Meet the people making science more open and accessible to everyone, including scientists themselves
We tend to think of science as magic. It diagnoses and cures the world of its ills and provides both the building blocks and the blueprint for such incredible feats as the eradication of polio, the rise of the Internet and space travel. But magic is incalculable. It’s immaterial, irrational. Science, by contrast, is precise, articulate, considered and based entirely upon evidence and verifiability. Yet much of the field’s output sits locked away behind expensive paywalls and research institution intranets. Scientists, who seek to discover and release the secrets of the universe, from the tiniest atom through every organism and all the way up to the great cosmos, tend to be ironically closed-off and distant from both the public eye and each other. No longer will this be the case, however, if the growing open-science movement gets its way. Scientists all around the world are breaking free from the shackles of the old system in pursuit of something better. They dream of a world of openness, where every paper, every draft, every tweak to an experimental algorithm can be checked, explored and reproduced by others. Continue reading Cracking the Vault: A Look Inside the Open Science Movement
They gathered on the lawn in a serene manner befitting the winter-grey Sunday morning. Some carried home-made placards, others furled banners and flags, many more had simply brought along their brollies and scarfs. They arrived on foot from all directions and from the tramline running adjacent to the gardens. The blue-rinse corps merged with the Guy Fawkes masks. The harris tweed fell in tight with the swathes of hi-vis orange. The latte set stood shoulder to shoulder with the zone threes.
The daily commute. It’s the bane of every motorist – and level crossings only add to the pain.
Welcome to Melbourne, home to 4.35 million people… and 177 level crossings.
Melbourne is one of the most liveable cities in the world, but its public transport options are limited. Trains and trams are regularly filled to capacity during peak times and buses are usually too infrequent to be practical. So many people are forced to drive to work.
City driving, though, is not all that easy. For many people the daily commute is fuelled by impatience. Accidents, bumper-to-bumper traffic and road works are just some of the issues. Then there are delays caused by trains.
We all know the scenario. You’re driving towards a level crossing when alarm bells sound and boom gates suddenly descend. You’re stuck, waiting, as time ticks away. Seconds quickly become minutes and traffic builds up behind you – a long line of cars queueing as far as the eye can see.
Traffic congestion has long been a significant cause of commuter frustration, but addressing it is not easy. Local councils and community groups regularly call for better and more frequent train services to reduce the impacts of this massive problem, but successive state governments have been slow to respond.
Still, Melbourne’s rail network has seen some improvement over the last few years. The introduction of new trains purchased by the former Brumby Labor government and the incumbent Napthine government now allows rail operator Metro to run more train services during peak travel times than ever before. Unfortunately, road congestion is worsening as a result.
The key to understanding this paradox is to look at its cause. Increasing the number and frequency of train services has made the rail network more efficient, but at the same time, level crossings must remain closed for increasingly longer periods to ensure commuter safety. And this has flow-on effects for motorists.
“Level crossings have become a major safety risk and cause of frustration on Victoria’s road network,” says Dave Jones, RACV’s manager of roads and traffic. “A train crashing into a vehicle can put up to 800 people at risk of injury or death. [And] RACV’s 2012 Redspot Survey found six of the top 10 regular traffic snarls in Melbourne are at or near level crossings.”
One possible solution is to increase the number of train carriages from six to eight, thereby encouraging more motorists to take public transport. But taking this action will cause boom gates to stay down for longer, adding further travel time to an already slow commute.
“[A]t current levels the road system would not cope with crossings being closed for significantly longer if more train services were run,” says Mr Jones. “Some crossings are already closed for 50 per cent of the peak hour.”
With community concern about the efficiency of Victoria’s road and rail systems increasing, the state government began planning and funding the removal of our worst level crossings when it came to power late in 2010.
Progress has been slow yet steady. Reconstruction works for level crossings at Springvale Road, Springvale, Mitcham and Rooks roads, Mitcham, and at Anderson Road, Sunshine, are complete or close to completion. Eleven others – including the notorious crossing at Main Road, St Albans, where six people have died – are now entering the preconstruction phase.
In total, around 40 level crossings are scheduled to be removed across metropolitan Melbourne, with both major political parties pledging to continue the process if they win the November state election.
A map of level crossings scheduled for removal in 2014 and 2015. (Source: VicRoads)
The welcome removal of 40 to 50 level crossings comes seven years after the Kerang rail disaster, in which 11 people died and 157 others were seriously injured.
