From today’s Stonnington Leader –
Move over, racing industry
JUST south of Stonnington lies the least used park in metropolitan Melbourne.
The Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is 25 times larger than the MCG, yet it has just 20 race meetings a year. The problem lies with the 600 horses stabled and trained there.
They make it virtually impossible for the public to use what is zoned as a ‘‘recreation ground and public park’’. Horses are dangerous; it’s time to shift them to country Victoria, where horses can frolic and be free. Already 80 per cent of horses running in those 20 race meetings are trucked in. Why not truck them all in? Stonnington and Glen Eira are starved of open space. Sorry, racing industry – it’s time to selflessly move over, and give the public a go.
Cr Frank Penhalluriack, City of Glen Eira.
Glen Eira Debates 
January 18, 2011 at 7:33 PM
Frank as usual never spoils a story with all the truth. 25 times larger than the MCG. What about the car park? What about the hundreds of locals employed by the Racing Industry.
January 18, 2011 at 10:59 PM
Not to mention that there are more than 20 race meetings per year and less than 600 horses. Frank is just distorting the facts as usual.
January 19, 2011 at 12:16 AM
what a pity that certain folks can’t see the wood for the trees. It doesn’t matter if there are 20 meetings, or 23. What’s important is that with 365 days in a year that the racetrack is used so little and yet the public is barred on all these other days. It’s also a pity that instead of 600 horses, we might have 580! The argument is still valid and nit picking on such trivia does not undermine it.
As to the overall accuracy of Penhalluriack’s position, go and read his submission, look at the relevant documentation from 150 years ago, and then come back with some decent arguments.
January 19, 2011 at 7:17 AM
If you want a history lesson, why don’t you look into the history of Glenhuntly Park…you might actually find that the Racecouse Trustees gave that to the City of Caulfield decades ago. Seems to be forgotten now though.
January 19, 2011 at 7:01 PM
Gave???????? The whole area is a Crown Land RESERVE. Nothing was given! see this paragraph from the VEAC 2009 submission of by the MRC –
“The Reserve has always handsomely catered for thoroughbred horse racing, however it is clear that
non-racing use was limited until the 1920s.
In 1922 however, the Minister for Lands made fourteen acres of the Reserve available for nonracing
use. It is this area – Glenhuntly Park – which remains a public park to this day. In the 1960s,
for operational reasons Glenhuntly Park was excised from the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve. It
remains Crown Land and is maintained by the City of Glen Eira. The allocation of this specific
section of the Reserve for parkland in 1922 was commended by the Caulfield Citizens’ Defence
League and was said to satisfy their concerns that until then the Reserve was only used for Racing.”
So, since 1922 the residents of Glen Eira have been ‘given’ absolutely nothing. The MRC gets all the profits.
Oh and you might like to see in this same submission that the 2008/9 calendar of racing states that there are 23 race days scheduled for those years. What’s 23 out of 365? Okay, throw in another 20 for flower shows, etc. and that still makes it roughly 50 out of 365 days that this site is being used (apart from a carpark!) By my reckoning that’s just over 13% of the time!
January 19, 2011 at 2:37 PM
For your information the Racecourse is used every day of the year. It is a vital training facility in a multy billion dollar Industry. Hundreds of locals are employed directly at the Racecourse and many locals are members of the MRC and thousands of locals are members of the associated Social Facilities. It may surprise Frank but many of your customers are associated with the Racecourse. Who do you represent Frank? I bet if we had a meeting of your supporters they would hardly fill a telephone booth. Go back to Kew Frank.
January 19, 2011 at 9:52 PM
If the Residents get nothing then little porkies are being told. The MRC is this cities largest ratepayer.We could again discuss emploment, enjoyment etc . As for limited access that is correct, but local residents know that the greater part of the day provides access. Every kid in the area tadpoles in the lakes and we all enjoy the facilities of Glenhuntly Park.
January 20, 2011 at 10:39 AM
In reading these posts I can only say that its a disgrace that the MRC (who doesn’t even have the guts to put their name to their vitriolic posts) has decided to turn this local discussion forum into the abuse of a person who is clearly showing more integrity than the MRC. That they have chosen to do so is only confirmation (yet again) of their arrogant, self serving attitude and their total disregard for anything other than the MRC. Such actions are needless, appalling and not warranted.
