Targa Tasmania upsets locals as Domain stage drives on

A recent article in the Tasmanian rag the Mercury has given the opportunity for a couple of Hobart Alderman to voice their complaints over the impending Targa Tasmania event. The piece, titled Targa racers just ‘hoons and bandits’, details a plan by the aldermen to have the Domain stage of the event cancelled. Opponents to Targa Eva Ruzicka and Bill Harvey hit out with Harvey stating, “It’s organised hooning, and we’ve a problem with hooning on our streets, Targa actively encourages that behaviour.” In support of those comments Rizicka claimed, “It encourages hooning and I get increasingly angry that Targa would appear to result in the attitude of young drivers thinking they can drive their cars like Targa competitors drive theirs,” she said. “After Targa has been, you can see and hear more of it going on, screaming cars late at night.”

Harvey also took a swipe at Targa’s environmental impact by saying, “In light of climate change, I think events like this, which produce vast amounts of CO2, send the wrong message to the community.” It was reported he also labelled Targa competitors as “environmental bandits”. Haha, don’t hold back old chap!

Targa Tasmania boss Mark Perry responded by saying “There are no facts to support that argument.” He added, “To call us environmental bandits is just wrong. Get your facts right. The entire Targa field of 305 cars will have an output equivalent to that of 30 normal road cars over an average year. That’s one street from one town.”

However, some of the better responses, as is often the case, come from online readers of the article leaving their views.

Kate Thompson states, “It is with sadness that certain members of our community believe that people who have an interest or passion for motor vehicles are ‘revheads’ or ‘bogans’. It is with similar single minded logic that persecution and repression survives in this world.”

sg eloquently and definitively claims, “Ahhh Targa – let the bogans have their entertainment.”

To which Ray responds, “Ahhh SG (comment 65) you are obviously one of the ill informed Tasmanians living in this state. Competitors in Targa range from Surgeons, lawyers, doctors, small business owners, large business owners, people with respectable jobs and Mums and dads. One must look hard at ones self to see who is the real bogan!”

Kylie introduced the old north-south rivalry when she said, “I hope Hobart doesn’t approve the Domain stage. Hopefully then, the North end of the state will snap that stage up as well. Organised hooning! Environmental bandits! Wipe your chins Eva and Bill, you’re dribbling crap. I’m not going to bother arguing the positives that Targa brings to our state otherwise I’ll be here typing all day and at some stage I’ve got to hoon outa here and pick up my children from school.”

News from last night’s council meeting will further infuriate our dynamic duo as they were out voted 7-3 and the Domain stage will now go ahead on Sunday 20 April, as reported in the Mercury. The Queen’s Domain stage seems to attract unwanted attention. It came under pressure in 2007 with plans for running the stage at night time shelved and the stage was cancelled. This came a year after three spectators were badly injured in the 2006 event when a Japanese driver lost control and broke through safety barriers.