Bicycle Network: Bikes 'n' Bits

Spanner in the works

12 June 2012. The Ballieu Government has thrown a spanner in the works of plans to increase the professional quality of bike mechanics.

The recent budget slashed 40 per cent from a program at Northern Metropolitan Institute of Technology, Preston, which offers two certificates in bicycle mechanics.

The depth of the cuts have threatened the viability of the program, which may have to be cut.

The government has explained the funding cut by describing the training as a "lifestyle course" of little economic value.

The decision adds further salt to the wounds opened by the Ballieu decision to reverse years of progress in developing bike infrastructure in Victoria by cutting the VicRoads bike program to zero.

The fact that the Government went to the trouble to track down and amputate a limb of this small mechanics training course suggests something is seriously malignant in the Government's thinking on bike policy.

The accredited training was introduced to lift the level of customer service throughout the bike industry as increasing technical sophistication of modern bikes placed increasing demands on the skills of mechanics.

Bicycle Industries Australia is campaigning against the cuts and has requested all Victorian bicycle retailers and wholesalers to either write or email the Minister for Higher Education to demonstrate the need of this training and the support of the industry for this training.