Motorsport Australia successfully launched the Queensland ‘Parliamentary Friends of Motorsport’ at a function held at Parliament House in Brisbane, where MPs and motorsport personalities gathered to show their support for the industry.
 
Parliamentarians from both sides of politics heard from co-convenors Bart Mellish MP and Steve Minnikin MP about the reasons behind forming the group. Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca also addressed the attendees to emphasise how important motorsport is from a sporting, community, social, and economic point of view.  

Jessica Dane interviewed a panel comprising Dick Johnson, Roland Dane and Bathurst 1000 wildcard entry Declan Fraser to provide insights into the sport, the opportunities, and the need for government support of the industry.
 
Also attending the event were a number of key stakeholders including representatives from the Queensland Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport, Queensland Raceway, Shannons Insurance, Dick Johnson Racing, Triple Eight Race Engineering, Karting Australia, Norwell Motorplex, the Super Retail Group and Supercheap Auto.

The parliamentarians were particularly keen to get up close to Fraser’s Supercheap Auto backed Bathurst 1000 Holden Commodore, with many photos taken of the Supercar, which was on display at the event courtesy of Supercheap Auto.
 
Following the successful event, Arocca lauded the new initiative and believed it could have a major impact on the sport in Queensland.
 
“A big thanks to all the MPs, media, commercial partners and motorsport stakeholders who attended the launch of the Queensland ‘Parliamentary Friends of Motorsport’,” Arocca said.
 
“Motorsport is extremely popular in Queensland and apart from the many events held at venues such as Queensland Raceway and Morgan Park, the state also hosts rally and off road national championship rounds.
 
“The creation of this group of motorsport friendly parliamentarians will provide us with the opportunity to highlight and discuss how important the sport is for Queenslanders.
 
“This initiative is the result of discussions between our President, Andrew Fraser and MPs Bart Mellish and Steve Minnikin, who were passionate about creating a group of motorsport loving parliamentarians, who could hopefully help us to continue growing motorsport in Queensland.”