Made it to Parliament
In this address to the Tasmanian Parliament, the Honourable Cassy O'Connor MLC (Tasmanian Greens) speaks passionately about the urgent need to modernise Hobart's streets to better support community well-being, sustainability, and road safety. Streets People Love Hobart welcomes Ms O'Connor's support and her willingness to address these issues in Parliament, and would commend other elected representatives to similarly focus on improving the liveability of Hobart's streets.
Linking the themes of recent Special Interest Matters, including urban agriculture and youth-focused initiatives, Ms O'Connor draws Parliament's attention to the growing public support for safer, people-first street design in Nipaluna/Hobart.
Her speech highlights the outcome of a well-attended public meeting about the Transforming Collins Street project at Hobart City Hall, which resolved to support the Collins Street protected bike lane trial, and frames the project not as a matter of opinion, but of public safety and city liveability. Ms O'Connor condemns the demonisation of cyclists and notes the regrettable withdrawal of state government funding for the initiative.
She concludes by commending the local advocacy group Streets People Love Hobart, celebrating its inclusive, community-led efforts to create streets that prioritise people, safety and sustainability, symbolised by their much-loved mascot, Perci the Platypus. Ms O'Connor affirms her support for this vision of a healthier, more connected Hobart.
Transcript
PARLIAMENT OF TASMANIA
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
REPORT OF DEBATES
Tuesday 1 April 2025
Today the Special Interest Matters subjects have had a connective theme - it has been about sustainability and how we modernise the way we live. Whether it is a community garden trail or the wonderful Bike Collective, it has been about how we can create stronger, more connected, healthier, happier and safer communities.
Today I want to talk about the streets people love in Hobart. We all have a favourite street, I think, in Nipaluna/Hobart. I love the old homes on Goulburn Street. I think there is nowhere on Earth as beautiful and charming and heritage-rich as Salamanca Place, but we know Hobart residents see that these streets were designed for another time. Our streets have become enormously congested. I live in West Hobart and some mornings it takes me 20 or more minutes to get to work from West Hobart to Parliament House. The congestion in our city is a huge issue. It is impacting on wellbeing, it is impacting on productivity. As a result of that, the Hobart City Council, over a number of years now, has been working to improve liveability through active and bike transport options in the city.
Last Tuesday night at City Hall there was an extraordinary meeting hosted by the Hobart City Council on the subject of the Collins Street bike lane trial. Hobart City Council made a lawful decision to undertake this trial, primarily because the roads in the city of Nipaluna/Hobart are dangerous for bike riders. Bike lanes are not a matter of public opinion, they are a road safety issue, as was pointed out by Alison Hetherington from the Bicycle Network Tasmania at City Hall.
We basically had two questions before us at City Hall last Tuesday night and there were democratic votes on these questions. The first one was that the meeting support no installation of bike lanes on Collins Street. Now, just so members understand what is being proposed by the council, they are talking about running a bike lane trial from the rivulet near the beautiful Hamlet Cafe to the CBD. It would involve hardening barriers, so there is real safety for cyclists; improving pedestrian access; lowering the speed limit to 30 kilometres an hour, and planning for more outdoors dining. Now, what is not to like about that? Overwhelmingly, the people who came along to City Hall - and we packed the hall, all of us, collectively - in a democratic way supported Hobart City Council undertaking this bike lane trial.
The first motion, that the meeting support no installation of bike lanes on Collins Street, was put forward by the anti-bike‑lane group and was lost by a very significant majority. Then, the second motion, that the meeting support the Collins Street trial as endorsed by the City of Hobart on the 16 December 2024, was put forward and won by an overwhelming majority of those present in that beautiful City Hall. That motion was a strong endorsement for Hobart City Council to keep undertaking this work to make our city safer and more liveable.
There are, however, two unfortunate facts that I would like to point out here. One is that the state government, for ideological reasons, I believe, removed $170,000 of state government funding towards this bike lane trial. Hobart City Council, to its credit, has decided it will proceed regardless. The other unfortunate aspect of the meeting at City Hall was the demonisation of cyclists, of people who live in South Hobart and commute to work on their bicycles. We should be able to have these debates without demonising people who choose different modes of transport.
In closing, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of a relatively newly established group, Streets People Love Hobart. Many of the members are South Hobart residents. It is a community-led initiative organised by a passionate group of local advocates. We had a beautiful barbeque towards the end of last year, where about 100 people came along to talk about how we can make our streets happier, safer and more liveable. The mission of Streets People Love Hobart is simple: 'To design streets that prioritise people, safety, and sustainability,' because they believe 'Hobart deserves vibrant, welcoming spaces where everyone can connect, move, and thrive.' They also have a mascot, Percy the Platypus, who connects us to the rivulet.
Streets People Love Hobart invites the whole community to join this initiative, to come together to have meaningful discussions and take action. To create the kind of city that Nipaluna, the local residents here, deserve. To modernise our city and make it a welcoming and safe place for all. I am very thankful to the people from Streets People Love Hobart for their ongoing work. I want to let them know that the Greens are part of a wide community of support for their work to modernise this beautiful city we love.