The state government says it has already “provided around $1.8 billion” for its metropolitan Melbourne “level crossing blitz”, with more funding to come.
Traffic management and high maintenance costs are key motivators behind the government’s push to remove level crossings. The cost of congestion on Melbourne’s roads was estimated to be around $3 billion per year, according to a 2007 report produced by the Victorian Department of Transport and infrastructure engineering consultancy Sinclair Knight Merz. While more recent estimates have not been released, the report expects the cost of congestion to reach $6 billion per year by 2020.
With the current road network unable to sustain extended periods of congestion, the state government has chosen to remove each level crossing via “grade separation” – a process that separates a railway line from a road through the construction of an underpass or overpass.
The aim is to eliminate the cause of traffic congestion at key locations throughout the city. “Each [level] crossing represents a conflict point between trains and road traffic including cars, buses, trams, cyclists and pedestrians,” the Department of Transport report states. “In particular it is the interaction between the crossings and neighbouring signalled junctions that is a significant contributor to congestion and a barrier to the efficient performance of the transport network.”
The works are vital to preventing a traffic meltdown, the report notes, because some level crossings are forecast to carry “nearly 40 trains per hour at peak times by 2021”.
Improving commuter safety is another major goal for the removal project. By December 2011 Victoria’s level crossings were rated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau as “the deadliest in the nation”, according to a report in The Age newspaper. Eight deaths and 39 serious injuries were recorded in Victoria by December that year, while there were 23 collisions between people and vehicles at level crossings.
The TrackSAFE Foundation, a rail industry initiative that aims “to reduce near collisions, injuries and fatalities on the rail network”, says most rail deaths are caused by distracted commuters and a failure to obey warning signs and signals at level crossings.
Dave Jones, of the RACV, agrees, but says commuters frustrated by constant delays at level crossings may feel compelled to take unsafe action. “[B]eing delayed is no excuse for drivers, pedestrians or riders to ignore the flashing lights, bells and boom gates and cross the tracks. Unfortunately pedestrians and drivers become complacent, and there have been recent fatalities.”
A typical warning sign found at level crossings in Victoria: “Stop On Red Signal”.
A woman jaywalks across the road and tram tracks, heading for Gardiner Station on Burke Road, Glen Iris.
While the emotional impact of death leaves a lasting impact on witnesses and families, the consequences of these fatalities disrupt commuters everywhere. A report released by the Victorian Department of Transport estimates that an average of two hours is wasted for each incident that occurs at a level crossing. The total time disruption can also be much greater, the report states, because “supplementary bus services or other measures” are often needed.
With Victoria’s politicians finally taking the impact of level crossings seriously, delays caused by road congestion should begin to ease. The benefits are three-fold: Victorians will have more train services, better safety in and around level crossings and, above all, a better quality of life.
But that future is still a few years away. Until then, the state government must seek alternative ways to ease traffic congestion around level crossings. One option, as the RACV’s Dave Jones points out, is to improve timing between traffic lights and boom gate operations. Taking this action, Mr Jones says, “reduced delays at Murrumbeena Road, Murrumbeena” – one of Victoria’s worst level crossings.
Further Information
The Victorian Labor Party has promised to remove 50 level crossings if it wins the November state election. View the list on The Age website.
Visit VicRoads to find out more about Melbourne’s level crossing removal project.
Gardiner Station is located on the Glen Waverley line, 12 km from the CBD. The adjoining intersection at Burke Road, Glen Iris, is one of Melbourne’s busiest and most congested level crossings.
An aerial view of the level crossing on Burke Road, Glen Iris. (Source: VicRoads)
The intersection is ranked repeatedly by the RACV as one of Victoria’s top 10 worst sites for traffic congestion. A 2010 issue of RoyalAuto magazine even said: “Trains crawl through the Burke Road crossing, creating long delays on Burke Road, which regularly extend onto Monash Freeway. Boom gates stay down for up to 4 minutes to allow just two trains through.”
In May 2014 the state government announced a $457 million package to plan and remove three of the state’s worst level crossings, including the crossing on Burke Road, Glen Iris. Construction work is expected to begin in early 2015 and will take around 12 months to complete.
