Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Motorcycling Australia NT Branch CEO Silla Thomas says talks are underway to hold the National Junior Motocross Championship elsewhere in the NT after deciding its unsafe to host it in Alice

Transcript

Motorcycling Australia NT Branch CEO Silla Thomas says talks are underway to hold the National Junior Motocross Championship elsewhere in the NT after deciding its unsafe to host it in Alice · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know that the decision has been made to
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: move the KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship out of Alice
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Springs due to safety concerns and all stakeholders had agreed
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: as I understand that it was the right decision, although
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: it must have been an incredibly difficult one given the
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: fact that it hasn't happened in Alice Springs since nineteen
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: eighty seven. Now joining me on the line is Motorcycling
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Australia Northern Territory Branch CEO Silla Thomas. Good morning to you, Silla.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Are you there, Silla, Have I got you on the line?
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  Speaker 2: You definitely do. Good morning Kate Helen are you.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, really good?
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us on the show
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Silla. Firstly, can you just explain.
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  Speaker 1: The event to us all to start off, so we
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: know exactly you know what the Junior Motocross Championship is.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: So it's actually the National Junior Motocross Championship. So that's
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: the biggest event for the junior competitors in Australia. We
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: normally get over the five hundred competitors and to the event.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: It's their lead way into the world titles and a
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: lot of other things so than sponsorship wise and team
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: management wise.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Sillah, it must have been an incredibly difficult decision to
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: have to relinquish the event and not hold it in
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Alice Springs due to safety concerns, particularly given the fact
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: that you know, the event hasn't happened in Alice since
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: It was a very very difficult decision made by many parties,
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  Speaker 2: including the committee themselves at Alice's very disheartening, especially the
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: fact that there would be so many Northern Territory junior
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  Speaker 2: competitors that would be attending that normally cannot travel to
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: other states to attend.
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  Speaker 3: It'd be expensive.
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  Speaker 1: You know, monocross is not a cheap sport, I'd imagine
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  Speaker 1: given the fact that you'd have to take your bike
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  Speaker 1: into state as well, So it would have been such
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  Speaker 1: a great opportunity for our junior territorians.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: Definitely expensive traveling with your bike, your crew, your family,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: your accommodation. It is an expensive sport. But it would
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: have been a lovely, lovely event to have up here
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  Speaker 2: and to be on the national stage and for Alice
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: to actually showcase themselves.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Stilla tell me a bit more about those discussions that
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: you guys sort of had to have as a local committee. Then,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: you know, to then make what I would imagine is
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: such a tough, tough choice.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: It was a very, very tough choice. Obviously, the conversation
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: started once Alice was obviously highlighted nationally within the media.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Obviously I was contacted by sponsors and national body of course,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: and then the committee actually had to have a discussion
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: regarding the safety of the event. Even though the complex
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: itself would be safe, it was the fact that we
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: would have so many people in town that would not
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: be safe. We were obviously receiving already emails from competitors
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: that were considering withdrawing.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: SILLA.
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  Speaker 1: What's been the reaction, you know, as you've had to
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  Speaker 1: let people know that you've had to relinquish the event
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: and it's no longer happening in Alice, what's been the
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: reaction from the kids and you know, from from the
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: club members and those that do motocross in Alice.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Disappointment is probably the biggest, biggest one. Very disappointed. As
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: I said, there's so many children that will probably never
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: get the chance to write a national event and this
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: has been taken away for them. The club themselves are
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: feeling quite disappointed as well, because they've put so much
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: work and effort into holding the titles. Now this has
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: been something that's been going on for three years.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's you know, it's so much work to
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  Speaker 1: put on an event like this. I would imagine and
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: and I'm assuming too that you know, in so many instances,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: particularly with a junior national event, a lot of the
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: people working on it do so out of their own time,
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  Speaker 1: you know, do it as volunteers for the you know,
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  Speaker 1: for the sport and for the kids that take part.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: That is correct. Everyone is a volunteer within our sports,
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  Speaker 2: all the way from the person in the canteen to
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: the person that's out there flagging to the safety of
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: the writers. Everyone volunteers. And the time that they've put
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: into preparing the facility. To have this relinquish because of
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: the upset that's happening in Alice's is pretty disheartening and heartbreaking. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: The sillah, what about the economic blow? Are there any estimates,
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: you know, assuming that people would have traveled and flown
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: in and then indeed needed accommodation.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: You're talking a couple of million dollars that's been taken
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  Speaker 2: out of the tourism for Alice Springs as well as well, yescommodation,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: eating out, maybe going out because the event is held
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  Speaker 2: over five days, so there's time for people to go
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  Speaker 2: and see the site of Vallas. So it's quite a big,
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  Speaker 2: big loss of money to a lot of local businesses.
