Letter: Hide of Scone Race Club

I read with utter amazement in the Council Meeting May 2019 story on scone.com.au that the Scone Race Club had the absolute audacity to ask ratepayers for a $500 donation for their waste from the Scone Cup!!

It is beyond belief, that this Club would even contemplate such a request.

This is the same Club that this year banned people from bringing in a picnic basket with their own snacks and bottled water, which they have been allowed to do since the Cup began. (See story: This Cup No Picnic)

And it is no coincidence that this year the crowd of racegoers was the lowest number people can remember.

What they would have made on the gates from letting people in with their picnic baskets would have easily covered the $500 donation they are now asking ratepayers for.

Then they had the hide to put up tables and chairs but people had to pay $50 to sit at them and receive a complementary cheese platter, needless to say that money making venture seemed to fail also with most of the tables completely vacant.

But they still have the money to dedicate to putting up marquees at a cost of what is reported to be 100’s of thousands of dollars, but they don’t have the money to remove waste and need a $500 donation from us as ratepayers?

What kind of business are these people running??

In terms of waste it is also a joke.

While the people of the shire and UHSC are pushing to have more facilities which recycle and are environmentally more friendly, this Club put nothing in place to dispose of their rubbish in such a way.

Inside the marques and VIP rooms none of the alcoholic beverages bottles or cans are recycled!

All of the waste goes into the same bins as general waste.

Again, if they needed to cover costs that desperately they would easily find $500 by recycling those bottles and cans.

And when people bring in picnics they usually bring a thermos with cups, banning the picnic would have produced even more waste from coffee cups and more waste overall.

The $500 donation they have asked for from residents really is a slap in the face to our town while they have the hide to ban picnics and not recycle.

The Scone Race Club really has completely lost touch with the spirit of this race day in the local community.

Sincerely,

Mary Jane Blake

Scone Resident

Related stories:

• This Cup No Picnic – May 7, 2019.
• Race Club Justifies No Picnics – May 9, 2019.
• Vote: Reaction to Picnic Ban – May 9, 2019.

Editor’s note: Upper Hunter Shire Council deferred their decision on the donation until next month and requested to see the Scone Race Club financials before making a decision.