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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-05-02 Daily Xml
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BICYCLE MECHANICS

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (14:52): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question about accredited training for bicycle mechanics in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: It might not surprise you to learn that I have not spent much of my life to date riding a bike, except for a brief period in the nineties, which was quite a fun aspect of some post-operative rehabilitation and even then that was technically a tricycle so I don't pretend to be an expert. However, Dignity for Disability strongly believes that bicycle corridors, bike commuter-friendly roads and infrastructure, as well as traffic planning that suits cyclists, are essential aspects of any half decent urban planning strategy. After all, a bike-friendly environment is also bound to be good for pedestrians, wheelchair users, walker users, pram users and so on.

As members are no doubt aware, the sales of new bikes in Australia have outstripped new cars for more than a decade now. While some bikes may sit in garages collecting dust, what we all hope for is an urban environment that allows workers, kids on their way to school, tertiary students and even the community in general to pursue cycling as a healthy, cheap and environmentally friendly mode of transport. However, maybe I digress a little bit.

It has come to my attention that the accredited certificates II and III in bicycle mechanics previously conducted in the Melbourne TAFE system have been defunded by the Victorian government and so are currently suspended. At the time of the defunding, in justifying their cuts, the Victorian government described the course as 'lifestyle choices', clearly demonstrating limited understanding of the intricacies of the modern bike. I recall the same government also attempting to cut Auslan courses from the TAFE curriculum and I certainly rallied very strongly against that.

Long gone are the days when cyclists took their own broken bike frames into a blacksmithing shop to beat their bike back into shape after an accident on the slopes of the Col du Tourmelat during the Tour de France. Back in the early days, competitors in the Tour de France were allowed no outside help or interference or assistance and did all their own bike and puncture repairs themselves. Accredited bike mechanics are essential if we are to have safe, functioning bikes on our modern roads.

I would also like to note the similarities between some of the technologies and materials involved in bike wheels and wheelchair wheels, for example, and the dearth of available wheelchair mechanics in South Australia. As I understand it, the wheelchair I am currently sitting in once had to be sent to Perth to have footplates fitted to it and adjusted. You would certainly think we would have accredited personnel to do that somewhere in South Australia.

In a state that proudly hosts the Tour Down Under as Australia's only UCI-accredited event every year, one might think that we would be making the most of South Australia's opportunity to steal Victoria 's thunder. My questions are:

1. Is the minister aware that South Australia currently has no formal TAFE courses in bicycle mechanics?

2. Will the minister fund the establishment of a certificate IV course accreditation for at least one metropolitan TAFE campus in South Australia?

3. What formal qualifications are available or necessary for wheelchair mechanics and other mobility aid mechanics in South Australia?

4. Will the minister investigate the establishment of an innovation hub in Adelaide for wheel-based technologies and developments?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:56): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions, and will refer them to the relevant ministers in another place and bring back a response.

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