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  Speaker 1: Are there any alternative options here, you know, to sort
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: of make sure that the event still goes ahead?
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  Speaker 3: What happens?
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  Speaker 1: Is it going to happen into state or could it
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  Speaker 1: happen up here in Darwin? Are there any other options?
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  Speaker 2: I am currently in discussions with m A National themselves
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: and are fighting to keep it in the territory. I
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: have been contacted by some of our local clubs within
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  Speaker 2: the Darwin area which I'm in discussions with at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: I have obviously reached out to the Sports Minister, and
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  Speaker 2: I'll try and reach out to our Minister of Major
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  Speaker 2: Events today because I need some I need a little
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  Speaker 2: bit of backing and clarification because Interstate are believing this
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  Speaker 2: is a territory wide issue not to sell as springs.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, which makes it tough, and you know, like the
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  Speaker 1: problem is as well is you know, while things certainly
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  Speaker 1: aren't as bad here in Darwin as what they are
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  Speaker 1: in Alice Springs, you know, the crime and the alcohol
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  Speaker 1: issues is something that people into state are quite concerned
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: with when they see some of that vision, you know,
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  Speaker 1: on a national scale, definitely.
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  Speaker 2: I'm hoping the town meeting that happened in Alis overnight
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  Speaker 2: where they've got over three thousand people, get the movement
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  Speaker 2: for them down there, and I am doing my best
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  Speaker 2: to showcase Darwin as not having as many issues as
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: what we do within.
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  Speaker 1: Our Yeah, Cellah, what does this mean as well? Do
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  Speaker 1: you think for events like the Fink Desert Race, are
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  Speaker 1: we likely to see this trend continuing or you know,
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  Speaker 1: could we wind up in a situation where, you know
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  Speaker 1: where where Fink is unable to happen.
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  Speaker 2: I think is a totally different race. It's an adult
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  Speaker 2: based race, and they travel in quite large groups and
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: it is off five, so it's held over the weekend.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Out of Alice. We are talking about adult men and
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  Speaker 2: women who travel in groups, whereas with the juniors we
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: were talking about young families, young competitors. That was the
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: big difference, and the fact that they would be in
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: town and for a period of over five days. I
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: think shouldn't feel any loss because of this. They are
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: actually releasing their nominations early. But the talking town at
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: the moment is Pink will go ahead and there will
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: be no problems with Pink.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah goodness, may I hope so, you know, otherwise it's
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: a massive blow. I mean, this is a massive blow.
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  Speaker 1: And the thing that you know that upsets me about
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  Speaker 1: you guys having to relinquish the Australian Junior Motocross Championship
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  Speaker 1: out of Alice is that, you know, the really sad
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: part about it is that it's the kids that it's impacting.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it's impacting our juniors would have been so
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: excited to be able to have the event in Alice
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  Speaker 1: Springs and in the Northern Territory.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Definitely, and that is the hurtful part. It wasn't a quick,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: easy decision made by any of us because we had
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: to think of them. But we have to think of
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  Speaker 2: the outmost importance of the safety of all traveling as well.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Sella Thomas, the CEO of Motorcycling Australia's Northern Territory Branch,
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  Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so
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  Speaker 1: very much for coming on the show and explaining it
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: to us. Please keep us in the loop if we
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: do wind up in a situation where this is happening
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: in Dah when we would love to know, and we'd
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: love to be able to let our listeners know as well,
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  Speaker 1: So please keep us.
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  Speaker 3: Up to date.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: I definitely will there will be a release by Friday
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: where the event will be held. Yeah, I will definitely
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: give you guys a call straight away.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: Good on Yrsilla and all the best. You know.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: I know it must have been so such a tough
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: decision for you guys, so all the best, Thanks so.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: Much for having a chat. Thank you and you have
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: a great guy you too.