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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-10-17 Daily Xml
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NATIONAL RIDE TO WORK DAY

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:41): Today is National Ride to Work Day. This morning I joined more than 1,000 cyclists in Victoria Square, along with the member for Norwood, the Hon. Mark Parnell and the Lord Mayor, Michael Harbison. It was great to see more than the estimated 1,000 cyclists there this morning for breakfast; and we got onto the ABC to have a chat about some of the things we are doing for cycling in South Australia. I say 'we' because it is something that both sides of this house have pushed. I see that the government is making more announcements about not only green cycle paths but also a state black spot program for cyclists.

In South Australia last year (2006) more bikes were sold than cars. It is a fact of life that Adelaide is the flattest capital city in Australia. It is perfect for cycling as it is perfect for trams. I hope to see the green cycle path completed along the Glenelg tramway in the not too distant future. The Rann Labor government has put money into this. The green cycle path project is for shared walking and cycling paths alongside existing railways, or in our case the tramway. Obviously there will be some complications at the Goodwood flyover and the flyover at South Road we are about to get, but that can always be overcome with a bit of engineering skill. However, getting people out on their bikes is good for tourism, as we heard today, with the Tour Down Under coming here. I am looking forward to seeing that back down the Bay again next year. It is a fantastic event. We had more than 70,000 people there the last time. Cycling is good for your health, good for your families and good for tourism in South Australia.

Ms Ciccarello: And for the environment.

Dr McFETRIDGE: And for the environment, as the member for Norwood reminds me and as the Hon. Mark Parnell pointed out this morning. It is fantastic. It is a very healthy pastime. I do not ride my bike to Parliament House at the moment. Once the green cycle path along the tramway is completed I will do that. I do ride quite often from my home at Somerton Park to my electorate office at Glenelg. Certainly my wife and I frequently ride along the coastal way to both Henley Beach and Kingston Park for a coffee and a bit of exercise on the weekends. Cycling is an increasing part of transport and it is becoming more accepted as a way of getting people about their daily tasks. I encourage the government to keep spending on developing the bicycle networks across Adelaide's metropolitan area, as well as the Heysen and Riesling trails—let us not forget our rural and regional areas.

As I said, Adelaide is the perfect city for bikes and trams because it is so flat. I will just mention the new tram extension to North Adelaide. I am on the record saying that I support that. I think it is fantastic. We need more. I think the priority is wrong, but that is another issue and I will not talk about that today. Can I just say personally and on behalf of the number of people who have been working on the project how disappointed I was on Monday. I caught the tram in early. I wanted to go home on the tram about 2.30. I went over to catch it but there was no tram. The system had broken down. They said it was a teething problem, but that sort of problem should be sorted out. I am reliably informed that what you see is all brand new, but a lot of the electrics are more than 50 years old. Now, if that is the case, I urge the government to do as much as it can to upgrade that, because I want people in South Australia to be proud of this tram.

I want them to be proud of the light rail network so that we get more. I said to the Premier on Monday night at a Landcare function at Glenelg that I want the trams to go to Norwood, North Adelaide and all over South Australia. Unfortunately today, though, I went to go back to my office this morning after the bike ride. I thought that I would whiz back down to my office on the tram. I went over and there was the tram shuttle down to South Terrace. It had a big blue sign across the front, 'Tram Shuttle'. I went over there, pushed the button on the side of the tram but the doors did not open. I pushed it again and the doors did not open. Other people pushed the button but the doors did not open. The tram just left. I do not know what is going on there. We need to work out these so-called teething problems. They should be sorted out by now The tram is a good addition to South Australia and Adelaide. The priorities can be argued about, but I look forward to there being no more teething problems so that the people of South Australia can get the value for money they deserve because, by hell, they paid for this one.

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