Introduced
to Bathurst as the Armstrong 500 (500 miles long), the event was won by
Harry Firth and Bob Jane in a Ford Cortina GT. According to the rules
of the race, an entrant's car must be available "as is" in a showroom
somewhere in Australia. This is quite a different take on today's V8
Supercars which scarcely represent their host cars under the bonnet. The
first years of the Great Race were dominated by the smaller cars, until
Ford developed its 289 cubic inch V8 Ford Falcon GT. The big V8
dominated the Mount on the long up hills and down hills where its speed
was unmatched by the smaller cars with their smaller engines. From here
the Mountain became synonymous with the V8 and would change the face of
racing at Mount Panorama forever.
The
success and publicity of the Bathurst 500 during the 1960s led to most
manufacturers in the country entering their brands and vehicles to
attempt to tame the Mountain. Success at Mount Panorama would greatly
increase the cars image and credibility in the Australian marketplace,
resulting in more sales. This also coined the phrase "Win on Sunday,
sell on Monday". This importance based on the Great Race created the
famed rivalry between Ford and Holden, and earlier Chrysler, as the
resulting wins resulted in sales. It was from this three-way-rivalry
that the era of muscle cars, commonly referred to as "Bathurst Specials"
was born. Cars included the Holden Monaro and Torana, Ford Falcon GT
and later GT-HO Super Falcon, and Chrysler's Pacer and Charger.
The
Gallaher 500 changed its major sponsor and therefore its name in 1968
to the Hardie-Ferodo 500. With this race Holden introduced its new
weapon to target Ford's Falcon GT, which won the previous year's race,
the Monaro. The car was a 2-door coupe based on the 4-door sedan
currently being offered by Holden. However, the new coupe had a 327
cubic inch V8, giving the car the subsequent name of the Monaro GTS 327.
1968 and the new Monaro saw Holden claim its first Bathurst win, and
brought new life to the fiercest of Australian rivalries.
In
1969 Ford came back at Holden's 1968 attack with a new weapon of their
own: the Ford Falcon GT-HO, or "Super Falcon". The common term "bigger
is better" was proved true in 1969 when Fords Super Falcon came to the
party with a 351 cubic inch power plant. Holden was not to take this
lying down, and also made their own improvements to last year's winner.
The Monaro GTS 327 was revamped the GTS 350, and was, in the hands of
Colin Bond, able to claim victory at Bathurst as the special tyres on
the GT-HOs failed under the weight of the Falcons.
The government will from May 31
be able to transfer all money from accounts that have not been used for
three years into their own revenues. Picture: Luzio Grossi
HOUSEHOLDS face losing up to $109 million from their family savings
as the Federal government moves to seize cash from inactive bank
accounts.
After legislation was rushed through parliament, the government
will from May 31 be able to transfer all money from accounts that have
not been used for three years into their own revenues.This will mean that accounts with anything from $1 upwards that have not had any deposit or withdrawals in the past three years will be transferred to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
The law is forecast to raise $109 million this year as inactive accounts for three years or more are raided by Treasury.
The money can be reclaimed from ASIC but the process can take months.
Experts warn this will have a negative impact on people that may have put money away in a special account for their children's education or decided to put an inheritance in a separate account for a rainy day.
The previous legislation allowed for bank accounts to remain inactive for up to 7 years before the money was transferred to ASIC.
Australian Bankers Association chief executive Steven Munchenberg said there is no benefit for consumers from the changes.
"It is very hard to see why this needed to be rushed through but there have been suggestions it was done more for the government's own financial circumstances rather than customers needs," he said.
Mr Munchenberg warned that unaware customers face having accounts frozen and could face months of delays trying to reclaim their won money from ASIC.
This cash grab comes as economists warn the government is on track to hand down a $15 billion budget deficit in May as company tax receipts collapse.
Before Christmas, Treasurer Wayne Swan junked the government's previously "rock solid" promise to produce a surplus in 2012-13.
The government had also been committed to surpluses in future financial years, too.
But despite the introduction of some tough cost-cutting measures, the latest research from global bank UBS forecasts the May budget will show a $12 billion black hole in revenues and cost overruns of about $3 billion. The biggest pain is coming from the expected $8 billion fall in taxes from the corporate sector.
