No need to throw the baby out with the bath water !

Sounds good Ian. I have had to give up the sport as costs are way too high. I took me about 12 months to realise the true costs. I didn’t notice much difference in cost trying to be competitive between club or country meets apart from traveling costs.

What makes everyone think things would be better next time around? I more or less asked the same thing prior to the old AKA being dissolved and was told that I did not know what I was talking about because things were so bad they could not possibly get any worse. Anyone remember the famous national meeting at Brighton all those years ago?  There was not a thing wrong with the AKA structure, it just needed a lot of dedicated TLC and a lot of focused effort to get it back on the rails but the bright people said otherwise and karting is now a shambles. Such a shame a great sport has come to this.
As for costs, people were saying EXACTLY the same thing 15 years ago, if you are looking for cheap motorsport I have news for you, it doesn't exist and never has so get used to it. Where the myth started that karting was supposed to be cheap I have never found out but the bloke who started it should have been shot. I never bought a new chassis and only one new motor in all the years we were in sprint and exactly the same in Superkarts and it still  cost a fortune at the level we raced at. 

Motorsport is not cheap. Karting used to be inreach for a lot of families.  But the last few years the prices has made it less accessible for many more families.  It has been divided to the elite at one end and the "other end" of the sport.  This should never have happened.  You build the foundation and work upwards.  The grassroot karter can race till their hearts content and those that can afford a little bit more will do the travel and a few state rounds.  Those that can afford more then would follow a series (ie Protour) etc.

The next  problem is they introduced so many rounds of the States and Nationals that besides costing a fortune to run all of them you didn't have time to support too many club days.  I remember when a number 1 plate junior turned up, the kids had that goal to stay up with them or to try and beat them (and sometimes they did).  My biggest kick was watching that close racing and then watching them be best of mates playing afterwards.

Remember the 1 Open State round in school holidays?  You can attend because you weren't taking kids out of school to travel.  You were mixing the talent. Some could only afford to race one State in year, others maybe 2 and others the whole lot.  But it was a fair progression where you could pick and choose to your budget.  People would turn up with a kart in the back of ute and now they fight for space for their 10mt long trailers, their must have 4-5 motors in that trailers etc.  So this is another area where the costs have blown out.

You can have fun on a budget, and that is what Karting is supposed to be, and as you said Ian an organised structure allows those that want to to move up the ranks, and that is what I am looking forward too with the KNSW.  

Chris Parks - the old AKA was not dissolved as they said it was.  KNSW is leaving KA Ltd and not AKA Inc.  The Costs where does the 3/4 million wage bill come from now? Where under AKA Inc it was all run by volunteers.  Big difference and the money comes from the karters.  And I would guess that KNSW (all volunteering their time)  are saying that the AKA Inc structure was fine (hence why they are not leaving it) and will give it that TLC that it needs.  Just my thoughts.

a general meeting of the states would be a great way to sort this mess..........if the states were given the right to firm their own sportsman classes.....this may never have happened

I use to run TAG-R, $3000 start up cost in a good second hand unit, plus a transponder (Brand new TransX DP-160 $170). I Ran at the pointy end of the club field with $2500 budget each year including licencing. Scavenging second hand tires from the bin and only buying one new set each year for our one local open meeting. That was affordable for me, but it become excessive and pulled the pin before costs skyrocketed, purely because I could see if coming and refused to pay for the corruption that was going on with contracts at the top.
Now for a club racer to have a $2500 budget for a year, whether that is cheap or affordable is all relative but either way there is not way you could do that now, yet the only thing that has changed is the choices KA have made in needlessly inflating the costs of the clubday karter.
Now the family are into BMX. Lots of fun for the whole family, great family atmosphere and once you have a bike, go without a bought meal a week and it covers the costs. Did I remember to say the family are all having lots of fun. :-) 

Racing on under 3k per year can be done. Just depends what you want out of it and if your happy to race 6-8 meets a year. This is my budget and about all the time I have to spare, which also means I can't afford to burn tyres at practice. Luckily we use dunlop dfm in tag r which can easily do 3 meets, any other tyre and I wouldn't be racing. $350 per race is roughly what I plan for. Ka lisence and membership is a big hit when your only attending a handle of meets.

On a more positive note, one of the best things about karting is you only need to do as many races as you can afford. For some people that's most weekends, for some people that's 6-8 times a year, and some people once a year on a $75/day licence or $100 practice licence. 
Karts don't take up much space in the shed, and they only wear out the more you use them.
If budget is a concern, I reckon just do the odd race here and there and volunteer at your local club where you can.

That is true, but value for money starts to diminish as you race less. There is then a cross over point between enjoyment and cost where by the money spent, does not equal the fun had. This point will be different for everyone, but given the large turn over of karters, and more significantly the dropping attendance rates, clearly there are more and more people falling below the threshold of value for money in the sport.
This really means this is a hobby, as the return for the vast majority is simply enjoyment. Unfortunately now more than ever, those enjoying the sport are funding those who make a financial return from it.  Benno said:
On a more positive note, one of the best things about karting is you only need to do as many races as you can afford. For some people that's most weekends, for some people that's 6-8 times a year, and some people once a year on a $75/day licence or $100 practice licence. 
Karts don't take up much space in the shed, and they only wear out the more you use them.
If budget is a concern, I reckon just do the odd race here and there and volunteer at your local club where you can.

Scrap stupid events like the gold coast race of stars.
What a useless event.
Who cares about international karters the money wasted on that event is huge