Mayor floats car rally plan | NSW News | Breaking State News in New South Wales

Maybe the Mayor should have them racing past his house and the houses of all the people who think this is a good idea.

What a greedy, aggressive society we've turned into, with not thought or care to our environment or the wildlife.

No doubt once there's more deaths of drivers like the recent rally one, people will like it even more.

Doesnt Kyogle proote itself as "Gateway to the Rainforests"? Isnt it more appropriate that they try to capture some of the annual $2.5 Billion spent by ecotourists, rather than turning the shire into rev-head heaven?
This is extremely short-sighted and non-sustainable. Rallying is a dirty waste of fossil fuels and increasingly "on the nose".

It always seems to be the tree hugging hippies who sit at home and live off the taxpayer who complain!!!! The 2009 Rally was the best thing to happen to Kyogle in a long time and the lasting impact that worlwide television coverage will have on tourism to the North Coast is yet to be seen.

Good on you Ross, keep looking for ways to increase Kyogles profile and bring people and $$$ into our wonderful town!!!

Can't believe the Mayor of Kyogle could be so stupid. With some of the best rainforest in Australia and some of the most diverse animal population, the mayor should be looking at other ways to attract people to the region. Did the mayor see the ABC production Rainforest The Secret of life set in the national parks in the Kyogle shire? Or the ABC production Addicted to Money showing our environment in an precarious situation? The people of Kyogle don't know what they have in their own backyard!!

Seems some people have far too much time in their day to complain about anything and everything new.

With the success of the recent Repco Rally, and the huge crowds that visited Kyogle and surrounding areas we stand to benefit from any extra events.

What a stupid society we live in, when someone associates greed, aggression and damage to the environment with rallying. Maybe norally should wake up to the facts. The recent rally was run by volunteers, the only aggression I witnessed was by anti rally supporters throwing rocks and the environment remains as it was before the event.

I support putting Kyogle on the map, giving the local kids something to look forward to and bringing something worthwhile to the area.

Neither Kyogle nor Murwillumbah received anywhere near the $30 million Repco promised. In fact I even doubt between the two towns $1 million was made. Research said that in Kyogle only a few shops profited (petrol station, fast food joint, pub) but because something like $40,000 + was lost due to the Fringe Festival that Kyogle invested in flopping, overall takings would have been very low especially when you figure in costs.
Preliminary surveys in M'bah indicate very few businesses (with the exception of the pubs and a few petrol stations) made any money at all. In fact many businesses lost substantial amounts money because of buying surplus food that wasted and because the locals couldn't find parking.
So if this event doesn't make money for the area, why have it when there is so much evidence from ecologists showing stress to wildlife in breeding season? Put yourself in the wildlife's position, how would you like it? Kyogle should listen to the people and what they want as well. Animals don't have a voice and need caring people to speak on their behalf.
I say no more rallies in biodiverse areas!

Hi menkit, can you please advise where you are getting your statistics from? It would be intersting to know who conducted these "preliminary surveys" and "Research"........

So the key personnel of Repco Rally Australia have been sacked and/or reached the end of their various contracts yet the mayor of Kyogle Shire is asking for more damage to our roads, our environment and the social fabric of this once wonderful region - am I missing something or does he simply not understand the reason we all choose to live AND pay rates AND contribute to society in this uniquely biodiverse area? Many of those subjected to the noise, dust and uncontrolled crowds of trespassing spectators during the recent WRC farce were long term local residents: farmers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, business owners etc, none of whom can see how 3 days of mayhem staffed by volunteers every year could possibly improve our woeful Northern Rivers employment statistics. I agree with WTF 2484 that we need to capitalise on our existing natural and social assets and boost our share of the lucrative eco-tourism market rather than jeopardise our environment and alienate local residents for a projected gain (made by an overseas corporation and swallowed hook line and sinker by the NSW Government) which has yet to be substantiated.

A short sighted decision made by the mayor. Does he have Kyogle's best interests at heart?
I am hoping that there are some strong women out there who are willing to enter local politics, we are desperate for equal representation of womens thoughts and values.

Almost 3 months since the rally, and norally group have zero evidence of ANY impact from the rally. All the website states is they are busy compiling evidence.. or looking under rocks for it?

Quoted from Rally Australia "Figures received to date from several local volunteer organisations show that profits in excess of $30,000 have been raised by these community groups through their activities during the rally"

Looks like a great success for locals, and for the small groups that desperately need these funds. I guess this is not of importance to people like menkit who found it hard to find a parking spot? me me me.....

70,000 plus people only spent money at a few service stations, a fast food joint and the pub? hard to believe? And how did you come to the figure of $1 million?

I found it hard to find any accommodation, as I wanted to stay in the Tweed for the event. The rally organisers and teams would have spent a large amount on accommodation alone.

Your claim that business's lost money because they bought surplus food? Who's to blame, the business owner who couldn't manage their business or the few locals that made spectators feel un welcome in the town? Or the event that bought tens of thousands of people to the area?

I think the wildlife would be used to noise and dust, just part of living in an area that is inhabited by humans. Did you do a study following the dust storms that occurred some weeks after the rally? What was their impact on the WILDlife?

I won't ask for a reference for any of the facts, as obviously flowerchild, menkit, wtf and norally are leading experts who don't need to produce evidence...

Several people from Rally Australia have reached the end of their contracts, as the event is only run in Australia every second year. Putting your own spin on it doesn't win you any support.

Damage to the roads, that's a huge call. I haven't seen the roads this good in years. And it's not due to lack of rain, but the work that was carried out for the rally. I drove all the stages twice, so I speak from experience. What evidence do you have of damage to our roads?

