Legislative Council, Wednesday 5 November 2025
Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE and TRANSPORT, Mr VINCENT
Aknowledging that motorcycle crashes are at record levels across Australia, the Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia (MRAA) has been lobbying to make entry‑level rider training and testing more accessible and affordable. Noting that it is vital that all motorcycle riders on public streets and roads are properly trained and licensed to promote the reduction of road casualties, and given there are long wait times for the compulsory two‑day pre‑learner courses, available in only three locations: Prospect, Latrobe and Moonah, with course costs starting at $689, more on weekends, and further costs for pre‑provisional testing, my questions are:
- Does the government acknowledge these challenges?
- Will any consideration be given to addressing challenges such as affordability, frequency and accessibility of courses, particularly in regional and rural areas, and if so, what measures will be considered and/or implemented to ensure accessibility is improved, including dealing with cost barriers?
- Have any measures been taken to ensure that there are enough experienced instructors to provide the required training; and if so, what measures have been taken?
ANSWER
Mr President, I thank the member for the question. It’s something that I probably can’t answer fully to you, but I will give you the definition behind it. I noticed the President has twigged to this, being a motorcyclist. Still got yours?
Mr PRESIDENT – Yes.
Mr VINCENT – Good. Mine’s in the garage collecting dust. I’m not confident to get on at the moment, but we are both very passionate about our weekend rides, so this is something close to me. Part of taking on the transport division was a lot to do with the road safety numbers. As an office we are presently digging fairly deep into some of the causes there.
I have had amazing conversations with the CEO of RACT regarding some of the information that they have at their fingertips, being part of an international insurance body and everything like that. Mark had, I think, only a few weeks ago travelled to Europe to have a look at Norway, which has amazingly low accident rates and everything like that. We’re due to catch up again shortly to discuss some of those things.
Ms Forrest – They’ve had a ‘safe citizens’ approach for a long time.
Mr VINCENT – It’s a problem that everybody faces with the number of motorcycles in the world, so we need to look a little bit broader, I’m not sure how far we have looked abroad, but obviously connections with Mark I find exciting because they want to see the number of serious accidents and the number of deaths from motorcycles improve. Training is a big part of that. I was a mature‑age student getting my motorbike licence, so I know how important the proper training was. I went and did the advanced training myself because I didn’t feel the basic training was enough. As you build a bit of confidence, you also build a bit too much confidence at times, which can bring you undone. I’m fully aware of that. Now, I know that doesn’t answer all your questions there, but all the people I’ve spoken to on the road safety committees take their role with great passion and commitment.
There is an underspend on the road safety money, when you look at the annual report which I’ve just received, and there are many parts to that that I think we could re‑examine and look at some of these new programs. I know that’s not answering everything that you wanted there, but it it’s a work in motion for me over the next month or so to be a lot more articulate about road safety and motorcycles as part of that. I’m happy to keep you up to date as I progress with that thought pattern through the ministry.
Supplementary Question
Ms FORREST – Mr President, I have a supplementary question.
Mr PRESIDENT – The member for Murchison.
Ms FORREST – I acknowledge the minister acknowledged that he couldn’t necessarily answer all of that, but I just wanted to specifically address whether the government is considering measures to assist particularly motorcycle riders or people who want to become motorcycle riders in our rural and regional areas, who face extraordinary barriers to actually getting a licence, particularly in the cost‑of‑living crisis where motorcycle transport can seem a preferred option in terms of fuel costs and other running costs.
Mr VINCENT – Thank you, Mr President. The best way to answer that is I will take that on board and look at that. It’s probably a dimension of the issue that I hadn’t thought about until you’ve just mentioned it there, even though I cover a lot of those country roads. I appreciate the thoughts on that and I will take that into consideration and make sure that it is part of my thought pattern in coming months with all the people involved, to try to do something more particular, and I’m happy to come back to you on that.