00:00:03
Speaker 1: Well, earlier this year when it was announced the MotoGP was coming to Adelaide, it was sold here as a big win for South Australia and sold as a big loss for Victoria, which, you know, let's be honest, we all here.
00:00:16
Speaker 2: Love to see.
00:00:17
Speaker 1: But now we're getting a bit more information about why Victoria didn't actually want the CBD street race. So to talk us through that is Martin Pakula, the chairperson for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, also a former... Victorian Labor Major Events Minister. Good morning to you, Martin Pakula.
00:00:36
Speaker 2: Good morning, Stacey. How are you?
00:00:38
Speaker 1: Good, thank you. So we sort of, yeah, we're told this is a big win for SA, loss for Victoria because we won the event over Victoria. In your eyes, is that what happened?
00:00:51
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, it depends on how you look at it. I mean, we certainly wanted to keep the race at Phillip Island. You know, we've made no bones about that. Phillip Island's been a beloved circuit for a long time. You know, riders love it, fans love it, and it's perfectly set up for two-wheel racing. So we didn't want to lose it from Phillip Island, but we also didn't want to move it to Albert Park, which was the demand that was made by Dorna Sports, the owners of the MotoGP World Tour. So when that demand became apparent, and it was obviously driven by the fact that there had been conversations with South Australia... We took it seriously and we did the work to understand what motorcycle racing in a public park would involve. And when we understood the implications, we said, thanks, but no thanks. We were more than happy to continue at Phillip Island and we made a strong bid to do that, but we weren't prepared to move it to Albert Park. What were the implications? Well, well north of 200 trees would have had to come down. That was the the most sort of obvious implication because, you know, we got some people in to do the work. Albert Park, the Albert Park circuit also has a golf course around it. So somewhere between four and six holes of that golf course would have had a road go through them. So that would have been the end of the golf course. We would have locked the community out of the park for an extra four to six weeks and it's already... there's already a bit of angst in that local community about the lockout during the F1. So that would have added another month or month and a half to that lockout. And importantly, it would have had a negative impact on the configuration of the F1 circuit itself. So for all those reasons, we couldn't in good conscience recommend to the government that they agree to that. And frankly, I don't think they were ever likely to support it. Phillip Island's very, very popular in Victoria. It's a very iconic circuit. I think it would have been a massive breach of faith with that community to have agreed to move the MotoGP away from there.
00:03:02
Speaker 1: So are you surprised by some of the protests that have been happening here in South Australia regarding the proposed, or we haven't actually got the official circuit yet, but what will be the MotoGP circuit impacting trees and parklands and access to the park lands?
00:03:20
Speaker 2: Well, no, it'd be difficult for me to say I'm surprised because, I mean, these were all the things that we anticipated would likely happen in Albert Park if we'd gone ahead with that. And to be frank, you know, the Victorian government 30 years ago saw similar activity in Albert Park when the F1 moved there. So community being unhappy about the loss of access to parkland and lots of trees. I'm not surprised by any of that, but my presumption would be that the South Australian government likewise, you know, did that work, understands the implications and they're happy to accept them. And I'll make no comment about that because that's a matter for South Australia. And, you know, I certainly wish Adelaide every bit of good fortune in the race because it's a fantastic event. It's just... It's a very difficult thing to run in a city circuit environment. I mean, there are no street circuits in MotoGP in the world because of those difficulties, because you need so much more runoff for motorbikes. There are safety issues. It's a really tricky thing to put on as part of a street circuit, and our view is it's more appropriate in a dedicated motorsports circuit.
00:04:44
Speaker 1: Now, Martin, it would be remiss of us not to ask you, as the chair of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, lots of people here speculating that that might be the next event the Malinowskis government goes after, the Grand Prix, of course. What would you say to that?
00:04:58
Speaker 2: I'd be surprised if they didn't. Well, look, we've got the event contracted till 2037, and I know Mally's pretty good, but I'm not even sure he'll be around in 2037, so.
00:05:10
Speaker 2: No, we're pretty comfortable with our contractual status for the F1. We're in the process of constructing a brand new pit building and we've got it locked away for more than a decade. So Mallee should have a crack by all means, but I think he's got his work cut out for him.
00:05:28
Speaker 1: And just quickly on that, if the South Australian government did have a crack, And it was successful. Would the timing of the event need to change? Because at the moment it's in March and we've got a lot of other events on in that part of the city in March. Or would you be committed to keeping it in March?
00:05:44
Speaker 2: Well, I think, well, two things. It is the hypothetical to end all hypotheticals. We've got the event contracted for 2037. But if South Australia one day... did have the event, the timing of it would not be a matter for me. It's actually the timing of Grand Prix is a matter for Formula One. They set the calendar in conjunction with the FIA. So there's no state jurisdiction or indeed national jurisdiction that gets to decide when an F1 event's on. It's on when Formula One and the FIA say they're on.
00:06:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, if they knew it was good for them, they'd just give us two Grand Prix's, Martin, obviously.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: No, well, we don't just have it locked into 2037, but we have Australian exclusivity. So you will be pushing the proverbial uphill.
00:06:38
Speaker 1: Well, that was worth a try.
00:06:40
Speaker 2: Good on you, Martin. Thanks for your time this morning. Thanks, Will. Thanks, Stacey.
