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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-17 Daily Xml
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RIDE TO WORK DAY

The Hon. M. PARNELL (14:59): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, representing the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, a question about cycling.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M. PARNELL: Yesterday was Ride to Work Day and, as the honorary coordinator of the Parliament House bicycle users group, it was good to see a number of parliamentary and electorate office staff in attendance, all of whom refer to this esteemed institution as work. It was also good to see the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition in attendance and, to their credit, neither of them in lycra.

At the breakfast in Hindmarsh Square a novelty event was held whereby the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition attempted to see who could go the slowest on a bicycle. However, it was the fervent hope of all cyclists in attendance that, come 15 March next year, it will not be a race between Liberal and Labor to see who can be the slowest when it comes to bicycle infrastructure, programs and spending. That brings me to the point that the government's current cycling strategy for South Australia entitled Safety in Numbers expired three years ago in 2010 and has not been updated since it was written seven years ago.

We also saw in The Advertiser today a report from the Australian Bicycle Council showing that participation rates for cycling in South Australia have dropped 5 per cent in the last two years. Apparently cycling in the city area has increased slightly but overall the figures are down. As I have said on many occasions, this is in spite of the fact that bicycles have outsold motor vehicles in South Australia every year for the last 12 years. My questions to the minister are:

1. What is the status of the expired state cycling strategy and when will a revised strategy be released?

2. What is the government's response to the worrying decline in cycling participation rates identified by the Australian Bicycle Council?

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) (15:01): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions and will refer them to the Minister for Transport in another place and bring back a response.

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