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Defending community values against the motor sport industry
Defending democracy and the environment in NSW


 
In 2009, the NSW Parliament passed special legislation to allow the WRC Repco Rally to race at high speeds through the towns, national parks and rural roads of Tweed and Kyogle Shires in the beautiful and unique Northern Rivers region.

The No Rally Group was formed to oppose this event, and the undemocratic processes that allowed it to happen. We support the many residents who hold concerns about the use of special legislation to override environmental laws; the use of a World Heritage listed landscape as a backdrop for high speed racing; inappropriate use of public funds to pay for the event; and its imposition on the local community.

Latest video by freelance photographer Jimmy Malecki:

Official announcement by organisers: WRC rally is moving to Coffs Harbour
Wednesday September 29th 2010


Thanks and congratulations to everyone who has supported the 'No Rally in the Northern Rivers' movement!

No Rally Group media release
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Andrea Vickers 

Rally’s departure a big win for our region 

No Rally Group members, and our many supporters, are breathing a collective sigh of relief today with the end of a ‘David and Goliath’ struggle.
The news that the World Rally Championship will not return to Tweed and Kyogle is a victory for common sense, residents’ rights, our local economy, and the safety of people and wildlife.

It’s a win for our ecotourism industry, which should be nurtured as the natural tourism drawcard for the region. It’s a win for safe driving on our dangerous roads. It’s a win for our national parks which need to be protected for all non-human species. And it’s a win for the community, who can now start to work together to decide which events truly reflect the character and future of our region.

It’s not often a community group sees success in a fight to protect ourselves and our environment against poor governance and the depredations of big business. It can only be put down to the passion of the many locals who love the Tweed and want to see it develop in a sensible, safe and sustainable direction.
If it’s true that this is the only place ever to have the WRC pull out because of the concerns of locals, it's also a win for grassroots over global interests. The WRC is a marketing event, and the real beneficiaries are car companies and media corporations who make many millions from the broadcast rights. 

The rally’s touted economic benefit to the local area is so dubious that it led Tweed Shire Council to  recommend an independent full cost-benefit analysis of any future rally. TSC last week voted by a narrow 4-3 margin to continue supporting the event, and resolved that a comprehensive, peer reviewed economic analysis should be undertaken by the Southern Cross University.

This is a vote of no confidence in the review, which was criticised from the start because of its limited scope, secretive procedures and the fact it was conducted by the unqualified CEO of a marketing company. 

We call on  rally organisers to acknowledge the people opposed to the rally are not a radical minority, but a diverse group of community members concerned with protecting our democratic rights and our environmental heritage. 

Contrary to the claims of rally proponents, residents opposing it are ordinary, working, contributing people from many walks of life, with legitimate concerns and a passion for the future of this region. Three thousand signatures against the rally were gathered in a few weeks last year, and polls have consistently showed residents don’t want the rally.

We thank everyone in the community who has supported us morally, financially, and with the thousands of letters you have written to government departments, rally organisers and media.

Rally Australia has consistently fuelled community divisions by making misleading and conflicting statements about their activities, and by ignoring the concerns of residents about transparency, the environment and proof of economic benefit.

We hope the organisers will learn from their mistakes here and conduct proper community consultation in Coffs Harbour. We also hope they stay out of that region’s national parks, which deserve just as much protection as those in this region.

Wherever the rally goes in NSW, it will bring with it the specially enacted Motor Sports Act, which overturns 12 hard earned laws. This will cause great concern to residents who care about rights and due process, no matter where the rally goes. We continue to call for this legislation to be repealed.

This outcome supports our view that in 2010 it is just not appropriate to change the law for the sake of political prestige and big business profits, or to use national parks, World Heritage Areas and residential roads as a staging ground for rally racing.

 

No Rally Group Legal Fund 

NRG has set a fundraising target of $30,000 to pay costs incurred seeking an injunction against the rally in August 2009.  

Click here to donate, here to volunteer or check out our fundraising events schedule.
 

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