Exclusive: Colourful ex-pollie’s tell all on park lands grandstand

As the Premier opens the door to a permanent park lands grandstand, Kevin Foley tells Mike Smithson how his own plan crashed and how Malinauskas could succeed.

Speculation of a new, permanent grandstand at Victoria Park has triggered another cat-amongst-the-pigeons argument for the park lands.

Almost 20 years ago Labor’s concept drawings were on the cabinet table but disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived.

Over the past week, Premier Peter Malinauskas has been at pains to point out that he has not started a new ball rolling on a permanent structure, but he is happy to gauge public opinion and potentially take any ideas forward.

In many respects it’s his perfect platform in the wake of a barrage of angry abuse over tree removal for a new golf course and MotoGP track.

He can use any traction as a kite flying exercise to read public opinion rather than dive headlong into another round of potential discontent.

I’ve explored a greater insight into the failed 2007 grandstand plan from the MP who was its political architect and then had to wear the indignity of it crashing and burning.

Colourful ex-pollie, ex-Deputy Premier, ex-Treasurer and ex-Motor Sport Minister Kevin Foley spoke exclusively to InDaily about where his plan failed and explained where Peter Malinauskas might succeed.

Foley’s crash through approach to get his own way largely served him well throughout the Rann years in Labor Government.

He’d picked up a half-hearted attempt from the Liberals a few years earlier to establish a permanent structure on the hallowed park lands to serve motor........

© InDaily