Speaker 1: Well, earlier this year when it was announced the MotoGP was coming to Adelaide, it was sold here as a big win for South Australia and sold as a big loss for Victoria, which, you know, let's be honest, we all here.
00:00:16
Speaker 2: Love to see.
00:00:17
Speaker 1: But now we're getting a bit more information about why Victoria didn't actually want the CBD street race. So to talk us through that is Martin Pakula, the chairperson for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, also a former... Victorian Labor Major Events Minister. Good morning to you, Martin Pakula.
00:00:36
Speaker 2: Good morning, Stacey. How are you?
00:00:38
Speaker 1: Good, thank you. So we sort of, yeah, we're told this is a big win for SA, loss for Victoria because we won the event over Victoria. In your eyes, is that what happened?
00:00:51
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, it depends on how you look at it. I mean, we certainly wanted to keep the race at Phillip Island. You know, we've made no bones about that. Phillip Island's been a beloved circuit for a long time. You know, riders love it, fans love it, and it's perfectly set up for two-wheel racing. So we didn't want to lose it from Phillip Island, but we also didn't want to move it to Albert Park, which was the demand that was made by Dorna Sports, the owners of the MotoGP World Tour. So when that demand became apparent, and it was obviously driven by the fact that there had been conversations with South Australia... We took it seriously and we did the work to understand what motorcycle racing in a public park would involve. And when we understood the implications, we said, thanks, but no thanks. We were more than happy to continue at Phillip Island and we made a strong bid to do that, but we weren't prepared to move it to Albert Park. What were the implications? Well, well north of 200 trees would have had to come down. That was the the most sort of obvious implication because, you know, we got some people in to do the work. Albert Park, the Albert Park circuit also has a golf course around it. So somewhere between four and six holes of that golf course would have had a road go through them. So that would have been the end of the golf course. We would have locked the community out of the park for an extra four to six weeks and it's already... there's already a bit of angst in that local community about the lockout during the F1. So that would have added another month or month and a half to that lockout. And importantly, it would have had a negative impact on the configuration of the F1 circuit itself. So for all those reasons, we couldn't in good conscience recommend to the government that they agree to that. And frankly, I don't think they were ever likely to support it. Phillip Island's very, very popular in Victoria. It's a very iconic circuit. I think it would have been a massive breach of faith with that community to have agreed to move the MotoGP away from there.
00:03:02
Speaker 1: So are you surprised by some of the protests that have been happening here in South Australia regarding the proposed, or we haven't actually got the official circuit yet, but what will be the MotoGP circuit impacting trees and parklands and access to the park lands?
00:03:20
Speaker 2: Well, no, it'd be difficult for me to say I'm surprised because, I mean, these were all the things that we anticipated would likely happen in Albert Park if we'd gone ahead with that. And to be frank, you know, the Victorian government 30 years ago saw similar activity in Albert Park when the F1 moved there. So community being unhappy about the loss of access to parkland and lots of trees. I'm not surprised by any of that, but my presumption would be that the South Australian government likewise, you know, did that work, understands the implications and they're happy to accept them. And I'll make no comment about that because that's a matter for South Australia. And, you know, I certainly wish Adelaide every bit of good fortune in the race because it's a fantastic event. It's just... It's a very difficult thing to run in a city circuit environment. I mean, there are no street circuits in MotoGP in the world because of those difficulties, because you need so much more runoff for motorbikes. There are safety issues. It's a really tricky thing to put on as part of a street circuit, and our view is it's more appropriate in a dedicated motorsports circuit.
00:04:44
Speaker 1: Now, Martin, it would be remiss of us not to ask you, as the chair of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, lots of people here speculating that that might be the next event the Malinowskis government goes after, the Grand Prix, of course. What would you say to that?
00:04:58
Speaker 2: I'd be surprised if they didn't. Well, look, we've got the event contracted till 2037, and I know Mally's pretty good, but I'm not even sure he'll be around in 2037, so.
00:05:10
Speaker 2: No, we're pretty comfortable with our contractual status for the F1. We're in the process of constructing a brand new pit building and we've got it locked away for more than a decade. So Mallee should have a crack by all means, but I think he's got his work cut out for him.
00:05:28
Speaker 1: And just quickly on that, if the South Australian government did have a crack, And it was successful. Would the timing of the event need to change? Because at the moment it's in March and we've got a lot of other events on in that part of the city in March. Or would you be committed to keeping it in March?
00:05:44
Speaker 2: Well, I think, well, two things. It is the hypothetical to end all hypotheticals. We've got the event contracted for 2037. But if South Australia one day... did have the event, the timing of it would not be a matter for me. It's actually the timing of Grand Prix is a matter for Formula One. They set the calendar in conjunction with the FIA. So there's no state jurisdiction or indeed national jurisdiction that gets to decide when an F1 event's on. It's on when Formula One and the FIA say they're on.
00:06:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, if they knew it was good for them, they'd just give us two Grand Prix's, Martin, obviously.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: No, well, we don't just have it locked into 2037, but we have Australian exclusivity. So you will be pushing the proverbial uphill.
00:06:38
Speaker 1: Well, that was worth a try.
00:06:40
Speaker 2: Good on you, Martin. Thanks for your time this morning. Thanks, Will. Thanks, Stacey.
