SuperCarnivale to heat up the Gold Coast

A new era of motor racing will begin on the Gold Coast this October, Premier Anna Bligh announced today.
Ms Bligh said the event will feature three days of V8 races, the likes of which have never been seen in Australia before.
"This marks a fresh start for this iconic Gold Coast event in its 20th year," Ms Bligh said.
"We were all disappointed when the A1GP let Queensland down ahead of last year's event.
"But the V8s and the Aussie Legends put on a terrific show and confirmed their incredible pulling power.
"The program they have put forward for 2010 will take the event to a whole new level.
"Not only will we have Australia's best V8 drivers come to the Gold Coast to compete as part of their annual series, top international drivers will also join the Australians on the track, and will compete in a stand-alone international drivers race on the Friday as well.
"This year's event will also be much more than a car race, with the new program including night time family entertainment along the Broadwater Parklands, and a wider range of off-track activities each day to attract an even bigger audience."
Ms Bligh said under the deal V8 Supercars will take over as event promoter for the next four years.
Additionally, after this year's event, a task force with input from the Gold Coast City Council, will consider whether a separate international category could participate in the future.
"We are determined to see this event go from strength to strength, so it can continue to inject millions of dollars into our State's economy for years to come," the Premier said.
Ms Bligh said the Government will continue to invest $11.6 million a year into events on the Gold Coast, with $6.5 million going towards the new event, and the remaining future savings to be redirected into supporting and developing other events in the local community.
"This is about getting value for money for the people of Queensland," she said.
"We will continue to invest in a world class event, while also ensuring that the money we save goes towards other opportunities to build the Gold Coast's reputation as a global events capital."
Today's announcement follows the release this morning of two reports into last year's event - one by the Auditor-General and one by independent reviewer David Williams - after the A1GP failed to show.
"These reports have provided government with a clear understanding of what went wrong, and a strong view of where to go from here," Ms Bligh said.
"The reports clearly demonstrate a number of failures in the contractual and governance arrangements for this event in the past - this is not good enough and these failures will be fixed.
"The recommendations of these reports will be implemented to ensure that the public interest is better protected in the future.
"I'm pleased that through our new agreement with the V8 Supercars, we are dealing with a well-known home-grown success story that continues to build a strong reputation as a leader in the world of international motor racing."
Sport Minister Phil Reeves said the Gold Coast SuperCarnivale will be V8 Supercars' flagship annual event.
"This will be the highlight of the Australian motor racing calendar - and what's more it will receive international coverage as top drivers from around the world come to the Gold Coast to take part," Mr Reeves said.
"This truly will be a race that takes Queensland to the world, boosting our tourism opportunities both during the event and throughout the year.
"With international drivers coming to compete, the publicity opportunities to promote the event overseas are only set to grow.
"And by supporting V8 Supercars, we are supporting a Queensland company and Queensland jobs."

Issued by email from Statements@Qld.gov.au February 4th 2010