MORE voices have joined councillor Warren Aubin in calling for a solution to prevent kangaroos getting onto the Mount Panorama circuit during race meetings.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It comes after Cr Aubin called for the circuit to be fully fenced in response to multiple appearances from the animals over the Bathurst 12 Hour race meeting.
In the most severe case, a car hit a kangaroo during the third hour of the race on February 2, resulting in damage that eventually led to the entry retiring.
Cr Aubin again raised the idea of fencing at last week's Bathurst Regional Council meeting, reiterating how dangerous it is when the animals get on the circuit.
"We should be providing these race drivers with a safe playing field," he said.
"If I was a race team owner from Europe and I saw that, I would certainly be really thinking hard about bringing my race car, worth a lot of money, to race at Mount Panorama.
"It is vitally important that we fix this problem, stop sitting on our hands, stop thinking that temporary fences work - because they obviously don't - and let's put up some permanent fences.
"... Somebody is going to be killed, I keep saying this, I've said it for 12 years, and when it happens - if it happens - God help us."
Cr Alex Christian showed his support, saying he wanted to see the circuit fully-fenced as well.
He said that relocating kangaroos had been attempted previously and failed to solve the problem, leaving fencing as the only viable option.
"I think the only solution is to fence off the entire compound, particularly along where the race track is, because someone will get killed and then, like Cr Aubin says, we've got some serious dramas," he said.
"I think this has to be done ASAP."
Cr John Fry added to the conversation, saying there should be a type of suitable fencing to solve the issue.
Cr Aubin has also called for a report to come to council on fencing options and to put the project in the budget for next financial year.
Currently, council spends about $100,000 annually on temporary fencing at Mount Panorama for four race meetings. This cost will soon increase with the addition of a fifth event, to be held for the first time in November.
