Speech at the Bike Futures Annual Conference Melbourne 2011

 

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Good morning everyone — I would like to thank Bicycle Victoria for the invitation to take part in this morning’s forum — it is a real pleasure to be able to join you for the Third Annual Bike Futures Conference.

I find myself here wearing multiple hats — well three at least.

Firstly, I am the Member for Ballarat.

My electorate is rapidly gaining a reputation as the cycling capital of Australia and I am pleased and proud to say that we have a growing calendar of on and off-road professional and recreational events.

This week alone we have seen the Honda Hybrid Women’s Tour and the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in Ballarat. This compliments other cycling events held through Ballarat such as the annual Australian Open Road Cycling Championships (commonly known among cycling enthusiasts as The Nationals), and the 2011 Cycling Australia Masters Road National Championships.

We also boast an enviable network of well patronised urban and scenic bike paths encouraging active-life community cycling.

And there is no doubt that the Australian Government recognises the benefits of encouraging community cycling.

As part of the Economic Stimulus Plan that helped keep the country on course during the Global Financial Crisis, $40 million was committed to the National Bike Paths project.

The project enabled communities, large and small, right across Australia, to build bike path networks providing local short-term construction jobs and on-going maintenance positions during a critical period.

These bike paths are not only encouraging healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyles but are improving local transport networks.

Here in Victoria, almost $6 million was provided to local councils for the construction of 29 National Bike Path projects.

As I said, I am wearing three hats today.

My second hat is that of Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport.

In this role, I have particular responsibility for promoting and implementing the Australian Government’s road safety initiatives.

It is a task to which I am passionately committed and a task I take very seriously.

In Australia, each year around 1,400 people lose their lives and around 32,000 people are hospitalised as a result of crashes on our roads.

While those figures are unacceptable, they do reflect a significant improvement over the past 40 years, since road deaths peaked in 1970 at just under 4,000 people.

In May this year, together with Minister Anthony Albanese, and other Australian Transport Council Ministers, we released a new National Road Safety Strategy which aims to cut the road toll by at least 30 per cent by 2020.

The Strategy is built around four cornerstones — Safe Roads, Safe Speeds, Safe Vehicles and Safe People.

The Strategy seeks to create a road transport system that meets the safety needs of all road users – including the growing number of people choosing to travel by bicycle.

For example, it promotes targeted infrastructure treatments to better protect cyclists from other road traffic, as well as reduced speed limits in areas with high cyclist and pedestrian activity.

The release of the Strategy coincides with the United Nation’s sponsored Decade of Action for Road Safety which provides us with an opportunity to reach across borders and work together to save lives on the world’s roads.

Our portfolio is also home to the Major Cities Unit.

The Labor Government is once again turning a national eye to our cities. Not because it’s easy, not because it’s without risks, but because it’s necessary.

Major cities are home to three out of every four Australians and only 18 per cent of people live in communities less than 30,000.

This makes us one of the most urbanised nations on the planet.

It is our major cities that produce 80 per cent of our national wealth.

But congestion is sapping away at the productivity of our cities. It is also stealing time from being with our families and friends.

In response, the Government established the Major Cities Unit and charged it with developing the National Urban Policy.

A comprehensive and wide reaching policy aimed at improving the productivity, sustainability and liveability of our major urban centres with populations over 100,000.

The Major Cities Unit liaises with community and industry groups and local, state and territory governments to improve the state of our cities.

This is a complex area with many challenges.

However, to put it very simply, we need better urban planning.

We need planning that enhances city living and productivity and reduces the carbon footprint.

From the point of view of this forum — and rightly so — we need planning that encourages people to hop on their bikes and leave their cars at home.

Indeed, the Australian Government is also encouraging walking as part of our Active Travel agenda.

Some of you here this morning may have attended yesterday’s panel session on bike infrastructure investment.

One of the speakers was Sara Stace from the Major Cities Unit.

Sara discussed the National Urban Policy in detail and the wider implications of cycling as an active form of urban travel.

She also mentioned the work she is doing with the Australian Bicycle Council to implement the National Cycling Strategy.

The Council’s recent National Cycling Participation Survey found that in a typical week, 18 per cent of Australians ride a bicycle. That breaks down to 3.6 million people riding for transport, recreation, leisure or sport with 1.2 million people regularly riding to work or study.

These are impressive figures, however, the Council wants to see them doubled within five years.

It is forums such as this conference, and the recent inaugural Asia-Pacific Congress held in Brisbane, which will help to see the Council’s goal fulfilled.

And now for my third and final hat change.

Speaking from my perspective as the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, I have a special interest in the health-related benefits of active lifestyles — and recreational and commuter cycling are excellent examples of active forms of travel.

There is a well established link between the modern built environment and our ability to be physically active.

Gym membership aside, the relentless removal of physical activity from our daily lives, and our dependence on the car as a primary means of transport, have set in train many negative health related consequences.

A recent American study showed that an hour spent each day sitting in a car was associated with a six per cent increase in the chances of becoming obese.

Conversely, each additional kilometre walked per day was associated with a 4.8 per cent reduction in the odds of becoming obese.

Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle can lead to other, serious health issues.

There is robust evidence illustrating that the risks for developing cardiovascular disease, colon, breast and lung cancer, type two diabetes and depression are reduced by increased physical activity.

I know that I am preaching to the converted when I say that people who ride bicycles regularly are healthier than the average motorist and can expect to live longer.

Studies show that after just a few weeks of even small amounts of regular cycling, regardless of age, gender or initial physical fitness, a person will be fitter and enjoy a greater sense of well-being.

Various studies also show that children who actively commute to school participate in significantly more daily physical activity than their schoolmates who are driven to school.

The decision to drive children to school is very often prompted by questions of safety. And it is not just stranger danger — heavy commuter traffic, speeding vehicles, lack of safe cycleways, and the risk of serious injury are important factors.

And here we come back to the pressing question of urban congestion and the urban transport crisis.

We have to meet and beat the challenges by making a major game change in our strategic thinking.

We have to plan to incorporate active travel as part of a holistic system of land use and transport as advocated in our National Urban Policy and in the COAG capital city planning systems criteria.

As you may know, all states and territories have been asked to have in place strategic planning systems for their capital cities by 1 January 2012.

I am proud to be releasing today an analytical report by my Department’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics which illustrates many of the trends that I have raised with you.

The report — Population Growth, jobs growth and commuting flows in Melbourne — provides a valuable insight into where people live and work in Melbourne – and their present and future transport needs.

This analysis shows how the daily commute for Melbourne’s workforce of some 2.1 million has changed and where it is heading.

In what will be good news to your ears, it shows a clear shift towards cycling and walking to work.

The number of people cycling to work increased by 47 per cent between 2001 and 2006.

However, Melbourne remains a car dependent city with 77 per cent of commuters travelling to work by car in 2006.

Beyond painting a picture of how Melbournians live, the report will help shape thinking on future infrastructure investment, public transport planning, the ways in which we can overcome urban congestion, housing affordability and social inclusion.

By gaining a clear understanding of the interaction, needs and investment priorities across our transport modes, we will get more people going places in less time.

We will be able to reduce our carbon footprint. We will be able to boost the economy and improve our urban lifestyles.

The report is the second in a series looking at issues across our largest cities. It can be downloaded free of charge from the BITRE (Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics) web site.

This morning I have highlighted the federal perspective on active-life travel as a healthy and environmentally friendly means to relieve urban congestion.

I was very interested to hear Alison speak and I look forward to hearing Cr John McInerney speak about the future of cycling in Sydney.

Thank you