Many Canberrans would say that one of the most pleasing parts of this year’s Summernats was they were contained within Exhibition Park in Canberra – unseen and unheard. Also, the crowds were well-behaved, with very few traffic offences or offensive behaviour, according to police. This latter point would not matter to many Canberrans who would not care two hoots what the patrons of Summernats did to each other, provided they did it within the confines of EPIC – among consenting adults in private, as it were.
One of the main reasons for the good behaviour, according to police and organisers, was the ban on alcohol. Indeed, about the only incident of violence arose while a man tried to smuggle some alcohol in. Alcohol had to be purchased on site. It was expensive and was opened and poured into plastic cups at time of purchase – this reduced consumption considerably. Organisers said, however, the alcohol ban had resulted in lower attendance. Attendance was down 20,000 to 95,000, but 95,000 well-behaved patrons was better than 115,000 unruly ones.
In some respects, this motoring apartheid is unfortunate. One does not want to see a return to the unruly days of the early 1990s when Summernats was synonymous with raucous, drunken behaviour, burn-outs on public streets, violence, roadside camping with destruction of trees, pollution and littering. However, Canberra is graced with some stupendous pieces of motoring machinery in the week of Summernats. Given the good behaviour this year, surely it is time for the restoration of the street parade for the Summernats entrants. Moreover, there would be no harm in having the parade go down Northbourne Avenue, say, around 6.30pm while it is still light. Suitable detours could be made for other traffic.
Canberra plays host to many events which close streets, including The Canberra Times’s own Fun Run. Also, public funds are used to subsidise a great range of sport, arts and entertainments, so some extra police costs should be of little moment.
In its early years, Summernats presented more trouble than it was worth. The extra business generated was hardly worth the cost of the clean up. However, a decade on, Summernats has matured and there is no reason why this significant event on Canberra’s events calendar should be unseen and unheard. Perhaps it has grown up enough so it knows how to be seen and not heard and the parade could be reinstated.