Minutes for General Meeting January 19

Venue: Victoria Park Hotel, 605 Albany Highway Victoria Park 6100

Date:

19.01.2021

Chaired by:

Peter Butler

Minutes by:

Peter Butler

Meeting Commenced:

7.28pm

Apologies:

Steve Wheadon, Gary PontifexAttendance: As per attendance register. 11

NEW MEMBERS/RENEWING MEMBERS/GUESTS:

New Members:

Reginald Loh

Renewing Members:

Ian SteelMurray BerosGreg Grainger

Guests:

Previous Minutes:

As distributed to the committee and loaded to the website.Motion to accept: Dave Wright                      Seconded: Sue Lipsit                           Accepted: All

MATTERS ARISING:

** denotes actionable item

Matters Arising from Previous Minutes:

Action points from last minutes: (Aggregate of previous 6 months minutes, as discussed in previous meeting)WENT THROUGH PREVIOUS 6 MONTHS AND AGGREGATED OUTSTANDING ACTIONSPayPal Account: Dave Wright requested the PayPal account name be reset from his.** Peter Butler still working on this because PayPal complicate the simple and have the worst support on the planet. They have requested documentation, I have sent that, multiple times, they tell me they have resolved case, yet it still lists David Wright as the primary user.** Steve Fish suggested going to the AFCA to lodge complaint. Peter Butler to follow up.Need Main Roads 138 138 Cards for new member welcome pack.** Dave W to send artwork file to Peter B to get quote on print run.** Peter Butler to get quote on cards.Dave Wright brought up discussion for the need for business cards for the Safety Officers. Made sense.** Peter to discuss with both Dave and Steve the relative emails required, finalise a design variation for this role, get quotes.Jeff Thomas, Peter Butler and Steve Fish yet to meet to discuss sponsorship opportunities for MRA supported and advocates.** Peter Butler to initiate meeting, added to list of FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETING DISCUSSIONSMotorcycles using bus lanes trail denied. Road Safety Commission declined support for this.** Dave Wright to investigate and report, MRA to challenge.Website Rides and Events. One of our biggest traffic web pages. ‘Motorcycle Favoured Routes’ - https://mrawa.org/rider-tips/motorcycle-favoured-routes-in-wa/** Committee to review how we can better leverage this.** Any committee member that is a part of rides to consider how we can best leverage this.** Peter Butler to investigate which APPS might integrate better with the website.Stock Report, merchandise officer to make order as required. Not done.** Peter Butler will be providing merchandise sales report for committee meeting review asap.** Clothing/Merchandise sales over Numbat report required by Peter Butler.FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETING DISCUSSIONS:

• New Member Welcome Review
• Membership Drive
• Merchandise Review
• Constitution Update
• Numbat Debrief
• Motorcycle Safety Week Debrief

Committee Meeting Matters Arising:

Matters below to be discussed in future committee meeting.NUMBAT Debrief – 2^nd February.Petty Cash Officer was discussed. Was suggested to use Sue perhaps in this role?** Tabled for further discussion in a committee meeting.Dave Wright discussed MRA membership in Journal of Road Safety. Dave is currently a paid active member, accessing relative required information on behalf of MRA in the safety officer capacity.** MRA Committee to consider covering costs. Tabled for future discussion.New Member Welcome: I’d like to share what was done previously, what we do now, and get the committee’s input into this.** Peter to initiate Committee Meeting reviewWe need a better member management system.** Peter B done stage 1, work in progress, still refining.Membership Drive suggestion from Dave Wright earlier in the year. The committee had a meeting, and he has key notes on this, he will send them through to Peter B, for tabling and further discussion.** Dave Wright sent Peter B notes from meeting** Peter B to review and initiate meeting once we get the 2 x debrief (Numbat, MSW) committee meetings done.

NUMBAT Debrief Matters Arising:

Debrief Meet set 2^nd FebruaryNumbat Insurance: Tabling here for discussion in next committee meeting ‘debrief’. Steve Wheadon communicated that we needed the higher level insurance in alternative years, no clear reason given.** Tabled for discussion in Numbat debrief.

