Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I stand to speak about my electorate. As a patron of cycling in Tasmania, I am pleased to inform the House that the Launceston Cycling Festival will be held on the weekend of 5-6 December this year. The festival is comprised of several events but is headlined by the Stan Siejka Classic—one of Australia's premier cycling events, incorporating Australia's most iconic criterium—and the Rotary Club of Central Launceston's charity event called Sally's Ride. I acknowledge the Hodgman Liberal government for providing a three-year funding grant of $75,000 last year to assist with a substantial international relaunch of the Stan Siejka Classic. As a result, the 2014 Festival attracted dual Tour de France winner Chris Froome and his former team mate Richie Porte, who is from Launceston, as well as a host of top Australian cyclists.

The other headline event at the festival, Sally's Ride, started in 2002 when Sally Fletcher rode around Tasmania to raise funds for mental health. It is now a community bike event through the picturesque Tamar Valley staged over five distances, which caters for a wide range of cycling ability. I look forward to once again participating in this beautiful ride with friends from the Dad's Army and Coffee Crawler bunches. I am also pleased to report that the federal government is delivering on its promises with $2.5 million committed for the Blue Derby mountain bike trails and $1.47 million for the exciting North East Rail Trail project. These are all exciting cycling-focussed developments, and Tasmania is rapidly becoming the recreational cycling capital of the nation.

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