‘Complete sham': Track plans spark protests at Optus Stadium

The Save Burswood Park Alliance has labelled recent community consultation about the Burswood racetrack a 'sham'.
It claims the tender for the project was issued well before consultation had begun and closed before it had been completed.
Hundreds of people attended community feedback sessions from last Thursday to Sunday, sharing their ideas and thoughts on the released plans for the new Perth entertainment and sporting precinct for Burswood Park.
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A statement released by Save Burswood Park Alliance said the sessions were 'set up with only a basic 'cartoon' layout of the development and with government staff unable to answer targeted questions relating to track design and construction, noise modelling, and plant and animal surveys'.
It said many people were agitated and vocal about the 'lack of information available'.
Save Burswood Park Alliance co-chair Robin Harvey said Landsdale MLA Daniel Pastorelli, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, had attended all four sessions as the government's spokesman and in discussions about the racetrack he repeatedly said it was a non-negotiable part of the project. Protestors at a drop in session for the Entertainment and Sporting Precinct at Burswood Park. Credit: Riley Churchman / The West Australian
'What is the point of community consultation when the community's main objection is dismissed like that?' Dr Harvey said.
'Real community consultation involves the community and all other stakeholders from the beginning.
'This V8 Supercars proposal was presented to us as a fait accompli. The consultation is clearly a complete sham.'
Mr Pastorelli told PerthNow the program of consultation had been extensive and had welcomed discussions with all interested residents and relevant stakeholders.
'The drop-in sessions have been a key element of the consultation. The sessions were respectful and we received constructive and beneficial feedback,' he said.
'I have personally been undertaking a range of face-to-face meetings with residents and stakeholders including key community residents, which will continue over coming weeks.
'The community feedback is essential in informing the design and delivery of the new precinct.'
Mr Pastorelli acknowledged some residents may have wanted more specific information but said the project was not yet at that stage. Part of the protest at the drop-in session for the entertainment and sporting precinct at Burswood Park. Credit: Riley Churchman / The West Australian
'We are currently in the consultation phase and detailed design is yet to be completed — noting a contract for design has not been awarded,' he said.
'The project team comprised of public servants do a remarkable job day-in-day-out and we thank those people who were respectful in their engagement with them at the drop-in sessions.'
Mr Pastorelli said Indigenous consultation to help with design had started.
'Initial consultation has been held with the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, and a cultural advisory group to provide cultural advice during design development will be established,' he said.
Dr Harvey said the Alliance agreed with the project's planned landscape improvements and outdoor amphitheatre, although there were concerns about its scope and size.
Protesters against the plans rallied at Optus Stadium on Saturday afternoon hoping to catch people attending an AFL game.
Community consultation for the project will continue in the upcoming weeks.

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Grandfather pens letter to PM after death in custody

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a day ago

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Grandfather pens letter to PM after death in custody

The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers.