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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-22 Daily Xml
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PEDAL PRIX

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:03): Can the Premier advise the house on the results of the Pedal Prix event held in Murray Bridge on the weekend?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (15:03): I think we should put the kids first, don't you? I think that it is really important. This is a terrific event, and I want to congratulate all those people who have been behind the Pedal Prix over a number of years.

On the weekend I had the pleasure of waving the starter's flag—and I was helped by the local member—for the third and final stage of the Australian Human Powered Vehicle Super Series in Murray Bridge. As I mentioned, the member for Hammond participated in waving the starter's flag. The honourable member, of course, is one of the great enthusiasts of this event.

This event is the largest of its type in the world. It is run by Australian International Pedal Prix Inc. This is the third year of a 10 year agreement to hold the HPV Super Series final in Murray Bridge. The event is held on a closed 2.15 kilometre street circuit. The HPV Super Series consists of three events each year. The first two, in May and July this year, were held in Victoria Park.

The Pedal Prix was established in 1985 to provide experience in engineering, design and construction to South Australian high school students. The Australian International Pedal Prix is a not-for-profit body that organises, promotes and conducts the series. The board is comprised of representatives from the education sector, private enterprise and teams. It has now grown to include all ages and features learning experiences and skills development in enterprise, engineering, technology, competition, teamwork, safety, health, nutrition, fitness and environmental wellbeing. It is great to see the kids not only developing teamwork skills working with each other but also working with their parents, siblings and grandparents—a great community enterprise.

It requires the collaborative efforts of the teams and the community and it employs a number of areas of school curriculum such as technical studies, IT, art and design, health and nutrition, and physical education. For an event not widely recognised perhaps as much as it should be, the number of registered participants and teams was truly amazing. There were 3,084 registered participants, who represented 108 schools, two universities and TAFE SA. A total of 230 teams entered the final event; 28,000 spectators were expected to attend the event over the weekend.

The excitement of the students and parents, and the preparation of their machines, show that this event is not only eagerly anticipated but also highly regarded. The event challenges participants and their teams over many months to design and build their vehicle focusing on safety, efficiency and reliability. As with other events of this type, it would not be possible to conduct without the support and commitment of teachers and parents who have done a fantastic job.

The event has won a number of SA Great regional awards; it has been admitted to the SA Great Regional Hall of Fame. An independent assessment showed that the 24 hour event contributes more than $3 million a year to the Murray Bridge and Murraylands economy. The government is very pleased to be a sponsor, and I am sure that will grow. Obviously, with the coming Global Green Challenge next month, again, it helps to showcase alternative technology vehicles.

In terms of the City to Bay, how fantastic was that! It attracted more than 29,000 (I think nearly 30,000) participants at the weekend. I congratulate the Leader of the Opposition on her splendid work in the race and it was good to know that her team were right behind her in that race.

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