The Burke Road level crossing is one of five located in the state electorate of Malvern. All five crossings are located on the Glen Waverley line at Kooyong, Glen Iris, Gardiner and Tooronga railway stations, and at Toorak Road near the Monash Freeway. The crossings all intersect major arterial roads – Glenferrie Road, High Street, Burke Road, Tooronga Road and Toorak Road, respectively – causing severe traffic congestion at peak times.
Approximately 26,500 vehicles, 158 trains and 186 trams cross the Burke Road level crossing every day, according to VicRoads. “During peak times, boom gates can be down for up to 47 minutes during peak hour, affecting traffic flow and queuing onto the Monash Freeway.”
A typical traffic bank-up at the level crossing on Burke Road, Glen Iris.
Traffic congestion at the level crossing on Burke Road, Glen Iris. Traffic disappears into the distance over the Monash Freeway.
State Treasurer and Member for Malvern Michael O’Brien told the Stonnington Leader that cars regularly “backed up all the way to High Street” – a major road almost 650 metres away. “As a local resident I know how bad this intersection is,” he said. “It can take you longer to get onto the freeway than it takes to drive along the freeway and get into town.”
The City of Stonnington, host council for the Gardiner Station precinct, said it had been lobbying for the crossing’s removal for some time. “The project is a win for local residents and Council, as the State Government has confirmed… our preferred design option – a rail under road solution – as the most appropriate for the site.”
The removal of the Burke Road level crossing will completely separate cars, trains and trams, greatly improving pedestrian safety and traffic flow through the area.
Streetscape plans for the Burke Road level crossing precinct. (Source: VicRoads)
Plans for the Burke Road level crossing precinct, looking downhill towards the level crossing. (Source: VicRoads)
An aerial view of plans for the Burke Road level crossing precinct. (Source: VicRoads)
The removal is a high priority because the crossing is one of only four in Melbourne that carries trams. It also requires a dedicated operations attendant to be present for around 20 hours per day, according to a 2007 report produced by the Victorian Department of Transport and infrastructure engineering consultancy Sinclair Knight Merz.
The attendant’s duties are “to switch the voltage of the overhead power lines, control check points that would derail a tram if it were to approach the crossing when unsafe, and operate tram signals which advise tram drivers when it is safe to enter the crossing”.
A “tram square”, one of only four in Melbourne, where tram and train tracks intersect.
Trains and trams passing over the level crossing on Burke Road, Glen Iris, must travel at a speed less than 15 km/h.
Trams and trains have a high risk of derailing when they pass over intersecting rails. A report in The Age newspaper said three trams had derailed at the Burke Road level crossing in 2011. In response, the state government introduced requirements for trains and trams to travel at speeds less than 15 km/h over these intersections. Unfortunately, not all tram drivers appear to comply with these requirements.
The Burke Road redevelopment involves constructing a new train station, concourse and platforms, a VicRoads information pack said. Three nearby tram stops will also be combined into one super stop to provide better and safer access to the rebuilt station.
Initial plans for the Burke Road precinct also point to the possible future redevelopment of the land adjacent to the level crossing. Gardiner Station has existed in its current form since 1975.
A PTV sign outside Gardiner Station.
Looking down the tracks at Gardiner Station.
Looking down Platform 2 at Gardiner Station. The area is ready for redevelopment.
A view of both platforms at Gardiner Station. The station precinct is scheduled for total reconstruction.
A train is about to pass over the complex level crossing on Burke Road, Glen Iris.
A train heading for Gardiner Station, Glen Iris.
The streetscape on Burke Road, Glen Iris, is due for renewal.
Melbourne’s “Level Crossing Blitz”
The Victorian Government is committed to removing Melbourne’s worst level crossings.
Level crossings currently undergoing reconstruction:
Anderson Road, Sunshine
Mitcham Road and Rooks Road, Mitcham
Springvale Road, Springvale
Level crossings undergoing planning and preconstruction:
Blackburn Road, Blackburn*
Burke Road, Glen Iris*
Chandler Road, Noble Park
Corrigan Road, Noble Park
Grange Road, Carnegie
Heatherton Road, Noble Park
Main Road, St Albans*
Mountain Highway and Scoresby Road, Bayswater
Murrumbeena Road, Murrumbeena
North Road, Ormond*
Poath Road, Murrumbeena
*Confirmed rail under road development
Level crossings undergoing community consultation:
One of Victoria’s worst level crossings for traffic congestion.
Boom gates can be down for up to 47 minutes in peak hour.
One of only four level crossings in Melbourne to carry trams.