As a concerned resident (who has the guts not to post under anonymous) I support Frank’s position and only wish other Councillors and residents had the same courage that he has.
As for the public’s ability to freely access the centre of the race course, it is absolute c**p. I personally am tired being unable to access the centre of the racecourse and when lodging a complaint being told that while every attempt is made to keep the gates open sometimes accidents happen – yeah right!!
Why is the MRC allowed to close the gates to the centre of the course when a non-racing event is held? And why does it? If the MRC chooses to hold a revenue raising non racing event on public land then surely it is the MRC’s responsibility to monitor the safety and flow of the event patrons (there is fencing around the race tracks). Blocking the public from a public park is an easy but unacceptable solution.
Why doesn’t the MRC publish a listing, in say the Glen Eira Leader, of times and dates when they propose to block the public from public land?
Why don’t residents join together to get a roster of people to regularly access the centre of the racecourse and to keep a register of the times when access is denied. Rather than individuals lodging complaints (a system that clearly doesn’t work) a collective and documented action by the public might.
January 20, 2011 at 11:01 AM
Bettina, I support your comments wholeheartedly. Penhalluriack and Forge are to be commended for the initiative they’ve shown, and for the obvious hard work they’ve put into this issue. It doesn’t look like the same could be said for other councillors or council as a whole.
If the MRC is our largest ratepayer, then so they should be. They lord it over the largest area of land, and make money out of ‘hiring’ out this land.
Let’s give credit where it’s due. Penhalluriack has at least spoken up on several occasions recently and not allowed himself to be silenced. This can only be good for real debate and openness. I simply wish that we had other councillors who would follow his lead.
January 20, 2011 at 4:24 PM
So if anyone dares to support the MRC on this blog, then it must be the MRC’s own “vitriolic posts”?
Ease up on the conspiracy theories and let people have their say.
January 20, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Therin lies the issue – the people have been ignored by an arrogant and incompetent MRC and Trustees for a number of years. Even todays Age ran the article “mrc-backs-yet-another-loser”. Simple things like removal of the gulag style fence on Queens Avenue could have provided some sympathy…but no. Now people like Brian Discombe and the MRC trustees are the most hated people in Caulfield and Frank Penhalluriack gets elected with the most votes for a Councillor in Glen Eira history…and his popularity grows even more and more by the day.
January 20, 2011 at 12:10 PM
I agree with the comments of Bettina and D. Evans. Penhalluriack and Forge are to be commended for their hard work and courage of convictions.
Re comments on Glenhuntly Park to say it was given back is pure spin. In 1922, despite significant resistance from Victorian Amateur Turf Club (which later became the MRC), it was taken back by a government and public fed up with the self serving racing industry. Easy research (newspapers and Hansard) will confirm this.
Methinks, that both the MRC and Glen Eira Council (which includes Councillors and Administration) should take note of the growing ground swell of public opinion against them and their activities.
January 28, 2011 at 9:09 AM
In July 2009 Council and the MRC issued a joint communiqué, which stated that at some time in the future training facilities would be removed from Caulfield to a more suitable locality away from the metropolitan area. It further stated that the area that houses the stables and the training facilities would be returned to the Council for public use. The timing was unspecified and the MRC was to provide Council with an annual update on progress.
Where is 2009/2010 update?
At the C60 planning panel hearing the MRC indicated that the logistics of the move meant it was not possible to move “quickly”. As part of the appalling 2010 land swap, 691 m2 of land will remain as stabling for 10 years.
As I look at the recent MRC $50 million purchase of hotels, review the MRC’s resources and note the number of horses trucked into Caulfield on race days, I am left wondering why there is no timeline and why the move is taking so long (it was first raised in 2007). The MRC, and the racing industry, obviously have the land and funds, moving “valuable, highly strung” animals is not an issue so what is missing? I suggest what’s missing is the will and it’s missing from both Council and MRC.
13 years to move approximately 600 horses? Compare this with the progress of the appalling C60 overdevelopment.
September 7, 2011 at 10:23 PM
Retirement is a beautiful thing Cr FP you should try it,you old fuddydud!