Roads are repaired following a rally, one of the costs associated with running such an event. You would be hard pressed to find a local who supports your claim.

Uncontrolled crowds, not sure what event that was? You must be referring to another event. The local police commented on how well behaved spectators were during the event. The same could not be said for the few that chose to try and disrupt traffic by pulling in front of cars and driving at 30km/h.

So you have interviewed the lawyers, teachers and doctors? and they cannot see how a world wide event can improve employment? Or are you just stretching the truth again?

So what are you doing to encourage eco-tourism, or do you just like throwing the words around? So profits go overseas, what's new? I guess you only buy Australian made, never shop at the major supermarkets and live the fantasy that your dollar stays in Australia.

Why are so many of the comments against the rally made without any evidence. I appreciate that a small minority don't want this event, or any event that brings people into 'their backyard'. But your arguments are often fictitious.

WRC2484:- there were no rocks thrown. It was an allegation made by the police with absolutely no proof and was in fact later withdrawn by Gary Connelly. The drivers themselves denied ever having rocks throw at them. So please get your facts straight.

TCCCC:- Southern Cross University participated in an economic review of the Repco Rally for Kyogle. To my knowledge there is no official review of Tweed's economic benefits as of this moment. Council has one year to complete their survey.

menkit, not sure why you mention rocks as I never stated that as a fact. But while we are on the topic, I will provide you with a few facts.

I was on the stage that was closed due to rocks being rolled onto the road. I was informed by first officials, then police and then locals that rocks were moved onto the road. These rocks were later rolled into the bushes, something I witnessed as I left the stage. The allegations you speak of, are actually just a result of the story changing as it was passed from person to person. Gary Connelly was simply denying that rocks were thrown after conflicting media reprots http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-...

And in reply to you accusation, I do have my facts straight. The media may have had the story twisted, but rocks were positioned on the road on Friday at Byrrill Creek. Protesters used this simple mistake to turn the event against the media. Claiming that it was made up, and that police fabricated the story.

I notice that protesters didn't mention that rocks were thrown on Sunday. How do I know, because again I was on stage and witnessed the car pass without a rear windscreen. The car was not involved in an accident, and reported the following to the media.
http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/...

If anything negative came of the rally, it was the behavior of the anti rally groups. While some people did chose to do the right thing, and protest peacefully others took the law into their own hands. A missed opportunity to display our beautiful area to the world, and an embarrassment when a local competitor has a rock thrown through their rear window.

Could all the people who for some reason have something against a rally that is not only economically, socially and environmentally sustainble. Anybody commenting who decides that the only reason that the rally or any kind of motorsport event is environmentally unsustainable needs to actually go and learn about the environment at a university (I'll give you hippies a link so you can find one www.qut.com) and actually study environmental science. I would bet that none of the people who claim to know so much about the environment have a PhD in environmental science.

Any person against the rally has not considered the key elements of sustainability, social, economic and environmental.

Social- Rallies provide a community event and a way for people to have enjoyment
Economic - Rallies provide stimulation to the local economy. To the people who say that predictions were way above what actually occurred then I would like to point out that the actions of the No Rally group would have turned people away from the event. I intended to go to the Repco Rally this year however was certainly discouraged by the thought of the dangerous and anti social behaviour that could have occured. So therefore you hippies can work out (you may need a calculator) that I intended to stay in a local motel and eat locally as well as buy petrol from a local service station
Environmental- From reports about the Repco Rally there have been no increases in animal deaths due to the rally. In actual fact the actions of persons against the rally have caused environmental damage, the movement of rocks onto roads can thus cause soil erosion and then the need for authorities to move rocks back into the bushland more than likley would have affected vegetation. The federal, state and local governments all supported the rally. The EPBC Act (Cwth) is there to prevent environmental damage and the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts did not stop the rally.

Rallies provide valuable research to fields of automotive technology such as fuel emissions and safety which then are translated to the road car that the public can buy.

Could all the people against the rally please stop referring to anyone who supports the rally as a rev-head when in actual fact many people who support the rally are highly educated and don't need a bunch of uninformed hippies to tell them anything.

I would fully support the WRC/ARC or any rally being conducted on my street, then I could watch it.

I am ashamed to be a Kyogle local.
All because of the Repco Rally car race this community has become a dangerous and ugly place to be unless you are a part of the pro rally mob mentality.
Thanks to 21st century technology it has become the norm for unidentified writers to vilify in newspapers and online without consequence. What ever happened to slander laws?
Just look at the comments listed here, in newspaper forums and the many on line motor sports forum sites. Motor sports enthusiasts have used the rally as an opportunity to express outright hated of those who live in the northern rivers. I find the whole thing sickening and abhorrent.

MLC Ian Cohen is faced with over $1million in legal fees and damages because he defended his right to use a throw away line ‘a bully and a thug” when speaking about a developer. Why can online forum users say what ever they like without consequence?

Over and over I read about the supposed economic benefits Just look around and listen and you will soon see the benefits were marginal. The most obvious benefit has been the development of a new sport….government sponsored, police protected ...local bashing.

Until last month I spent hundreds of dollars every month in Kyogle. For years it has been my main source of food and services. The market, the butcher, IGA, hardware, newsagent, petrol station, gardening supplies etc. No more.
I don’t want to be in the Mecca for the uninformed 'Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi' look at me draped in my Chinese made Aussie flag idiots whilst they openly vilify anyone they declare to be ‘filthy, get a job, my taxes pay for you tree hugging hippies’. It is offensive to be around. For the sake of food I have tried to ignore it but no more. I will use my ... say as I want, hide behind a nickname and take no responsibility card to say, No more Kyogle, you can have your rally and all of the WRC2484 style people. I don’t want to know about you.