Railway line to be lowered below Burke Road.
Construction of a new station, concourse and platforms.
Creation of a tram super stop opposite the rebuilt station entrance.
Construction of a new car park.
Works to begin early in 2015 and take around 12 months to complete.
Your Say – Boroondara Council
The City of Boroondara, a local council bordering Stonnington, welcomed news of the Burke Road level crossing removal.
“Council supported the City of Stonnington’s preference for the rail line to go underground,” said Cr Coral Ross, mayor of Boroondara and representative of Gardiner Ward.
“The benefits were clear. Not only will commuters gain better and more reliable public transport services, there will also be a noticeable reduction in traffic congestion.”
Pedestrian safety will also improve, she said, because three existing tram stops will be combined into one super stop adjacent to the rebuilt entrance of Gardiner Station.
Residents of nearby Wills Street and Carroll Crescent also stand to benefit from the Burke Road redevelopment. “Locals can expect a reduction in noise levels from passing trains and a more visually sympathetic outlook from their properties,” Cr Ross said.
When asked if the level crossing removal would shift the existing congestion problem farther into Glen Iris, Cr Ross said her local community was concerned, but was aware that “the impact [of the works] could not be known at this stage.”
She also said Boroondara Council was closely monitoring the congestion issue. “We have done traffic counts to ensure that we have the data now, so that we can better understand the impact on our community when the works are complete.”
Diseases such as measles and chickenpox used to be common but are now quite rare in Victoria, thanks to an effective immunisation program. But reports of chickenpox and measles cases are on the rise this year, leading to calls for parents to make sure their children’s – and their own – vaccinations are up to date.
Primary school teachers, kindergarten teachers and childcare workers are at higher risk of catching one of these diseases than the general population because they spend so much time in close contact with children. Measles, chickenpox and other common playground diseases can cause severe complications during pregnancy, and this adds an extra layer of stress for teachers who are pregnant or planning on starting families. Continue reading Pregnant teachers worried about increase in vaccine-preventable diseases
Melbourne displays its support for the AIDS Conference 2014
The 20th International AIDS Conference 2014was held at Melbourne’s Exhibition Centre from the 20th-25th of July and the entire city showed its support for the cause.
With over 14,000 delegates expected to attend, the events lined up to raise awareness were many and varied.
On the first evening, major buildings around the city were lit red in support of the cause. Premier Denis Napthine and Lord Mayor Robert Doyle paid tribute to several delegates that had perished on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.
“We understand that there were many people, who were passengers on MH17, who were on their way to Melbourne for Aids 2014…this is a massive loss to our community…” – Premier Denis Napthine
Alischa Ross, CEO of YEAH!, an organisation for youth involvement in AIDS and STD awareness, was struggling to come to terms with the tragedy as she introduced the lights and projected AIDS quilt at Hamer Hall.
“It’s not easy to be here tonight and try to continue to have a focus on the work we set out to do – to educate the public about HIV – when our thoughts are so focussed on the shocking experience of today. Somehow in my heart, it just feels like the honest and right thing to do. Especially as we think of all of the leaders in the HIV world that we lost today and their life’s work and their commitment to this cause.
“I hope more than ever that the narrative of what we share tonight will engage the public to recognise and understand the ongoing impact of HIV here and around the world and to help us find hope for a future free of HIV.”
Her sentiments were echoed through the crowd with many people watching on as the red Arts Centre glowed and the quilt was projected onto Hamer Hall.
Hamer Hall Projection of the AIDS quilt to honour the past and give hope for the future, so we can move towards an HIV-free generation.
The idea for the quilt came from Ross and the three main themes she wanted to express during the conference. ‘Honour the past, give hope for the future and move towards an HIV-free generation.’
“Knowing that Melbourne was hosting this conference and knowing that we would be playing a leading role in this, I started to reflect on the AIDS memorial quilt, which is something that began back in the 80s. It was the early years of HIV when there was nothing but devastation. There was no treatment, people died, and that was happening right around the world. This community arts project emerged where people started making panels to remember the people they had loved and lost.”
“I thought, how can we take it a step further and not just put a piece of the quilt in a gallery somewhere? How can we actually bring the quilt out and bring it to the people? I thought, what better way than to project it in an enormous version on the outside of our arts centre, where hundreds of thousands of people will see it every single night as it lights up Hamer Hall?”
Ross worked towards putting together pieces of the quilt and also commissioned young artists to create artwork to be projected.
