David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that while this is the first time I rise to speak in the chamber, this is not my official first speech. I want to thank the Senate for allowing me to speak on a tragic event in advance of my first speech. I rise to raise awareness of an issue of significance in light of a recent tragedy, and I thank the Senate for indulgence to speak on this important matter. On Saturday 6 July a Victorian constituent of mine and long-time Liberal party member, Mr Anton Hermann, was fatally injured in a cycling collision while on a family holiday in Port Douglas in Queensland. At a time of what should have been an active and fun cycling adventure during a school holiday trip with his wife and children, a most devastating and unnecessary tragedy occurred with the death of Mr Hermann. Anton, as he was known, was a well loved, respected member of the Victorian Jewish community and a professional in Victoria's legal fraternity. I rise not only to convey my deepest sympathies to the family of Mr Hermann, especially his wife, Karen, and his three children, Joel, Ella and Tahlia, but also to highlight the ever-growing scourge of cycling related incidents between riders and cars. I give Mr Hermann's family the assurance that his legacy will not be in vain and I will continue to advocate for better protection for cyclists on the road, particularly those in my home state of Victoria. As more and more people look to alternative means of transport, including cycling, it also means that drivers must be hypervigilant in ensuring that they drive with cyclists' safety in mind.

Unfortunately, however, Mr Hermann's story is not an unusual one. The statistics on cyclist related deaths are astoundingly high, despite the fact that cycling safety has been an ever-growing issue for advocacy and concern for legislators. Sadly, since 2015, 165 cyclists have died in Australia, including 48 in Victoria—a disproportionally high number in my home state. For those who are fortunate enough to survive cycling related incidents, there have been almost 33,000 accidents resulting in the hospitalisation of cyclists, between the years of 2013 and 2017. This means that, on average, one cyclist in Australia is hospitalised every 80 minutes. Obviously, this doesn't take into account the numerous collisions that don't result in hospitalisation. We can and must do better.

This issue is also personally close to my heart. I've been a cyclist throughout my life, influenced by my father, who was a former professional competitive cyclist. I too raced on the road and on the track. So I'll continue to raise this crucial issue in this chamber so we can aim towards achieving a zero death toll. During my many years as a cyclist, I too have been involved in several cycling accidents and near misses. They have instilled grave concern in me. What is important to note in this debate is that these are accidents, after all. I have been hit by a car twice. Luckily, both resulted only in barking my shins and a broken bike. The drivers offered profuse apologies and simply reasoned that they must not have been paying attention, because they hadn't seen me.

These unfortunate events are accidents. Even when the results are devastating, like with Mr Hermann, we must remember that these drivers did not intend to hurt or harm the cyclist. An accident can happen due to a mere loss of concentration, a distraction or simply a lack of education about cyclist safety. This is not to make excuses but to ensure that we approach this issue from the perspective that we can do better, rather than a guilt-and-shame approach.

Cycling safety can be improved through a multi-pronged approach—through legislation, education, and awareness campaigns intended to encourage drivers to modify their behaviour on the roads. The legislative position of laws related to cyclist safety are known mostly as 'safe passing' laws. These laws generally mandate that, in most jurisdictions, motorists must leave a gap of at least one metre when passing a cyclist on the road. That gap is sometimes increased to 1.5 metres in areas of higher speed limits. These laws don't exist in my home state of Victoria, and I'd like to use this occasion to call on the Andrews government to pass them immediately.