Slow news day or not, only Channel 7 carried a report on our Rally outside State Parliament in Sydney on Tuesday - but it was a good segment, managing to present our case fairly sympathetically.

Of the newspapers the following day, only the Sydney Morning Herald carried a piece... in its The Diary social pages.

But we did get somewhere. When the rally had dispersed, the minister responsible for the Motor Accident Authority, Michael Daley, met with Rob Colligan, chairman of the Motorcycle Council of NSW and speaker at the rally, and promised to make available the data used by the insurance companies to set the new prices. Mr Daley said while a third of the state’s 170,000 motorcycle owners will pay more for their green slip, more than 50 per cent would pay less, and 12 per cent would face an increase of $10 or less.

It’s good to see that something positive is happening, but keep writing those letters. The besieged Ms Kenneally needs to be reminded of the voting power of thousands of motorcycle riders.

A proper show of helmets!

Many hundreds of motorcycle riders jammed the pavements on both sides of the road outside Parliament House, in Macquarie Street, Sydney today to protest against the outrageous rise in CTP costs that we face.

There were plenty of angry faces in the crowd, and we had every right to be vocal about our dissatisfaction that there has been no sane and reasonable response by those in government to our complaints about the unmitigated insurance company CTP money-grab.

The Riders Against Bureaucracy, and we hope ARR, had done a good job spreading the word about the rally and in making sure the riders and the media showed up. Well, we certainly showed up so let’s see how much coverage we get on what should be a slow news day and how much impact we make on those who have the power to do something about this.

Rob Colligan of the MCC made a great speech about the unfair increase in CTP rates – in some cases over 100% more – and he managed to remain rational about the situation, pointing out one bit of idiocy after another and calling on the state government, any government - to take up the case on our behalf.

There were cheers, boos and, when prompted, an unmistakable show of helmets by riders who are demonstrably fed up with bending over and taking such bureaucratic unfairness. It was a great show of solidarity. People watching were in no doubt that we were not happy. “We want action!” – was the rally cry.

Lines of bikes were parked three deep along the roadway behind the Hospital and riders made their way on foot to the pavement outside Parliament House where the Dykes on Bikes acted as marshalls for the milling riders. There were Ulysees Club members, Vietnam Vets and, with their own special police escort, members of the Nomad MCC. Many motorcycle riders continually circled the block to call further attention our message.

There were plenty of police on foot, on bikes and in cars as riders stood waiting to hear from the political speakers who had been invited. One after another, Rob Colligan, called out their names and invited them to take the microphone:

The Premier of NSW, Kristina Keneally – no show.
The Minister for the MAA, Eric Roozendaal – no show
The Minister for Roads, David Borger – no show
The Leader of the Opposition, Barry O’Farrell – accepted, but no show
The Shadow Minister for Transport – declined

The only politician who did brave the crowd and was willing to hear our message was The Shadow Minister for Roads, Andrew Stoner, who received a, let’s say, cynically welcome reception. We warmed to him however, as he seemed to understand the situation and as a Liberal/Country Party member promised to make sure that in future correct data was submitted on our behalf.

While what we all did today was satisfying and many of us got some rage off our chests, we cannot stop this campaign. If you are angry about CTP price rises, write to the Premier and write to the State Opposition expressing your dissatisfaction. Remember, we vote!