I will go through that in a few moments. The most important thing that members in this place need to understand is that in South Australia we are looking for every opportunity to build our local economy, where jobs cannot go overseas and where industries will attract people here, if possible.

This is where I come back to one of my little hobbyhorses (no pun intended) and that is the experience industry. The experience industry is one of the biggest industries that we have in South Australia and it is made up of sport and recreation, tourism, and the performing and visual arts. We have just had the Fringe, the Festival of Arts and WOMAD and their fantastic contribution to South Australia and the economy.

The racing industry in South Australia, thoroughbred racing in particular, is a part of that experience industry. People will come for the experience. We have two billion people to our north who are looking for that experience, whether it is horseracing or whether it is looking at some of the fabulous other opportunities there are in South Australia. That is why it is important that we look at every opportunity to increase the availability of accessing that experience, by coming to South Australia, whether it is coming to Adelaide for the Adelaide Cup or whether it is going to Murray Bridge for the Murray Bridge Cup or whether it is going to Penong for the Penong Cup, which I think was run last week on the West Coast. It is very important that we recognise these opportunities: do not let them drift on by.

We are talking about nuclear power in this state at the moment. Let us understand that this state was started on horsepower and it is continuing on horsepower in the racing industry. We need to recognise that, we need to value it, and we need to make sure that we are encouraging it, not just in Adelaide or at Morphettville—which is in my electorate of Morphett, and I am very proud of that fact and very proud to have the seat of the industry there with the many trainers, owners and breeders who live in my electorate as well as work there—but the number of regional communities that are involved and affected and economically benefiting from the racing industry is huge.

I will just go back to the Economic, Social and Community Benefits of the South Australian Racing Industry Report prepared in June 2013 (so it is probably even better than that now) for Thoroughbred Racing SA. In its overview it points out that there is an average of two race meetings every day in South Australia providing entertainment and employment for South Australian residents. There are 42 racing clubs, 38 racetracks and 773 race meetings with 6,752 races. This report was back in 2013; I think it has actually increased since then. The number of foals and pups bred and delivered each year is about 1,380. The number of horses and greyhounds in training is 5,315.

It is a huge industry, an industry that cannot leave South Australia. It is here, the jobs are here, the economic benefits are here and we need to recognise that fact—not just in Adelaide but, in this case, the Gifford Hill project at Murray Bridge really needs to be included in our planning and development. The South Australian racing industry engages more than 1,240 volunteers and assists over 160 charitable organisations. The racing clubs offer services for families right across South Australia: 96 per cent of families across South Australia have some benefit from the work that racing clubs do through volunteer organisations and general economic impact. It is a very important industry and I encourage members in this place to recognise the industry. Go and read for yourselves the Economic and Social Community Benefits of the South Australian Racing Industry. It is worth the read.

The background on this particular project has been gone through by other members in this place. The need to not allow an opportunity like this to pass us is absolutely imperative in South Australia. When you have a government that is looking at everything possible to raise money and improve the economy in South Australia, do not forget horsepower—not just nuclear power, let's remember horsepower. The economic impacts on the Rural City of Murray Bridge, the region around there and the benefits for all South Australians is something that we need to put right up there and, as a parliament, we need to come together in a bipartisan way and look at what is going to be good for all South Australians.

Where are the long-term benefits? What are the long-term solutions to our long-term problems? Providing this sort of opportunity is one of them. I encourage members in this place to support the motion to support the racing industry in South Australia, whether that is thoroughbred racing, harness racing or greyhound racing. We know that greyhound racing have their problems at the moment, but certainly thoroughbred racing is something that Murray Bridge through the racing club will go ahead if it is given the opportunity. Here is an opportunity, so let's embrace it.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.R. Kenyon.

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