“So we have honouring the past with the quilt panels, hope for the future with new art from a new generation and hopefully together, we are moving towards an HIV-free generation.”
THE BEGINNING OF YEAH!
Yeah! has been a prominent organisation in educating young people around Australia about HIV/AIDS and now has taken a lead role in the international conference.
Yeah! began in 2005 to educate and empower youths in the fight against HIV and STDs. The inciting incident for the cause was Ross’ tragic loss of her mother, step-father and sister to AIDS in the 1980s.
Ross said that while the tragedy of AIDS was familiar to her, she became aware that others in her community perhaps weren’t aware of basic information surrounding the autoimmune disease.
“I realised that most young Australians weren’t learning about HIV so there was a gap. Someone had to fill that gap. One day I thought well, you know, we should set up an organisation so that there is at least something in Australia that’s dedicated to educating everyone about HIV.”
Ross’ main responsibility for the AIDS conference 2014 was organising the young delegates and their involvement. They participate in many workshops and lectures during the week at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
An external activity in the lead up to the conference was to create a mural in the Queen Victoria Market that gives hope to a future HIV-free generation. The project aimed to integrate YEAH!s educational message within the vibrant street art that the city of Melbourne is known for.
Young people from all over the world worked with local street artist Fred Fowler to create a legacy wall that would be dedicated to AIDS and those lost on MH17.
A blank white wall on the edge of Queen Vic Market was the starting point and Fowler created different stencils, some already fixed to the wall and some that the delegates could choose to use. There was a practice wall, also in the marketplace, which they used to perfect their techniques before they added to the permanent wall.
Fowler had worked with Yeah! previously on a project for white night and said that he liked the idea of a legacy wall and wanted to pitch in. “It sounded challenging to create something permanent that 160 kids would contribute to.”
“I think it all begins with education through dialogue” – Alischa Ross at the Queen Victoria Market has brought the message to the community.
RISK AWARENESS LEADS TO DIAGNOSIS, DIAGNOSIS LEADS TO TREATMENT
According to UN data, in the year of 2012, there were over 2 million new HIV infections reported worldwide, around 500,000 of those were in the Asia Pacific region.
Pie chart shows approximate percentage of reported new HIV infections globally in 2012, according to geographical area.
Vijaya Madhavi is a PhD researcher for Kent Laboratory at Melbourne University that specialises in Microbiology and Immunology. Madhavi is attending the conference and says that one of the problems with the fight against AIDS is that there are a lot of patients that go undiagnosed.
“For treatment, the first thing is to diagnose as many people as possible in order to be able to treat everyone. If you don’t diagnose, there will be lots of people just spreading the virus and increasing the epidemic.”
Madhavi also says that young people have the power to get the word out to different areas of the community so that people who are high or medium-risk maintain awareness and get tested regularly.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ART VS SCIENCE
People on their Saturday shopping expeditions at the Queen Victoria Markets were stopping and asking questions about what the wall was all about. With smiles and enthusiasm the youths answered that with this mural they aimed to achieve an HIV-free generation.
Alischa Ross believes that it is important to use many different mediums in order to inspire activity for a cause and that art can be a powerful one.
“I think the most important thing is that art gets people talking and dialogue is the first place. If you don’t have community engagement, we’re never going to get toward a cure for HIV.
“We will never solve HIV only with education, just like we will never solve HIV only with science. Like so much in life, when it comes together in the right balance, we make progress.”
Nikita Wolf, young delegate at the AIDS Conference 2014, contributing to the HIV legacy wall at Queen Victoria Market.
Volunteer, Nikita Wolf (23), also says that the contributions made by her and fellow young delegates can truly make a difference.
“(The mural) is making people stop to ask about what we are doing here and it forces them to think about why it’s happening.”
Even Madhavi who is only involved in research does not dismiss the possibilities of art working towards a cure.
“People are attracted to art so they will go and explore what is happening. That way they will get to know what the main idea is behind the research as well.”
While the lectures and workshops that were conducted as part of the conference are important to the future of research and the scientific battle with AIDS, the art-centric, external events for the AIDS conference 2014 managed a high-scale outreach around Melbourne and grabbed the attention of the general public.
For more information about Yeah!, the research at Kent Laboratory, the AIDS conference 2014 or HIV/AIDS and STDs, please refer to the links below.
