Showdown Looms Over Burswood Race Track Figures
A major political confrontation is brewing over the business case for Perth's proposed Burswood race track, with fresh scrutiny revealing the project's economic impact may have been substantially exaggerated. The $218 million Perth Park entertainment precinct, featuring a planned supercar circuit and amphitheatre, has become a central point of political debate since the State election.
Questionable Numbers Revealed
The State Government recently claimed the project would inject $61 million annually into Western Australia's economy, promoting a benefit-cost ratio of 1.84. However, the publicly-released business case summary tells a different story. It shows the actual benefit-cost ratio stands at 1.35, meaning each dollar spent on Perth Park would generate a return of just $1.35.
The government's more favourable figures did not apply the standard practice of 'discounting' future cash flows to account for financing costs and inflation. This accounting difference slashes the speedway's economic impact by approximately $450 million across its proposed 30-year operational life.
Political Battle Intensifies
Debate over the race track is expected to dominate the Legislative Assembly's final sitting week for the year. An Opposition briefing note obtained by The West Australian warns the precinct may require ongoing operating subsidies to remain sustainable.
'With too many logical inconsistencies, none more so than the failure to revise the capital cost despite a changing scope, this business case has been clearly skewed to report a positive benefit-cost ratio for... political purposes,' the Opposition's analysis claimed.
The analysis further argued the business case exaggerated benefits, noting that some events would simply relocate from existing venues like Wanneroo Raceway rather than creating entirely new economic activity.
The State Government defended the project, stating the Supercars Australia event would be significantly larger and attract more tourism in its near-city location with better access to retail, transport, and accommodation.
A government spokeswoman emphasised that 'The Perth Park business case was independently prepared by the highly regarded ACIL Allen, which shows Perth Park will generate $61 million in economic activity for Western Australia every year, for the next 30 years.'
This controversy follows similar scepticism surrounding other major State Government projects this year, including InfrastructureWA's analysis of the Westport outer harbour development and Metronet rail projects where costs exceeded business case estimates and passenger numbers fell short of forecasts.
