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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-12 Daily Xml
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AMY'S RIDE

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:11): Unlike the member for Bragg, I presume, I actually ride my bike up and down Waterfall Gully fairly regularly.

Ms Chapman: At least you're not dead!

Mr BIGNELL: Of course I'm not dead; I am standing here. The road is a very good one to ride up and down as a cyclist. Obviously, you go a lot faster on the way down than on the way up. On the way up, it is a very gradual but fairly steep climb and a good workout; however, when heading down Waterfall Gully, it is quite possible to get up a fair bit of speed and, as a cyclist, you really need to be careful because you can reach some fairly high speeds.

This government has done a lot in terms of making our roads a lot safer for cyclists through our campaign about motorists and cyclists sharing the road, and I commend the government for that. We are the first government to appoint a Minister for Road Safety and, under that minister, we have made great headway in making our roads a lot safer for cyclists. As someone who is out on a bike a fair bit, I can say that, while it is not a perfect world out there on a bike, things are getting better.

It is hard to retrofit roads and make them wider and put in bike lanes. However, I can assure people, including the member for Bragg, that when we build new roads we build them with wide bicycle lanes. An example is Henley Beach Road and the Bakewell Bridge underpass. When we build brand new roads, we provide plenty of room for cyclists so that they can be away from motorists. As I said, they are not perfect, but we are really trying to make our roads safer for cyclists across the whole state.

This brings me to the issue that I was originally going to talk about, that is, Amy's Ride on 2 November. The Attorney-General, the Minister for Environment and the Minister for Transport showed their commitment to road safety in this state by joining with 2,000 other cyclists on the Southern Expressway when it was closed to cars and they were able to ride from Darlington down to McLaren Vale.

It was a fantastic day and a great way to honour a great South Australian sportsperson, Amy Gillett, who was tragically killed a few years ago in a training accident while riding her bike in Germany. I commend the 2,000 people who turned up a couple of Sundays ago on 2 November for what was a great day to promote road safety for cyclists and motorists in this state.

In fact, November is proving to be a very good month for good causes. We also have Movember, of which I am proud to be a part this year and which raises the profile of men's health here in South Australia. Blokes are pretty bad at looking after themselves, and it is often said that we look after our cars better than we look after ourselves. We really need to change that and make sure that men get their medical check-ups and look out for each other and ensure that they are checked out for cancer, coronary disease and other things that can beset them.

This month also has White Ribbon Day, on 25 November. At a function here in Old Parliament House just a couple of weeks ago it was fantastic to meet with people such as Mark Williams (the coach of Port Adelaide) and several other people from the legal, sporting and political world. Andrew O'Keefe, who is the Chairman of the White Ribbon Foundation, was the guest speaker. He is the host of the Deal or No Deal program on the 7 Network. He spoke very well and encouraged all of us to become ambassadors, and for men to speak out against violence against women. I know members from both sides of the house who were there were keen to take up the invitation to become ambassadors and ensure that we spread the word through our own state communities that violence against women is totally unacceptable.

Another great event, and one that raises a lot of money for the Hutt Street foundation, is the Portavin touch rugby day, which is when wineries from around the state come together to play touch footy. That was held last Sunday and, again, tens of thousands of dollars was raised for a very good cause.

Before I finish, I pay tribute to Rob Kerin. It is his final day in parliament, and I think Rob is a fantastic person and former premier of this state. He is a great mate of mine, and I have always enjoyed catching up with him. I know he will be missed by both sides of the house.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

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