‘Waste of money’: State Gov slams Vic Park council for looking into external lobbyist in racetrack opposition

A decision by the Town of Victoria Park to search for an external lobbyist to fight against the Burswood racetrack has been slammed by a Cook Government minister as “pissing money up against the wall”. Victoria Park mayor Karen Vernon — a vocal Burswood precinct critic — confirmed reports on Thursday that her council were looking externally to bolster their lobbying efforts. According to an email seen by The West Australian the Town was looking for a “registered, experienced government relations professional” to “support our advocacy against the proposed Motorsports Complex at Burswood”. Ms Saffioti was less than impressed with the idea, accusing the council of “wasting ratepayers’ money”. “I think it actually diminishes their cause, the fact that they’ve had to approach eastern state lobbyists to try and come in,” she said. “If the argument was strong enough, they wouldn’t need to use ratepayers money to buy a lobbyist firm to help them.” Ms Vernon said council were yet to receive any proposals in response to their enquiries and that there was not a specific cost limit the council had in mind, saying they’d wait to see what services they could get. Ms Saffioti’s sentiment was shared by Minister John Carey who described the move as “bizarre and bonkers”. “This is pissing money up against the wall, it is outrageous, it is the job of mayors, it is the job of elected officials to actually advocate on their communities,” he said. “I might not like what they’re saying, but now they’re going to be paying for lobbyists.” Ms Vernon hit back, saying the council had resorted to the steps due to a lack of genuine consultation. “We certainly won’t be looking to appoint someone where we don’t get value for rate payers’ money,” she said. “That’s why we’ve drafted a pretty tightly worded brief that sets out what the objectives are, what sort of actions we’re hoping to be taken, some key performance indicators, and a pretty fast turnaround time.” The Cook Government has been at loggerheads with the Town of Victoria Park for months after the local government made their opposition to the sport and entertainment precinct public. The $217m project will include infrastructure such as an amphitheatre and more controversially, a racetrack suitable for supercars. The latter has sparked vocal anger from community members and has been fiercely opposed by the State Opposition. Not all of Labor has been united in their support for the plan with Federal Perth MP Patrick Gorman speaking out against the proposal and saying “it should not proceed”. State Government insiders have been fuming since the Prime Minister’s right-hand-man made the public intervention in September. Ms Vernon expressed her frustration that the council had to resort to external help. “I have a message for the Deputy Premier, the Burswood race track is a waste of tax money,” she said. “The Deputy Premier should be concentrating money that she is wasting instead of worrying about the Town of Victoria Park engaging a registered lobbyist to do what local governments all over Western Australia do every year.” Ms Vernon admitted she was not confident that even the lobbying could stop the plans, but it wouldn’t stop them trying. “We won’t stop until they stop,” she said.