IT’S only two weeks to the biggest week of the year. Yes, the Bathurst 1000 is busier than Christmas week, but we are a funny mob in Bathurst as a huge percentage of ratepayers simply don't give a hoot.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That is glaringly obvious, especially within the CBD, where only a few businesses get into the spirit of decorating their shops in a race theme.
If we were to subtract these businesses, only the Supercheap flags on the lamp posts would give an inkling about the upcoming major event on the horizon.
A motorsport enthusiast, who had the good fortune to travel widely to enjoy their sport, told me years ago that if Mount Panorama was in America, Bathurst would be renamed Panoramaville such is the Americans’ level of support for tourism assets.
Most regional towns and cities have limited attractions to entice the tourism dollar. Bathurst has plenty of options, but we appear complacent.
READ ALSO:
It’s a licence to fill
THE Federal Government has announced 30 new licences for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners as a pre-election promise.
There’s no information yet on the criteria that cities will need to meet to be eligible to receive a licence, but word is Bathurst Health Service was quick to put up its hand.
I suspect cities like ours, that have a privately operated MRI service, are unlikely to get another one in the public sector.
Time will tell. Politics works in curious ways.
Seek out a new path?
IT will be disappointing to see the end of the Edgell Jog (as is being suggested) due to the lower participation rates and higher costs.
However, times have changed: there is the Parkrun each Saturday, an annual Bathurst Half Marathon, there’s the new annual Bathurst Punish, plus numerous other jogs within NSW and the ACT for serious joggers.
As well, there are plenty of gyms open all hours to satisfy people’s need for pain.
The biggest change in society in that time, too, is the development of the nanny state that forces a community group like the Edgell Jog to have expensive traffic management plans and traffic controllers at every intersection.
Maybe it's time to consider a dramatic change of route and sponsor name in an effort to significantly reduce costs.
Election reflections
RETAILERS are reporting sluggish sales since the leadership eruptions in Canberra.
Historically, for reasons unknown, consumers "close the purse" in the lead-up to elections.
Next year we have a state election in March, which is likely to be swiftly followed by a federal election.
As a retailer, I’m not looking forward to almost six months of reduced consumer activity when, let’s face it, life goes on despite whoever wins government (and without an ounce of blood being spilt, thankfully).
Thumbs up
THE Supercheap Bathurst 1000 is just two weeks away. It’s a major economic fillip for the Bathurst economy.
Thumbs down
THE nanny state significantly raising the costs of community events like the Edgell Jog, ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day.
