We are on again with another parliamentary enquiry, this time in WA. Sorry for the short notice – I only got the details yesterday. The cutoff date for written submissions is October 5th, which is just a fortnight on Friday. I am told extensions are most unlikely to be granted. They appear to be in a bit of a hurry, which is unusual for government committees.
The terms of reference of the enquiry don’t specifically mention bicycle helmet laws, but when you read them I think it will be clear that this is exactly the sort of thing they want to look at. Though the committee is happy to hear from any interested party, the enquiry is specific to WA, where the bike helmet law is contained in regulation 222 of the WA Road Traffic Code.
As with the Federal enquiry, this was initiated by the Liberal Democrats. I know their interest is personal liberty, but I think we can go a bit further than that with our combined knowledge, experience and expertise.
The terms of reference, and contact details to make a submission, are at http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/(EvidenceOnly)/7CD5D225E7FF118C482582F80027F2B7?opendocument
When you read the guidelines for making a submission, note that it is a committee of the Legislative Council (upper house), as distinct from the Legislative Assembly.
I will do a submission for FreestyleCyclists. Please, please put something in. Submissions don’t need to be lengthy or fully referenced – from the heart and from personal experience is sometimes best. But by all means bring any specialist knowledge you may have to the table.
If our voice isn’t heard, they will just hear from the usual suspects who are wedded to our archaic legislation.
All the best
Alan Todd
President
Freestyle Cylists Inc.