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Letter of the Week

Racing enthusiasts, unite

So Richie Callander (31/5) believes Racing NSW needs to employ a lobbyist and a PR company, backed by a concerted media campaign, to demonstrate to non-punting NSW inhabitants how dependent they are on punters for their lifestyle, their hospitals, their education and their roads.

What a waste of money that would be.

Even if the state’s non-gamblers were to read such material, does Richie really believe that such a campaign would have any real impact?

If Racing NSW wants a "fair go" from the NSW Government, it needs to have a voice in government.

It requires just $500 and five foundation members to register a political party.

Parties such as the Australian Shooters Party and the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party, both very much minor parties representing minority groups, were quick to recognise this and both now have a voice in parliaments.

I’m surprised that the wealthy powerbrokers who control racing in NSW haven’t already gone down the same path. Perhaps they believe they have enough money and enough contacts to exert pressure on the government to achieve their goals without representation from within.

According to figures released by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the Australian racing industry employs in excess of 240,000 people.

It stands to reason that a large percentage of those are employed in NSW.

Add to their number all the punters throughout the state, and you have a very strong base on which to launch a political party.

In addition to the potential number of voters, consider too the wealth within the industry and the media support it enjoys.

Given those factors it is not hard to imagine that racing would have little difficulty in securing seats in parliament, both at state and federal level, if someone were to take that first step and register a party.

Tim Egan
Ulladulla (NSW)
Today's Racing
Friday 29 March
Saturday 30 March
Sunday 31 March