Rego fee idea for BRONZ

[Big Dave]

that happpened in 1993... when they were going to increase the Rego and ACC fee to some abserd figure for motorcycles... it would have put the joys of motorcycling out of reach for alot of cyclists (including me) BRONZ organised a protest run out side parliment... I can't remember the number that turned up... but it was in the thousands... I rode down from Napier for it...

Nice - but it's a bit different to banging the drum for 'I want relief on my five bikes'?

[Skyryder]

None taken - conversational tone:

What is it exactly you are going to protest and how are you going to communicate it?

There are no galvanizing issues, we've all got some peeves, but there's no single issues that the general populous feels strongly enough about to come to a planning meeting first even.

You need an agenda beyond 'we're pissed off about ACC' and chuck a few burnouts.

Yes you do need an agenda………..and a national one at that. But a national agenda be it J2’s thread idea or some other idea can only be developed by leadership. The rank and file may bring issues to the notice of an organisations office holders but it is the office holders, committees etc that develop the idea into a course of action. There are no guarantees of success but there is a formula that in time can work. Political parties work to a philosophy. Surprisingly they do have a set of values that their policies generally adhere to. If the party strays off this line one of two things will happen they lose the election along with their rank and file members and usually do not get them back until the party comes back on course. Secondly and this has become more important with MMP, all political parties are looking for areas that their policies will find favour with. That is the nature of politics. Biking issues, roading, safety issues (free day care) etc do not come under any ideology and as such these issues are fertile grounds for lobby groups. In other words if a party thinks there is votes to be counted for them they will develop a policy to ensure that they do get the votes. That in short is how our political system works. It's a numbers game. Produce the numbers and the politicians will act.

I’m not too sure just what kind of info BRONZ has but on the J2 issue it would be helpful if they knew how many bikes were registered as against owners that have multiple registrations. That to me is the deciding factor if this issue is to become a national issue. The argument then becomes one of fairness. Why should all bikes owned by one individual be tied into a levy when the owner can only ride one bike at a time? That to me seems to be the issue that J2 has raised. It then become an issue of the high ground and one of fairness.

When an organisation of any kind takes to streets it requires some planning. First and foremost is the issue itself. There can be side issues but it is extremely important that one and only one becomes the focus. Any more and whole thing becomes confusing. The media love single issue events. The Maori seabed and foreshore is but one example of this.

A date needs to be decided upon. On this (J2 thread idea) needs to be discuss at a national level to see if indeed there is support. How many bikers own two or more bikes? That needs to be canvassed. Is this issue of any interest to me personally? No I only own one bike. How many like me. This needs some research done to find out. So there’s bit of work before any thing can be finalised etc.

OK so it’s a goer. Letters outlining your concerns need to be sent to as many biker groups as possible. Notices placed up on bike shop notice boards and a website for registration. I would advise all members of Parlimentof your concerns and the actions you are planning to take to bring your concerns toa the attention of the public. It would not be a bad idea to rais their awareness of the many charity groups that the bike community at large supports. You will have to notify the Wellington City Council of your intentions and possibly the police of the numbers expected. The biker community has its own grapevine. You may need to organise a special sailing for Southern bikers to get across. That would depend on numbers. Ideally the place to hole this would be in Parliament grounds. Permission would need to be granted but if granted public address systems need to be put in place and who know some kind of biker entertainment made available. Seems to me this would be good idea for the biker community to show off some of it’ stunts wet tee shirt, best paint job etc.

There is never any guarantee of success but with careful planning you will be surprised what can be achieved.

But these things take a lot of work.

Skyryder