i dont really have an answer to this...
but 'carpark' club meetings by all accounts are going very well accross the country (well nsw, act and qld is where i get most of my info from - maybe people are headding towards more 'relaxed' forms of racing or the big 'promoted' events are what people hang out for and are at least perceved to have greater status - given the numbers attending these events.
perhaps aarcmcc can be held accountable to some extent (on the nsw state's thread ive asked about 3 times for dates of aarcmcc sanctioned events with no reply) getting dates out there be it thorugh formal or informal channels (like here) is vital... i know i need almost a couple of months notice before i get let out
i know people who said they would never go to a vic event after the nats (other people made similar comments after the roorda nsw on roads too mind you! so no one is immune form putting on a "disaster") maybe your right with that factor
maybe the organisers should have sorted something out with vortec - its been a while (if ever) since they had to can an event?