Motorcycle Safety Week (MSW) Debrief Matters Arising:

Ride Your Motorcycle To Work Day: Epic fail according to Peter Butler. The participation was very low, feedback from lots of riders who do ride to work stated exactly that “I already ride” but missed the point about raising awareness of that or promoting that fact. We need to look at what is the core rationale for the ‘day’ and figure out a better name for it, something along the lines of “I ride a motorbike day” or the like.** Tabled for further discussion when we have a Motorcycle Safety Week debriefSummary of MSW Forum open mic ‘brainstorm’ session. Summary of Survey submissions.MRA to action transparency of this summary.** Publicise in platform that allows public access, viewing, progress status.

REPORTS

Secretary’s Report:

Correspondence:

Newsletters:Ride4Life, digital, printed PDF for those present to viewMRA SA – Centre Stand, September and December edition, printedAlbany Vintage and Classic MC, printed

Secretary’s Report:

Numbat Debrief Meet set 2^nd February @ 6.30pm followed by a committee meeting immediately after.MSW Debrief. Proposed date 2^nd March. Are we ok to lock this in? (General meet is 16^th Feb)** Now locked in, followed by any committee meeting agenda tabled.** Peter Butler to send email to committee members.

President’s Report:

Greetings and welcome to 2021.  I hope everyone had a great festive season and everyone is refreshed and ready for the year ahead.  Let us hope it is a good one.In this report:

• Motorcycle Maintenance
• MotoCap
• Motorcycle Parking
• Tasmania Trips
• Steel Wire Barriers
• MRAWA Policy Statements
• MRAWA Constitution

Motorcycle MaintenanceSummer time is great for riding and we see a lot more people out and about enjoying the weather.  Now is the time to ensure your bike is safe and road ready.

1. Check your tyres. Inflation, wear, scalloping and tyre age are all reasons to replace.
2. Check your brakes for wear, damage or leaking hydraulics.
3. Pre-start your motorcycle before each trip (or at least once a week). Before a recent ride, I found during the pre-start that one of my two brakes lights was blown.  2 minutes later it was replaced (I always have spares) and I was ready for my adventure.
4. Ensure your helmet is a good fit, in good condition and the visor is clean, if not replace.
5. Regular servicing by an accredited mechanic to ensure all is good.

MotoCapNew motorcycle clothing safety ratings (jackets, pants and gloves) are being released at regular intervals.  Have a look at their website http://www.motocap.com.au to discover how safe your riding gear is.  I have been quite surprised at how low the rating of the gloves I own are when they appear so sturdy.  If your safety gear fails the test then it may be time to upgrade, after all, what is your life worth to you?T shirts, shorts and thongs/sandshoes definitely fails the safety test.Motorcycle ParkingI recently received and email from a non-member asking what can be done about a parking fine he received while parking in a car bay near Steve’s Hotel in the City of Nedlands.  He stated that was there were no motorcycle bays within a reasonable distance and there was no signage to state that motorcycles could not park there.  There are only a few councils out of the 138 in Western Australia that issue these fines.The MRAWA does advise that all riders should be aware of which local councils will issue a fine for parking in a car bay.  The MRAWA has worked over the years to increase the number of motorcycle bays that is more representative to the proportion of citizens who are motorcyclists, however each council will need to be approach individually regarding their parking policy.  A big project to undertake.At this meeting, we should determine a response to the Nedlands council requesting either motorcycles be allowed in car bays or better signage to make their policy clearer.Tasmania TripsThe Tasmanian government has offered subsided (free) travel on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry until June 2021 (or until sold out) to promote/increase tourism in their state.  What a great idea, even though the motorcycle community had to clarify if this offer extended to them as well.  For anyone contemplating taking up this offer, the ferry trip is 11 hours overnight and unless you book and pay for a cabin, you will be sitting/sleeping in an airplane style seat.If you are going to travel east, here are a few tips that I learned from travelling east last October and returning in late November:

1. This time of year, the weather is very inhospitable across the Nullarbor.
2. Campgrounds have been closed due to the decrease in traffic with COVID-19, this included Eucla.
3. Two consecutive roadhouses had no fuel. These were Mundrabilla and Eucla, leaving a 193km ride from Madura to the Border Village roadhouse.  In my case I had filled up at Caiguna and had a 349km journey to Border Village, lucky I carried spare fuel to save me the prospect of running out.
4. I was caught in a hard lockdown in South Australia with short notice. ie: after midnight you are not permitted to travel anywhere.  Fortunately, it was short lived, but it did increase the duration of my stay in SA.
5. Returning to WA saw travellers not welcomed in some caravan parks if they came from SA.
6. And of course, there is the (likelihood of a) 2-week quarantine on your return.

