“The Liberals crafted some polite statements when Housing ACT tenants were listed to be booted from their homes by Yvette Berry and her bureaucrats… There was a lack of passion by the Liberals in response to those heartless evictions,” writes “Canberra Matters” columnist PAUL COSTIGAN. 

THERE was almost instant outrage when the ACT planning chief and his planning minister released documents on the next stages of the ACT Government’s proposed planning reforms last month. 

Within these were the 10 district strategies. Within the strategy for the inner north, were options for the future of the site presently occupied by ACT Racing – Thoroughbred Park.

The following day, Liberal gaming spokesperson Mark Parton was in the media lashing the Greenslabor government for, without prior consultations, proposing that ACT Racing would be shoved off its site to make way for urban developments to pay for the tram. 

The concept of Canberra not having horse racing was scandalous and even more cruel was that the announcement came on one of ACT Racing’s sacred days – Melbourne Cup Day – a day for maximum gambling opportunities. 

Parton put the boot into the ACT Greens for his perception that they are dictating to Labor about this proposal. He’s also upset that the Greens tried (unsuccessfully) to stop $40 million of ACT government money going to ACT Racing. 

Reality check. The documentation being howled at contained two options for discussion. One being what ACT Racing had already proposed – to develop some of its lands for residential to help pay its bills. Apparently, they are not making enough money from gambling. 

The other option was for the whole site to become mixed use with the site coming back into community and other uses. This latter proposal has been talked about publicly by community groups keen to see this inner-suburban site put to better uses – including a major parkland. No one has proposed that ACT Racing be closed, although no site has been identified for them to move to – yet.

Following Parton’s outrage and the equivalent rage from ACT Racing in the media, there was a statement or two from the chief minister that ACT Racing would stay on its site for as long as it wanted. 

The statement included an acknowledgement that ACT Racing would  soon benefit from the development proposals it has been talking about for the last year or so. These proposals involve changes of lease and the massive redevelopment on land the club no longer needs for racing and gambling.

The chief minister’s response indicated support for ACT Racing’s change of use for a large swathe of its land (probably a concession gift originally) and likewise for its development proposals. 

No development application has yet to materialise but it seems that there will be support from the grand poobah of planning. The concept of the club moving off the site to allow the land to return to the community is not getting support from either ACT Labor or the Canberra Liberals. 

Parton has every right to take the high moral ground and slam those involved with threatening his beloved ACT Racing. That’s what politicians do when the issue is close to home. He is close to horse racing and this gambling industry. 

The shame for the Canberra Liberals is we rarely see so much passion for arguing for society issues such as environmental, climate, homelessness, housing matters, good design and open spaces and landscapes.

The Liberals crafted some polite statements when Housing ACT tenants were listed to be booted from their homes by Yvette Berry and her bureaucrats. The ACT Greenslabor government was keen to get desperately needed cash for Housing ACT given that most housing money had been stripped out for the tram. There was a lack of passion by the Liberals in response to those heartless evictions. 

Their muted stance on the eviction and housing matters, many urban planning and development issues and the de-greening of Canberra by Greenslabor has not presented a clear insight into what the Liberals value. People don’t know what they are prepared to stand up for – except gambling and racing. The clock is ticking on those October, 2024, ACT elections.