• Consumer Protection Laws
• Fair Work Australia Decision - Student working hours
• ACCC Introduces Product Test Guidelines
• BIA Board Communique
• Joint Board Meeting
• Bicycle Import Data

Cycling Promotion Fund News

• Government Relations Report
• Carbon Tax
• Emerging Crisis Summit
• Presentation to the Sustainable Australia Caucus Committee
• Advice to Politicians
• Australian Bicycle Dates

 
Welcome to the Industry Update for July 2011 from the Bicycle Industries Australia Ltd. (BIA) and Cycling Promotion Fund (CPF)

Bicycle Industries Australia Ltd. News

On the 1st of January 2011, the Federal Government introduced stage 1 of the new national consumer protection laws to replace individual state regulations under the Trade Practices Act 1974.

• Please refer here for the summary of Consumer Protection Laws. (PDF, 75kb)
• Read here for Trade Practices (Australian Consumer Law) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)
• Read here for The Australian Consumer Law A guide to provisions  (PDF, 938kb)

Stage 2 of these regulations will commence on the 1st of January 2012 – relating specifically to ‘Requirements for warranties against defects’

From the 1st of January 2012, manufacturer's and supplier's express warranties against defects in goods or services to which the warranty relates, offered to consumers must meet the requirements specified under the Competition and Consumer Regulations, including documenting:

• What the person who gives the warranty must do so that the warranty may be honoured
•  What the consumer must do to entitle them to claim the warranty;
• The contact details of the person giving the warranty;
• The period of the warranty;
• The procedures for the consumer making the warranty claim;
• Who must bear the expense of claiming the warranty;
• That the express warranty is in addition to other rights and remedies of the consumer under law.

Fair Work Australia Decision - Student working hours

Fair Work Australia has endorsed reducing the minimum allowable shift for a school student to one and a half hours  in retail businesses after school hours.

These rules are subject to:

a) the employee is a full time secondary school student; and
b) the employee is engaged to work between the hours of 3.00pm and 6.30 pm on a day which they are required to attend school; and
c) the employee agrees to work, and a parent or guardian of the employee agrees to allow the employee to work, a shorter period than 3 hours; and
d) employment for a longer period than the period of the engagement is not possible either because of the operational requirements of the employer or the unavailability of the employee.

 
B. This variation takes effect from 1 July 2011.

Note that this ruling is currently subject to an appeal. For further detail please refer to Fair Work Australia Retail - Minimum Engagement Decision.

The ACCC has released Product Safety – A Guide to Testing . The guide is for businesses to ensure consumer goods comply with mandatory safety standards and bans, and how businesses can achieve compliance.

BIA Board Communique

Please download the BIA Board Communique (PDF, 92kb) for the latest notes from the June 2011 BIA Board Meeting.

Joint Board Meeting

The BIA and Retail Cycle Traders Australia (RCTA) held their first joint board meeting on the 20th of June 2011. The key agenda item was to discuss opportunities for the two industry bodies to work together to further develop the entire industry.

May import figures have continued the alarming reduction in the number of children’s bikes being imported into Australia. Children’s imports are showing a 36% reduction when compared to the same period in 2010. Adult bikes have also shown a reduction for the month of May and are now 16% lower than for the same period in 2010.

•  Download May 2011 Bicycle Import Data (xls FILE, 130kb)

 

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Cycling Promotion Fund News

The BIA/CPF has expressed concern regarding the future planned introduction of a national carbon tax with correspondence to the Australian Treasurer, Cabinet Secretary and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

While we will wait to see the details of the tax this weekend, the initial release of information leaves the organisation with significant concerns that the  delivery of compensation does not recognise or invest in the benefits of cycling and will have a negative impact on the entire industry.

 

Emerging Crises Summit

The ‘Emerging Crises Summit ’ was hosted by the Australasian Railway Association, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Australian Local Government Association, the Bus Industry Confederation, the Cycling Promotion Fund, the Heart Foundation and the International Public Transport Association at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 6th of July.

The Summit was the inaugural joint advocacy effort of the hosting organisations and a key policy forum for discussion about the emerging crises of:

• Carbon pollution: Pollution from transport is the third largest sector, about 15% of Australia’s total, and cars produce more than half of that.
• Road congestion: Traffic congestion costs of almost $15 billion annually are a serious impost on productivity and the liveability of our cities.
• Population: The continued growth of our population places a strain on resources including our transport networks and is predicted to result in a decline in our overall standard of living in future.
• Physical inactivity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, colon and breast cancer. Health costs resulting from people who are not sufficiently active, and that’s one in two adult Australians, are high; costing the Australian economy more than $13.8 b a year.
• Oil vulnerability: As worldwide demand for oil increases it means that Australians are vulnerable to fluctuations in global oil prices.

The summit continues the CPF’s promotion of opportunities for increased support of bicycle infrastructure and legislation reform.

Further information on the summit, former NSW Premier, Bob Carr delivered a key note address, with the following article published on his website regarding the summit: Public Transport Comes With Densities .

Many senior Ministers are a part of the group. The main presentation was made by Prof Graham Currie, Monash University, who talked about the solutions to some of the issues our cities will be faced with in the future, in which cycling figures significantly as part of the solution.

Advice to Politicians

The CPF continues to provide MPs and their advisors with a range of supporting information on all aspects of the benefits of more people riding bikes. Another speech was presented recently by the Member for Oxley, Bernie Ripoll, in the House of Representatives talking about the benefits of cycling.

Meetings and provision of evidence and ideas continues to be discussed at regular meetings with Ministerial and Shadow Ministers advisors in Parliament, as all parties review the policies they will take to the next election in two years time.