I am not trying to put you off, just be prepared and make sure you have any required authorisation to travel.Steel Wire BarriersSteel Wire Barriers have been a contentious issue since they were introduced.  There is no denying the potential for harm should a motorcyclist encounter one.  After the fatal accident during the charity ride last December, there have been calls to replace these barriers with something a little friendlier.  The Main Roads Department has since announced that fifty million dollars had been allocated to replace aging barriers with concrete on the rail side of the Freeway.  I have heard a suggestion that this move is to prevent a vehicle ending up on the train tracks and causing a larger accident.  I have not met a motorcyclist who is happy about them but to be realistic, with the number of SWB that are still being installed, we will not see an end to them soon.MRAWA Policy StatementsOur senior Safety Officer has offered a suggestion that the MRAWA should have policy statements on our website roughly aligned (updated to suit the MRAWA) with those from the Australian Motorcycle Council (AMC).  The purpose is to let MRAWA members and the general public know what the MRAWA stands for and how we operate, which in my view will help to advance people’s understanding of us.** Peter Butler to follow up and initiate discussion on MRA PortalMRAWA ConstitutionTo the membership of the MRAWA, please be informed that the Constitution will be upgraded to help better define our governance rules and better protect the organisation from unwanted events, such as a hostile takeover as happened to the Queensland MRA and which was a catalyst for its eventual demise.  I will propose amendments over the next month which will be discussed by the committee and a consensus formed and approved.  The constitution will them be posted onto our website and the membership will be invited to review.** Peter Butler to follow up and initiate discussion on MRA PortalThat is all for now, the next general meeting will be on the 16^th February 2021.The next Committee meeting is scheduled to be held on the 2^nd February 2021.Jeff Thomas - President

Vice President’s Report:

Steve Wheadon not present.

Treasurer’s Report:

For the period: Previous monthOn fileGST submission and payments regime was discussed. Decision was to do both quarterly.** Treasurer to organise GST submission and payments quarterly.Chris Cobain made us aware that we do not have access to an ATO account, or MYGOV access. Turns out we have 1 public officer with several office bearers registered with the ATO, yet no access. Chris is following up on this and will get the ATO in order and have the required documentation available at the next committee meeting.** Chris C to organise necessary actions for sorting out the necessary account accesses with the ATO.Well done Chris, seriously, we know how much time this can take so thank you. Not sure why this was not in order already.** Meeting afterthought ** The petty cash needs to be retrieved – Jeff Thomas to action

Upcoming:

First quarter (July-September 2020) GST bill of $897 to be paid.

Road Safety/AMC Report:

Lane FilteringThis is an action the MRAWA have been working on for several years and I am happy to report that we will finally have legal lane filtering in WA.This was discussed at the meeting with RSC in regards to an education campaign leading up the official launch of lane filtering in WA on 29^th March 2021 and yesterday I received a letter from the Minister for Police and Road Safety informing me that the legislation has been drafted.I have done some research into the wording of the legislation and this is what the legislation states –

• The maximum speed a motorcycle is allowed to travel at when lane filtering is 30 km/hr.
• The penalty for noncompliance is $100.00 fine and the 2 demerit points.
• Learner riders cannot lane filter.
• Only two wheel motorcycle can lane filter not sidecars or trikes (pretty obvious)
• Not allowed at school or pedestrian crossings, or in a school zone.
• Not allowed between a heavy vehicle.
• If it is not safe to do so safely.

