Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to commend the Coorong District Council, the community of Tailem Bend and the Peregrine Corporation for working with the Commonwealth to secure the future of SA Motorsport Park, which will be located in Tailem Bend. I was delighted to help announce $7.5 million of federal government funding for essential access and service connections at that proposed facility. This is a massive win for South Australia; it is a big win for Barker and the Murraylands, and for Tailem Bend in particular.

SA Motorsport Park will cement South Australia as the motorsport capital of Australia, with Tailem Bend the jewel in the crown. Once completed, this facility will provide a world-class track—the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere—for motorcycling, off-street drags, drifting, club sprints, motorkhanas, rallycross, four-wheel drives, driver training, and vehicle and component testing. It will include a drag strip, a rally track, a four-wheel drive adventure park, a go-karting facility, a hotel and a camping ground. I wish to pay tribute to Dr Sam Shahin and his team at Peregrine for developing this exciting vision and being prepared to invest in the people of the Murray Mallee to see that vision come to reality.

This project will boost employment opportunities locally, with 350 jobs created during the construction phase of the project and an additional 25 jobs thereafter.    This exciting project is also yet another example of the benefits of the Murraylands as a place to do business, with vast space at affordable costs and a ready workforce all within 60 minutes of Adelaide's CBD. (Time expired)