❓ A member of parliament asks the Minister for Tourism about the Australasian Safari race. The Minister responds positively, highlighting the event's history, route, participants, and economic benefits to regional towns, emphasizing Tourism WA's sponsorship and the event's role in promoting Western Australia.
AnsweredQoN 629Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI
On the weekend I was involved with the first leg of the Australasian Safari in Geraldton and met Cyril Despres, three times motorcycle winner of the Dakar Rally, who is participating in this event. As you would know also, Mr Speaker, this leg was a very successful event. Will the minister tell the house a bit more about this exciting off-road race? Dr K.D. HAMES
On the weekend I was involved with the first leg of the Australasian Safari in Geraldton and met Cyril Despres, three times motorcycle winner of the Dakar Rally, who is participating in this event. As you would know also, Mr Speaker, this leg was a very successful event. Will the minister tell the house a bit more about this exciting off-road race? Dr K.D. HAMES
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. Before I start, I want to acknowledge and welcome the students of Ocean Road Primary School, who are sitting in the gallery, and their principal, Dean Finlay. I was explaining to the students about the calling to order and what happens after three calls to order, so I look forward to members opposite providing a good example of that for them. I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. Before I start, I want to acknowledge and welcome the students of Ocean Road Primary School, who are sitting in the gallery, and their principal, Dean Finlay. I was explaining to the students about the calling to order and what happens after three calls to order, so I look forward to members opposite providing a good example of that for them. I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. Before I start, I want to acknowledge and welcome the students of Ocean Road Primary School, who are sitting in the gallery, and their principal, Dean Finlay. I was explaining to the students about the calling to order and what happens after three calls to order, so I look forward to members opposite providing a good example of that for them. I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
Before I start, I want to acknowledge and welcome the students of Ocean Road Primary School, who are sitting in the gallery, and their principal, Dean Finlay. I was explaining to the students about the calling to order and what happens after three calls to order, so I look forward to members opposite providing a good example of that for them. I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. Before I start, I want to acknowledge and welcome the students of Ocean Road Primary School, who are sitting in the gallery, and their principal, Dean Finlay. I was explaining to the students about the calling to order and what happens after three calls to order, so I look forward to members opposite providing a good example of that for them. I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. Before I start, I want to acknowledge and welcome the students of Ocean Road Primary School, who are sitting in the gallery, and their principal, Dean Finlay. I was explaining to the students about the calling to order and what happens after three calls to order, so I look forward to members opposite providing a good example of that for them. I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
Before I start, I want to acknowledge and welcome the students of Ocean Road Primary School, who are sitting in the gallery, and their principal, Dean Finlay. I was explaining to the students about the calling to order and what happens after three calls to order, so I look forward to members opposite providing a good example of that for them. I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
I was pleased that the member for Geraldton was able to see the Australasian Safari rally guys as they came through Geraldton. I got to see them off when they left Hillarys and start the event, and a fantastic event it is. The event has 26 years of history. This year’s event will cover nearly 4 000 kilometres. The first leg was from Hillarys to Geraldton. I do not know why they started that late at night, but they took off up to Geraldton in the evening. They are then going from there through Sandstone, Laverton and Leonora, and eventually to Kalgoorlie. It is a fantastic event. There are some really big names there. That includes the one the member mentioned, Cyril Despres, three times winner of the Dakar Rally; Craig Lowndes of V8 Supercar fame; and Ben Grabham, who is also a former safari winner. It is fantastic to have all those people here participating in this event. The event is, of course, sponsored by Tourism WA, which is why I opened this particular event. We want to make sure that we support events like this that create a far greater excitement about Western Australia and opportunities for Western Australians to view some world-class events. It was a big team that set off, with a big support crew, and they are going out through the bush, camping and visiting little towns like Leonora and Laverton. It is a great stimulus for the economies of those towns to have nearly 600 people at a time, with all the support crew, coming through those towns. So I thank the member for Geraldton for his involvement in the event; I hope he sent them well on their way. I was talking to Cyril Despres and warning him to watch out for the kangaroos out Leonora–Laverton way, because there are a lot of them out there, and he was sitting in his chair and he was saying, “Oh, kangaroo, kangaroo!”, and I said, “Well, they’re about this big, mate, so be careful!” It is a fantastic event and I am very proud to support it.
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