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Australia's PM Tony Abbott told to get off his bike - by his doctorAustralia's PM Tony Abbott chats with Simon Gerrans (picture Orica-GreenEdge)

Australia's PM Tony Abbott told to get off his bike - by his doctor

Physician fears politician will crash - but cycling campaigner says kangaroos are more of a danger
by Simon_MacMichael
Sun, Jan 04, 2015 10:37
12

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is at more risk of injury from kangaroos then he is of falling off his bike, insists one of the country’s leading cycling advocates. Stephen Hodge was responding to a call from the politician’s outgoing doctor for him to stop cycling and go for a morning walk instead.

Doctor Graeme Killer, who has been the physician to the country’s prime ministers since the 1990s last week told The Australian it was only matter of time before Mr Abbott was injured while riding his bike.

“One day he’ll come off,” he said. “My son’s a great cyclist, but of course he was riding down St Kilda Road and someone opened the door on a taxi and he went bang.

“His shoulder has been repaired but he can’t swim properly any more. He’s got sort of frozen shoulder.

“I really think the Prime Minister, he’d be advised to get a different sport.

“I encourage exercise totally, but riding a bike?”

He said Mr Abbott should follow the example set by John Howard, who was the country’s premier from 1996 to 2007.

“We all walked,” he said. “Even the staff in the office, they all came along too,” Dr Killer said.

But Mr Hodge, Government Relations Manager for the Cycling Promotion Fund, said kangaroos posed a greater risk to cyclists in the nation’s capital, Canberra.

He has ridden with Mr Abbott for the past decade on the politician’s annual Pollie Pedal charity ride, and also organises the Parliamentary Cycling Group Riders on the Hill event.

"Tony himself has asked me about this risk but I have to say in Canberra, which is where I live, I think we face more risks or as many risks from kangaroos as we do from cars," he told the radio station 3AW.

"Clearly the prime minister needs to be kept safe," he went on. "In the Netherlands however the prime minister rides to parliament on his bike when he doesn't have to go to some function.

"Cycling is so popular it can be very safe but clearly if you ride down St Kilda Road [in Melbourne] there are some inherent risks."

He said he had encouraged Mr Abbott to use a bike to travel the 1.5km from his official residence, The Lodge, to Parliament House, where his office is located.

"It would be easier for him to ride to work," he explained.

In November, Abbott went for a training ride in Canberra with Orica-GreenEdge riders including Simon Gerrans, winner in 2014 of Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Santos Tour Down Under.

At the time, Gerrans said: “It was a real privilege to have the Prime Minster join us this morning for a ride here in Canberra. It’s good to see that he is also a keen cyclist.”

Tony Abbott
Australia
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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12 comments

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Jimmy Ray Will | 9 years ago
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The answer is surely to ban cycling... If its realistically too dangerous an activity for the prime minister to undertake then you either sort the problem, or give in to teh problem and take action to secure the safety of your people.

I can't see there being appetite to make cycling safer in Australia, so the only sensible action is to ban the activity from the open road...

What a shame.

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mtm_01 | 9 years ago
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Wasn't Howard mocked for his morning walks out and about? With a spoof clips video made available by the Chaser including 'the one where the bird got in the way'...

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Airzound | 9 years ago
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He can't be a proper cyclist as he looks too porky in the picture above. Probably a set up just done for the cameras, as did our Dave iirc.

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Leviathan | 9 years ago
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Is that the Oz PM rocking some pro kit in the pic? I seem to remember Dave used to ride his bike, no more. Imagine him in donated Sky kit? Imagine the comments 24

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ianrobo | 9 years ago
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I hate Abbott for what he stands for politically but unlike Cameron and BS he showed us Abbott is a true fan of cycling whether that does through in policies is a different matter.

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rggfddne | 9 years ago
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Skip the bullshit Aus, and please skip the fucking useless kangaroo nonsense.

just fucking admit your country hates cycling and ban it. That's far less objectionable than the "we're really pro cyclling, honest... I mean, our police will call you cockroaches, our cricketers will run you over for fun, you'll have to wear a silly plastic hat and STILL be more likely to die here than almost any other developed country" doublespeak. Just be fucking honest.

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a_pilau | 9 years ago
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What a load of codswallop!! I've been injured numerous times coming off bikes, but never once been hit by a kangaroo! 29

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mrmo | 9 years ago
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so the cyclist was at fault when the car passenger/driver opened the door?

Sort out the f***ing problem!

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kitkat | 9 years ago
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the old "cycling's dangerous, here's an anecdote, everyone stop doing it"

Where the problem is actually everything is so car-centric that the killing and injuring non-motorists must mean that they were doing something wrong, such as cycling along a road.

Good on Tony & watch out for those anti-cycling advisors. They're bad for you public's health

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Bigfoz | 9 years ago
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Surely if the PM, a keen cyclist is told "Cycling is too dangerous", the end result SHOULD be a top down making safer of the road conditions for the sport in Aus?

If he gets scared off the road it should be considered a national disgrace by the Aussies.

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NikoD replied to Bigfoz | 9 years ago
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A lot of Aussies, including me, think Tony Abbott is a national disgrace. While he likes to ride a bike, that alone doesn't make him a good PM. Also, not once have I ever heard him advocate cycling or advocate for a safer environment for cycling.

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Al__S | 9 years ago
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Putting aside my dislike for Abbott, seems like we've identified a source of the regressive anti-cyclist feeling at the top in Australia... Good riddance to the aptly named Dr Killer

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