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The Whitlam government gave us no-fault divorce, women’s refuges and childcare. Australia needs another feminist revolution

Australia’s history of women and political rights is, to put it mildly, chequered. It enfranchised (white) women very early, in 1902. And it was the first country to give them the vote combined with the right to stand for parliament. But it took 41 years for women to enter federal parliament. The first two <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-taking-so-long-to-achieve-gender-equality-in-parliament-117313">women federal MPs</a>, Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons, were just memorialised with a joint statue in the parliamentary triangle. It was unveiled this month – finally redressing the glaring absence of women in our statues. Australia’s record of women’s rights is still uneven. We pioneered aspects of women’s welfare, such as the <a href="https://www.naa.gov.au/learn/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/government-and-democracy/prime-ministers-and-politicians/maternity-allowance-act-1912">1912 maternity allowance</a>that included unmarried mothers. But now, Australian women’s economic status is shameful. As Minister for the Environment <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-policy-aesthete-a-new-biography-of-tanya-plibersek-shows-how-governments-work-and-affect-peoples-lives-197427">Tanya Plibersek</a> notes in her foreword, Australia has plunged from the modest high point of 15th on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index to 43rd in 2022. <h2>What Whitlam did for women</h2> Federation was an exciting time for women. But the next peak didn’t arrive until the 1970s, when the Whitlam Government proved a beachhead for women’s rights. Feminism helped to swell the tide of change carrying <a href="https://theconversation.com/gough-whitlams-life-and-legacy-experts-respond-33228">Gough Whitlam</a> to power in 1972. But just how did Whitlam conceive his agenda for women? What were his short-lived government’s many achievements in this area? Until now, these questions haven’t been fully studied. <a href="https://unsw.press/books/womenandwhitlam/">Women and Whitlam</a> is important not just for taking on this task, but for its stellar cast of essayists. Many of them were feminist activists in the 1970s, and their memories add rich narrative detail. The book is edited by Michelle Arrow, a <a href="https://www.whitlam.org/">Whitlam Institute</a>Research Fellow and an authority on women, gender and sexuality in the 1970s: not least through her prize-winning monograph, <a href="https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/seventies/">The Seventies</a>. This excellent collection’s origins lie in <a href="https://www.whitlam.org/publications/womensrevolution">a conference</a> held at Old Parliament House in November 2019, organised by the Whitlam Institute. The book has been several years in the making, but its timing is perfect. Its month of publication, April 2023, is the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s appointment of Elizabeth Reid as his adviser on women’s affairs. This role, as an adviser to a head of government, was a world first. In her introduction, Arrow points out <a href="https://electionspeeches.moadoph.gov.au/speeches/1972-gough-whitlam">Whitlam’s 1972 election speech</a> only outlined three “women’s issues” as part of his program. But she also notes the late (former Senator) <a href="https://theconversation.com/vale-susan-ryan-pioneer-labor-feminist-who-showed-big-difficult-policy-changes-can-and-should-be-made-146996">Susan Ryan</a>’s excited response when she heard him begin it with the inclusive words, “Men and women of Australia” – a symbolic break from tradition. Iola Mathews, journalist and Women’s Electoral Lobby activist, captures the speed with which Whitlam acted on women’s issues, "In his first week of office he reopened the federal Equal Pay case, removed the tax on contraceptives and announced funding for birth control programs." Arrow summarises what else the Whitlam government did for women. It extended the minimum wage for women and funded women’s refuges, women’s health centres and community childcare. It introduced no-fault divorce and the Family Court. It introduced paid maternity leave in the public service. And it addressed discrimination against girls in schools. Women also benefited from other reforms, like making tertiary education affordable. <h2>A world-first role</h2> Elizabeth Reid’s chapter is especially powerful, because of the importance of her work as Whitlam’s women’s adviser and because she worked closely with him. She suggests Whitlam’s consciousness of feminism grew during his term in office. By September 1974, he understood his own policies and reforms could only go so far. Fundamental cultural shift was required, "We have to attack the social inequalities, the hidden and usually unarticulated assumptions which affect women not only in employment but in the whole range of their opportunities in life […] this requires a re-education of the community." Reid encapsulates how she forged her own novel role: travelling around Australia to listen to women of all backgrounds, holding meetings in venues ranging from factories, farms and universities to jails. Soon, she received more letters than anyone in the government, other than Whitlam himself. After listening and gathering women’s views, she learned how to approach parliamentarians and public servants in order to make and implement policies. Part of the power of Reid’s chapter lies in the insights she gives readers into the revolutionary nature of <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-human-being-not-just-mum-the-womens-liberationists-who-fought-for-the-rights-of-mothers-and-children-182057">women’s liberation</a>. Feminists who hit their stride in the 1970s had bold ambitions: ending patriarchal oppression, uprooting sexism as a system of male domination, taking back control of women’s bodies and sexuality, and using consciousness-raising to find alternatives to the confinement of women <a href="https://theconversation.com/suburban-living-did-turn-women-into-robots-why-feminist-horror-novel-the-stepford-wives-is-still-relevant-50-years-on-186633">as housewives</a>. Some in women’s liberation questioned the possibility of creating revolution from within government. But Reid’s chapter showcases her remarkable ability to take the fundamental insights of the movement and use them. She listened to