"Catharine Munro, Urban Affairs Editor
August 13, 2007
WHEN it comes to the luxury of free parking at corporate headquarters, a fair climb up the career ladder is usually expected first.
A report that Sydney is topped only by London and Tokyo for the cost of a parking space in the city makes a free spot at work look even more of a perk.
An increasing number of time-poor executives do not see driving into town as an attractive option. Instead they expect their employer to supply a spot for their bikes...
More ... http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/pedal-power-in-bloom-as-city-parking-withers/2007/08/12/1186857348338.html
BEER, BIKES and TAX... 22 Mar 2007 - FED SQUARE SHOWCASE … Another Melbourne Fed Square Microbrewery Showcase this Fri 23and Sat 24 March. Fifteen local brewers with their beers on the go. We'll be there and will drag a keg of our Double IPA along with our other beers. 4:30 - 8pm on Fri and 12 – 6pm on Sat. Tickets avail at the venue on the day. CELLULOID CYCLES … This is a fantastic fest of bicycles on film. Was held last year and was brilliant. This year it's running 29 Mar – 1 April at Kaleide Theatre, RMIT, Melb. You'll be able to buy Goat there too. More info head to http://www.celluloidcycles.com.au/ This event is hereby Mountain Goat Approved. EXCISE TAX … The microbrewers of Australia have banded together to try to get the government to give us a break on the huge excise bill we currently pay. The cost of excise to a small brewery is around 25% of our income. So when you consider the manual nature of brewing small batches and the expensive ingredients we use it's very hard to stay afloat. We've been lobbying Canberra for two years now and are hoping for relief with this year's federal budget...
From the How To Clean Goat page,
RIDE TO WORK - Every Christmas our staff are paid a bonus based on the number of times in the year they rode their push bike or caught public transport to work.
Featured in Australian Cyclist Mar-Apr 2006. And the City of Sydney website,
"The City recently completed the second round of its Cycling in the City program which encourages people to ride to work.
The program is based on a successful pilot developed by Dr Gabrielle Kuiper and Dr Chloe Mason in 2004 with grant funding received from the NSW Department of Environment and Conservation. Download the PDF Cycling in the City Pilot Summary
The program works by offering incentives and training for people who don’t already ride to work. In return, these cyclists agree to ride to work at least once a week for 3 months and record the number of kilometres travelled plus any relevant experiences.
The companies which have taken part include: AMP, ANZ, Australian Taxation Office, City of Sydney, Department of Environment and Conservation, Insurance Australia Group, Lend Lease, Macquarie Bank, NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, Telstra and Westpac.
To date 125 riders have completed the program, riding a total combined distance of more than 39,000km over 12 weeks. More than 90% of participants have also indicated they will continue to ride to work on a regular basis.
Aside from reducing congestion and pollution in the city, participants also reported a range of health benefits including weight loss, improved blood pressure and increased well-being..."
More ... http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/AboutSydney/ParkingAndTransport/Cycling/CyclingintheCity.aspTop of Page