The surprise is it is not allowed on our freeway. I have contacted the Road Safety Commission asking to the reasons behind this and have received a reply that it is not seen as safe.We will continue to argue this point and hope that we can get this section altered in the future, I for one don’t want to be forced to sit on a stationary motorbike on the freeway when it is 40 degrees Celsius and I am wearing all my safety gear. I believe this would be far more dangerous than lane filtering at 30km/hr.These changes have been published in the Government Gazette (regulation 130A and 130B) and will become law on 29th March 2021Motorcycle Safety Action PlanSteve Fish and I have now gone through the results and comments from both the Motorcycle Safety Week Survey and Forum and have condensed and consolidated the ideas from those events into a Motorcycle Safety Action Plan 2021.We held a meeting with the Road Safety Commission on 14^th January and worked through the 14 actions that we allocated to them. The meeting went well, and we will now put together a more detailed list with specific actions that will need to be taken to complete all tasks.We will now more onto the Main Road Department, the Department of transport and the WA Police to progress the actions that belong in their areas.These lists of actions are available on the MRAWA website.As noted in previous reports we now have a signed Partnership Agreement with the Road Safety Commission for funding of projects for the next year. We sent an invoice for these funds and am happy to confirm that those funds are now in the MRAWA bank. We now have confirmation that we have the approval for funds to start our digital campaign so that we can engage with motorcycle riders in an improved way, as we did during motorcycle Safety Week, and keep this momentum and engagement going all year round. Once we have this established any future costs of this service will be negligible.The balance of the funds will go towards The York Motorcycle Festival, Motorcycle Safety Week 2021 including the production of new motorcycle safety material.We have a meeting arranged with the organising company that run the York Motorcycle Festival to go over cost for us and the WA Road Safety Commissions to stage an improved safety message to WA riders.Just as a note for your information, we often talk about new motorcycle riders and how these young people can be a danger to themselves, well at our meeting with the RSC, I asked what the average age is of people leaning to ride motorcycle, it may surprise you that the average age is 35, so perhaps calling new riders’ kids is not correct (although I am sure a 35 year old would not mind that title too much)Dave WrightSteve Fish

Website Update:

Google Business Listing now done. Smarter Websites handled this. Will help with profile of MRAWA in Google

Social Media Update:

Peter Butler has added Rob Pieri to MRA Facebook PagePeter still having hassles getting full admin access to MRA Group, which is growing.Road Safety Commission partnership agreement, funding now through of $11,000.** Peter Butler to liaise with Jeff Thomas to get access.

Stock Report:

NA

Membership Report:

126 + 4 registrations = 130** It was noted that the life members count was not included. Peter Butler to receive 15 lashes for said omission and promised to include in the next meeting.

General Business:

Steve Wheadon seems ok to relinquish role as merchandise officer.Several actions now need to occur:

• Existing stock needs to be retrieved. Who will do that? I nominate Jeff Thomas 😊
• Stocktake done, and report on quality of that stock. Clothing and badges.
• New Merchandise Officer needs to be nominated. And that nomination goes to…
• Evaluation of validity of stock range

