I was interested to see the shemozzle at Summernats this year when things got a bit out of hand and drunken yobbos invaded the track. It was also appalling to see 150 security personnel basically walk off the job. Their job was to stop that sort of nonsense. The resulting problems caused by the security guards’ sudden departure stretched our small police force to breaking point and if ever there was an argument for 200 more police to be allocated to the ACT, that is one good reason.
Still, calls from a few Nimbys and inner-city elites in North Canberra for this classic, good old working class rev head celebration to be canned need to be rejected. It just needs to be run better and we do need more police, not only for Summernats, but for all of Canberra, to reinforce the very thin blue line we have in the ACT. We are at least 200 police short of what we need.
In 1989, there was a near riot at Summernats and the drunken crowd spilled over onto Northbourne Avenue, which led to 83 arrests. I will always remember the trouble police had with holding back the crowd that spilled onto the street, but how one police dog managed to control several hundred drunks to a distance of about 15 to 20 metres either side of him. That sold me on the use of police dogs in appropriate circumstances. As the newly minted Alliance government member responsible for policing, I almost canned the event, but after the organiser, the legendary Chic Henry and Police (most of whom I knew as I had been prosecutor only a year or so before) suggested we give it one more chance, I, together with the redoubtable and practical Craig Duby MLA took up Chic’s suggestion of forming a working group from the AFP, Urban Services and Summernats to make improvements. They did, and 1990 went off without a hitch and has largely continued in that vein – until this year.
We also did an economic impact study and found the 1989 event cost the ACT government $118,000 ($88,000 police overtime and $30,000 for Urban Services) but brought in $5.1 million to Canberra at a dead time of year.
Keeping it was a no-brainer as any event that brings in seven times or more of the cost of hosting it is a good return on investment.
Summernats is now worth $35 million to the ACT. Better control is obviously needed and hiring a new lot of security guards who actually do their job would be a good start. Despite the Nimbys in North Canberra, there are also a hell of a lot of small businesses across Canberra that depend on Summernats. The organisers need to sit down with relevant agencies of the ACT government and make the necessary improvements to ensure the events of January 2023 do not recur. It’s not rocket science.
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Canberra Daily.
