Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp says he will support the view of a majority of Newcastle residents who indicated in a survey that they don't want Supercars to come back to the city.
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The former minister for the Hunter made the comment in response to a City of Newcastle-commissioned survey which found 37 per cent of 10,998 respondents to an online survey want Newcastle to continue hosting the race, and 59 per cent did not want the race back.
"I have spoken with residents, businesses and stakeholder groups over this year, and have also looked at the results of this consultation to inform my view going forward," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"The majority of respondents have indicated that they do not want the Supercars event being held in the city and I will be supporting that view when communicating with the NSW government."
The Newcastle MP did not reveal at the time if he supported the race returning, and said he would be "guided by the community consultation" being conducted independently by KPMG for City of Newcastle.
The City of Newcastle has stressed that any decision on the future of the Newcastle 500 was a decision for the NSW government.
A NSW government spokesperson said "productive discussions" were under way between Supercars, Destination NSW, and City of Newcastle regarding the future of the event.
"The NSW Government assesses the viability of a range of events for the NSW events calendar to help achieve the goal of making NSW the premier visitor economy and the events capital of the Asia Pacific, contributing $65 billion in total visitor expenditure by 2030," the spokesperson said.
"The NSW government's tourism and major events agency Destination NSW assesses events on the economic, strategic and community benefits they can provide to the state and the region."
A Supercars spokesperson also said discussions were ongoing and "progressing toward an official decision on the future of the Newcastle 500".
"The goal is to ensure a positive outcome for all parties and further updates and details will be communicated in due course."
IN THE NEWS:
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