LORNA MUSGROVE ON MELBOURNE’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH CYCLING, AND ITS DARK SIDE
It’s a cold and crisp 11 degree morning – the kind where you see your own breath in front of you. Peak hour traffic has reduced the city to a standstill for everyone except Melbourne’s cyclists. They’re rugged up and racing onwards, not letting winter, or anything else, stand in their way.
Realising its potential for hassle-free transport Melburnians are hopping on their bikes in record numbers. Between 2001 and 2011 there’s been a 35% increase in people cycling to work. All the statistics indicate that this trend will only continue upwards.
Melbourne’s growing population means its roads are becoming increasingly slow and congested. Public transport is stretched to capacity – trams and trains are overflowing. It seems inevitable that Melburnians are looking for an alternative.
Perhaps the bicycle is the solution to these problems. Cheap, quick through traffic and good for your health too… it sound almost too good to be true. And sadly, it can be. An unfortunate by-product of the increase in cyclist numbers has been a surge in accidents – “Serious cycling injuries reported by police increased 109% from 2000 to 2008. Accompanying these figures is an increasingly vocal debate between cyclists and motorists as to who’s to blame for these injuries and what place both groups occupy on the road.
CYCLING IN MELBOURNE TODAY
As statistics show, people are taking up cycling in increasing numbers – there are certainly many reasons why bike riding for transport or leisure is growing in popularity.
However, in a country where car is often King, cyclists are still in the minority. It requires a degree of bravery for novice cyclists to share the road with cars and trucks. Motor vehicles outmuscle and outnumber cyclists and not all drivers are keen to keep an eye out for this new group of road users. Sick of being blamed for causing cyclist accidents some motorists have lashed out – claiming cyclists need to be registered, licensed or even banned from the road.
So in 2014 we are faced with a divided Melbourne where cyclists and motorists are often pitted against each other, sharing the same overcrowded road space with cyclists coming off second best in accident and death statistics.
Vocal opinions in newspapers and on talkback radio create the belief that we are in the grips of a full-scale war on our roads. However, less airtime is given to the groups that are working calmly and quietly to improve the situation on Melbourne’s roads.
The Bicycle Network is one such organisation that seeks to “make bike riding easy for everyone”. Their CEO Craig Richards is keen to tackle this road-rage issue.
Craig recognises that there has been some conflict, but he believes that this has been seized upon and amplified by the media. Craig doesn’t think cyclists and motorists are at war – he instead believes that attitude and mutual respect are the means to integrate cyclist and motorists. “We all need to work together, we’re all sharing the space. The space is limited; we want the infrastructure to improve over time. It’s coming but it’s coming slowly”.
MELBOURNE’S CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE – THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DANGEROUS
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LEARNING LESSONS FROM ABROAD
Infrastructure and a culture of mutual respect are points highlighted by Craig as a means to improve cyclist and motorists integration – he recognises that we need options to fit both motorists, and cyclists in increasing numbers onto our roads.
When local government and town planners are looking for solutions to this problem they should shift their focus abroad. We don’t need to dream what a cycle-friendly city looks like, there’s a long list of places we can learn from.
In this audio piece we hear from three cyclists, who discuss bike riding in Copenhagen, Paris, Vancouver and Melbourne.
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
THE WORLDS MOST CYCLE FRIENDLY CITY
Cycling is the preferred mode of transport for most Danes
Paris is home to one of the worlds largest bike-share program Vélib’ – which has been a success since launching in 2007 and consists of 20,000 bikes, adding to the thousands of personal bikes used every day by Parisians young and old.
Unlike Melbourne, Paris bike share is a success. More bike paths, a cycling culture and no helmet law encourages Parisians and tourists to ride
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK RACING TO CATCH UP WITH CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE
The installation of separated bike lanes on Dunsmuir caused a spike in cyclists
Vancouver is perhaps the city with the most similarities to Melbourne. Driving is still the most prevalent means of transport, but Vancouver is making an effort to become a more cycle-friendly city. From 1996 to 2006 commuter cycling trips grew from 3.7% to 4.4%. That may not seem like much, but according to the 2011 census Melbourne only has a 1.6% cyclist commuter figure despite a warmer climate better suited to cycling.
Vancouver is beating Melbourne in the integration of cycling and public transport. Bikes are allowed on trains and ferrys and even on the bus. Every Vancouver bus has a bike rack installed at the front – meaning cycling can be combined with public transport to give people a greater range of transport options.
WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE MELBOURNE?
THE ADVICE FROM ABROAD
MEANWHILE – BACK IN MELBOURNE
TRENDS, SUGGESTIONS AND LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
In the Australian consciousness cyclists are often portrayed as participating in a specialized and dangerous activity. We don’t yet have a culture of cycling acceptance – and it is this acceptance that the international cyclists from Vancouver, Paris and Copenhagen named as the number one element in creating a cycling-friendly city. Culture change is slow and difficult to orchestrate. We can’t just rely on fines, rules and infrastructure.
The powers that be are instead using rules and fines to tackle the trend of death and injury on our roads. Below are some of their suggestions.
The cameras and fines suggested foster a culture of ‘dobbing’ on each other, which only pits driver against cyclists and vice versa. What we really need to do is create an environment where motorists and cyclists want to work together, instead of being forced via the threat of fines and police involvement.
Melbourne cycling success hinges on a perception shift from cyclists as ‘lycra bikers’ with a death wish, to ordinary, everyday people. Mothers, suited up businessmen, people from all walks of life, riding without the need for flashy gear, advanced fitness or abnormal bravery. In short, it needs to become normalised, not marginalised.
If you’re not a technical neophyte you’ve probably heard of Moore’s Law of computers. (That’s the one which everyone believes says computer power will double every 18 months). But have you ever heard of Zuckerberg’s Law?
You’ve no doubt heard the name because it’s named for Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of the premier social-networking site Facebook. You’re probably a member, along with 1.11 billion others, who willing shares personal information through likes, status updates and profile changes within a network of ‘friends’ you have chosen to accept. What and how much you chose to share—and with whom—is up to you. Well, that’s what you might have been lead to believe.
It was at the Web 2.0 Summit in 2008 when the notion behindZuckerberg’s Law was first floated by the man himself. While on stage in San Francisco Zuckerberg opined that with each passing year people will share twice as much information as they did in the previous year. On the whole, this law that sums up the fluid nature of privacy in the modern world seems to hold water. On the other hand, what if the personal information you shared with your social network leaked out from your closed and controlled network? How would you feel if your “private” details were knowingly shared with a third party? What if that party was America’s National Security Agency? Would it compel you to change your online practices at all?
These are likely the types of questions some users have been asking themselves since the release of documents regarding the United State’s surveillance program PRISM by the whistleblower Edward Snowden. Yet to what extent people will actually act upon them is another question entirely.
Victoria has a long history of diverting young people away from the justice system, but is the political bipartisan ‘tough on crime’ stance unraveling policies that have helped keep youth incarceration below the national average? Clemmie Wetherall reports.
Jesuit Social Services released the “Thinking Outside: Alternatives to remand for children” report in February 2013. The report found within a four year period, from 2007 to 2010, the number of children in un-sentenced detention increased by 67 per cent.
This means on any night of the week in Victoria there could be up to 49 children held in detention without charge.
The Chief Executive Officer of Jesuit Social Services, Ms Julie Edwards says they initiated the report when they started to hear from youth case workers that numbers were on the rise.
She said they were particularly concerned that many young people were only being held for very short periods of time, either overnight or for a day or two.
“What was happening was 80 per cent of arrests were being made after hours when there weren’t enough services available to them” Ms Edwards says.
“So after hours, [the young people] were seeing a bail justice, but they often won’t get bail so they end up going on remand, but when it goes to the Magistrate the following day or after the weekend the Magistrate says they shouldn’t really be here in the first place.”
The ‘Thinking Outside’ report proposed a number recommendations to try and decrease the use of remand, including an increase in after hours services to prevent unnecessary lockups and an increase in the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years of age to delay entry into the justice system.
But the reason why incarceration numbers have increased so rapidly is not clear.
“There hasn’t been a change of legislation, [but there is a] culture, a law and order agenda, that increasingly has been fought by both sides of government in this state, and it’s a very unfortunate thing,” says Ms Edwards.
She says Victoria has a proud track record in having some of the lowest offending, incarceration and recidivism rates in Australia and she credits this to a history of an ‘informal bipartisan compact’ from both sides of government, the police and the judiciary, having a strong agenda of diversion and rehabilitation.
“But we are starting to see that being chipped away,” she says.
“And we’re starting to see people running election campaigns more and more on things like ‘being tough on crime’ and we think it’s that culture that is promoting an intolerance, perhaps in the community too, about not being so forgiving, about not being open to giving people another chance and I think that gets more broadly picked up by the police and the judiciary.”