Sue Lipsit put her hand up to be our new Merchandise Officer. Go Sue…Motion moved to accept: Peter Butler          Seconded: Jeff Thomas           Motion Carried.** Peter Butler to update website with Sue.** Jeff Thomas will retrieve the stock from Steve Wheadon.** Peter Butler to do report on stock movement over 12-month periods to check validity of carrying certain stock items.=====Ainslie Kounis brought up that we had had a stock order come in after the last stock take in July 2020 at the AGM. She believed this stock had not been reconciled and requested a full investigation be done.Peter Butler (Secretary), along with both Chris Cobain (Treasurer) and Jeff Thomas (President) assured her that was not necessary and that all was in order.=====Steve Fish made comment that at a recent ride hosted by a local bike shop, that the rider briefing was lame. The risk here regarding safety is extremely high. Steve’s idea is to further develop the MRAWA ‘rider briefing’ and make it available as ‘THE’ standard for all rider groups.A discussion ensued, noted this is a brilliant idea and will be implemented. Well done Steve.** Peter Butler to load existing rider briefing to the MRA discussion portal for review and discussion.** Once finalised we can place on our website, on social media, as well as include in email marketing.=====Tony (Anthony) Beeson raised the accident that occurred at the recent Perth Charity Bike Run. How tragic!The outcome was that there was 1 fatality, 2 serious injuries, and 1 minor injuries. There is an ongoing investigation, but it was noted that the Charity Bike Run had followed all the best practice safety protocols and there was no bad reflection on the ride organisers. Colin ‘Bandit’ Scott was to be commended for his handling of the situation and media.=====RidesDiscussion regarding planning of rides and creating a 6 month + ride calendar.Rob Pieri to organise/host alternate rides, some city based, others south of river, some short.** Rob Pieri and Chris Meyer and any other interested peeps to get together to plan out 6 months + ride calendar.=====Jeff Thomas had a communication from a rider, non-member of WA stating he had been fined for parking his bike in a car parking spot, and what could be done about that?Discussion covered that we had been here before. There are some 130+ councils and as each council is responsible for its own rulings on this, it was an arduous task to challenge each council. Some councils are ‘bike friendly’ yet others enforce this.Jeff Thomas will liaise with this person and advise them of what we know.It was noted that MRAWA has resources and would be made available to the public.** Jeff Thomas will liaise with this person and advise them of what we know.** It was noted that MRAWA has resources and would be made available to the public.** Peter Butler to load these to the website, and hopefully he remembers to add the links right here. If you’re reading this and there’s no links, give me a shout out 😊=====Dave Wright shared a fundraiser that a Tony Collins is organising/supporting for the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service).Full information here. * We have sighted the RFDS authorisation letter for this fundraiser *=====Dear fellow ridersIn 2017 I gathered a collection of unwanted motorcycle gear donated by riders from around WA, and sold it at an event in CollieWe raised over $4000 which was donated to RFDSThe RFDS provides that back up should anything untoward happen while out on a ride out in the country when. normal emergency services are unavailable.I would like to do this fund raiser again and I need your help.Please ask your membership to go through their unused riding gear stored away in cupboards, sheds etcYou know the stuff that you no longer like, has shrunk while in storage and ant riding gear like that.It can either be left on my front veranda at 58 Vincent St Nedlands or if people phone or message me I can arrange for it to be collected at a mutually convenient time.Please attach your name and phone number so I can thank you.Another option is for your members to coordinate and all take it to one of your club meetings, let me know when and where, and I can do a bulk pickup.For safety reasons we can only accept new helmetsOnce I have collected sufficient gear for a decent sale - I will let you know a date and time. It will be somewhere outside the Metropolitan area so you can combine the sale with a club ride.If you know of any other rider groups that may be interested in helping raise funds for RFDS please pass this on and let me know their contact detailsFor your information I have attached a copy of the fund raising authority from RFDSYou will note it refers to a ride around Australia but COVID-19 has forced this pan to the back burner until things improve in 2022 or 2023.I hope you can assist.Tony Collins=====

Upcoming Events:

Black Dog Ride1 Dayer 21^st March 2021See all rides https://www.blackdogride.org.au/view/ridesRide 4 LifeRide4Life WA -- South West Tour - 13th March to 21st March 2021https://www.facebook.com/events/346574126583505Proposed Itinerary as follows:Day 1 Perth to KalgoorlieDay 2 KalgoorlieDay 3 Kalgoorlie to EsperanceDay 4 EsperanceDay 5 Esperance to AlbanyDay 6 AlbanyDay 7 Albany to Margaret RiverDay 8 Margaret RiverDay 9 Margaret River to PerthNB: Changes to itinerary may be a possibility so please keep checking is event page for the latest information.See all rides https://www.facebook.com/groups/ride4lifewa/eventsCollie Bike Fundraiser

Rides Report:

Rob Pieri to organise/host alternate rides.** Rob Pieri and Chris Meyer and any other interested peeps to get together to plan out 6 month + ride calendar.

Next Meeting:

16.02.2021

Next Committee Meeting:

02.02.20216.30pm for Numbat Debrief followed by Committee Meeting at 7.30pm.

Meeting Closed:

9.25pm