Michael Schumacher at the 2010 Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park
New South Wales is once again talking up the prospect of playing host to the Australian round of the Formula One world championship, following news that last year’s running of the event, at Melbourne’s picturesque Albert Park, cost taxpayers $50 million.
One-time AFL player and current state opposition major events spokesman, Justin Madden, has been quick to brazenly assault the coalition Baillieu Government, branding them “dithering”.
The man who played 332 games for Essendon and Carlton, went on to say that the situation is a “slap in the face” for Grand Prix Chairman, Ron Walker, before reiterating his stance that the government is dithering.
But tourism minister, Louise Asher, who oversaw the arrival of Formula One at Melbourne as part of the Kennett government, hit back, claiming that it was the Bracks and Brumby Labor Governments’ who have inflicted the misery on taxpayers’ hip pockets.
Asher describes the current five-year deal, due to expire in 2015, as a “typical Labor contract”.
Negotiations for the next contract are due to commence in 2013 or 2014.
One question now: what have we learnt from this? Anything at all?
Well, if there is one thing which can be taken away from this news, it is this: Justin Madden is obsessed with the word “dithering”!
If the government is so dithering, Justin, why then, is your party not in government?
Clearly, this man has felt lonely and forgotten, which explains his unjustified, brazen attack, on a government which has been in power for a mere eight months and who have already promised more than the Labor government did in their eleven-year reign.
And what else have we learnt?
Nothing really, this news is old, it seems to come up every two or three months when little else is happening, and matters seem to have progressed no further.
We knew the taxpayer would lose out five years ago! We knew that New South Wales want to steal the event.
So this means, sometime in September or October, we can very much expect to see this matter appear once more!
No more time wasting, considering what grim fate awaits Melbourne, bring on the action of this weekend’s German Grand Prix already!
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