Adjunct Professor, Peter Norden AO, of RMIT University agrees with Ms Edwards.
He supports the recommendation to raise the age of criminality from 10 to 12 years old and says for children that young it should be a welfare issue rather than a criminal issue.
“The earlier you expose a child to the justice system, the more deeply, the more likely they are to stay within it,” he said.
A Spokesperson for the Attorney-General says the Government has no current plans to raise the year of criminal responsibility from 10 years old to 12 years old.
Professor Norden has over 40 years of experience in the area of Youth Justice and the Justice system in Victoria.
He was the Executive Director and Policy Director of Jesuit Social Services from 1996-2006 and was a Chaplain in a number of Victorian prisons, including Pentridge.
Professor Norden says the report shouldn’t be dismissed by the Attorney-General as the State’s successful social policies in regards to youth justice have been driven by community advocacy rather than ‘political opportunism’.
He says he is concerned that political attitudes of a ‘tough stance on crime’ are “undermining and undoing all the good work that has been done over the years”.
But it’s not all bad news.
Ms Edwards says the Napthine government has been receptive to increasing after hours services and has said they are committed to a therapeutic response for incarcerated youth.
“We’ve [also] seen the Victorian Government establish Parkville College which is a really wonderful school inside the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct, engaging young people in education even if they are only there for a very short period of time,” she says.
Parkville College was officially made a state school as of the beginning of 2013.
Parkville College teacher, Ms Maja Graham, says the school has made positive progress with the boys in detention and remand in regards to their education and confidence, but earlier intervention would make a huge difference.
“It would be so much easier if the kids didn’t have such a set idea of what their path in life is,” she says.
“What has been quite challenging for me and my colleagues, is hearing some of the boys talk about what they aspire to do, in that some of them want to make it to Adult jail, they think it’s really hardcore, they think it’s really cool, but in their idea of what their path in life is, that is seen as the best option.
“It would be so much easier if the kids didn’t have such a set idea of what their path in life is.”
Find out more about Ms Graham and Parkville College in this video:
Jesuit Social Services proposed reforms to the Justice and Remand System
Copyright: Jesuit Social Services and Effective Change Pty Ltd (2013). Thinking Outside: Alternatives to remand for children. Richmond, Jesuit Social Services
David Crafti – member of the Pirate Party and supporter of Wikileaks – sporting a Pirate Party t-shirt & Wikileaks hoodie.
Internet freedom activists are calling out the transparency credentials of the newly formed Australian Wikileaks Party.
Victorian Senate candidate for the Pirate Party Joe Miles claims Wikileaks Party members have little to know influence over policy development.
“I’ve got a couple of friends, very very dear friends who are members of the Wikileaks Party and they have not been invited to provide their input in any way” said Mr Miles.
“They’re members of the party, but the only communications they’ll receive is requests for donations. They have not been made aware of a way to get involved. ”
Secretary of the Pirate Party Brendan Molloy believes that his own party is managed in a more transparent manner than Wikileaks.
“All of our meetings are open to the public, and all of our minutes published. Our policies are developed openly and recorded on a wiki, and ratified by a majority vote of our membership” said Mr Molloy.
Melbourne based information activist Asher Wolf believes it’s still early days for the Wikileaks Party.
“I think that there’s an issue there where the Wikileaks Party still see itself as a transparency organisation and they forget that they’re a political party and that means there’s an onus on them to be transparent as well’ said Ms Wolf.
National campaign director of the WikiLeaks Party, Greg Barns echoed Ms Wolf’s sentiment.
“As a brand new party (due to be registered by the AEC in July) we have not yet had the opportunity to hold a General Meeting with our members but we have been discussing policy ideas with them at our volunteer meetings, via email and on social media.”
Mr Barnes added, “shortly we will be launching weekly social media ‘conferences’ with National Council members and candidates to feed into this process and help us to develop a full slate of policy positions over the next couple of months leading up to the election.”
A virus strain causing polio-like symptoms has paralysed five children in Australia.
The same strain of enterovirus 71 (EV71) has circulated in China since 2007 and led to hundreds of deaths.
Dr Bruce Thorley, of the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, says this strain of EV71, known as C4a, can cause severe complications such as inflammation of the brain – meningitis and encephalitis – and paralysis.
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