Australian women and applied her insights and feminist principles to the key areas of employment and financial discrimination, education, childcare, social welfare and urban planning. <h2>A dynamic movement</h2> One vibrant thread connecting several chapters is the dynamism of the women’s liberation movement: not least, the Canberra group where Reid developed her feminism. Biff Ward recalls the night in early 1973 that she and other Canberra women from the women’s liberation movement attended the party held for the 18 shortlisted applicants for the women’s adviser job. It was a seemingly ordinary Saturday-night event in a suburban home: the prime minister was among the prominent Labor men present. Ward recalls the extraordinary atmosphere at the party, with the government luminaries aware of their own newfound power, yet “sidelined” by the women. These women knew each other from the movement and constituted “a tribe” that had the men on edge, because of the women’s shared confidence and agenda. The chapter on the late Pat Eatock, the Aboriginal feminist who had travelled from Sydney to Canberra in early 1972 for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-aboriginal-tent-embassy-at-50-the-history-of-an-ongoing-protest-for-indigenous-sovereignty-in-australia-podcast-180216">Tent Embassy</a>, then stayed to move into the Women’s House (run by the Women’s Liberation group) is co-written by her daughter Cathy Eatock. In 1972 Pat Eatock became the first Indigenous woman to stand for federal parliament. Later she became a public servant, an academic and a pioneer in Aboriginal television. She was part of the Canberra women’s liberation movement, despite not feeling accepted by some members. On balance, Eatock believed the movement changed her life for the better. She participated in the celebrated <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/canberra/programs/sundaybrunch/the-1975-women-in-politics-conference/12708060">1975 Women and Politics Conference</a>, and was in the Australian delegation to the International Women’s Year Conference in Mexico City, where she found Australian feminist theory was “leading the world”. <h2>Greater expectations</h2> The book is organised into five sections, each introduced by a relevant expert. In the section on law, Elizabeth Evatt succinctly describes her path-breaking roles. She was deputy president of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (predecessor to the Fair Work Commission), chair of the <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/original/00003358.pdf">Royal Commission on Human Relationships 1974-77</a> (which brought abortion, homosexuality and domestic violence into the spotlight); and first chief judge of the Family Court of Australia. The latter was created by the Family Law Act of 1975, which introduced no-fault divorce. In her conclusion, Evatt laments <a href="https://theconversation.com/book-extract-broken-requiem-for-the-family-court-166406">the recent merger</a> of the Family Court with the Federal Circuit Court, and hails the Family Law Act as one of Whitlam’s great legacies. In the health and social policy section, former Labor Senator Margaret Reynolds recalls observing the Whitlam government’s achievements from conservative Townsville, where she was a founding member of the local Women’s Electoral Lobby. As a teacher, she saw how the reforms in education benefited regional schools and children. And the Townsville CAE introduced a training program for teaching monitors from remote communities, which particularly helped Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. In the section on legacies, author and former “femocrat” Sara Dowse catalogues the disastrous social consequences of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-neoliberalism-became-an-insult-in-australian-politics-188291">neoliberalism</a>, which have been braided with the many real and important gains for women since the 1970s. Hope lies, she suggests, in women’s greater expectations for their own lives. I have focused on essays by senior feminists, but the 16 wide-ranging chapters include contributions from younger authors, too. From our current standpoint, the fervour of the 1970s is enviable. It’s very promising that the 2022 election brought an influx of new women MPs. But if we’re going to conquer <a href="https://theconversation.com/family-violence-is-literally-making-us-sicker-new-study-finds-abuse-increases-risk-of-chronic-illness-199669">intimate violence</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-all-done-the-right-things-in-under-cover-older-women-tell-their-stories-of-becoming-homeless-188356">women’s homelessness</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-ranked-last-in-an-international-gender-pay-gap-study-here-are-3-ways-to-do-better-168848">gender pay gap</a>, we need another feminist revolution. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-whitlam-government-gave-us-no-fault-divorce-womens-refuges-and-childcare-australia-needs-another-feminist-revolution-202238" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Books

COVID-19 blame game: Who’s really at fault for the Ruby Princess fiasco

The Australian Border Force has laid blame on New South Wales Health for the mishandling of the Ruby Princess arrival in Sydney. Michael Outram, the ABF’s commissioner stated it was not the border control’s responsibility to extend health checks. The NSW government however has insisted it is the federal authorities who are to blame after they categorised the cruise ship carrying 2,700 people as “low risk”. The release of the passengers resulted in a major wave of 133 infections into Australian communities. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1UQ4wnhmxB/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1UQ4wnhmxB/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Cruisedaily (@cruisedaily)</a> on Aug 18, 2019 at 12:12pm PDT </div> </blockquote> The catastrophic mistake has resulted in politicians expressing outrage over the systematic failure to isolate the Ruby Princess passengers and its crew. The ship docked in Sydney on March 19 and it had three passengers and one crew member who displayed flu-like symptoms and had been swabbed. One passenger had been taken to hospital by via ambulance and passed away due to COVID-19. However, passengers were allowed to disembark and make their way home, which included overseas flights. Each passenger was urged to self-isolate for 14 days. At a press conference on Wednesday, Berejiklian said ABF officials and state colleagues had incorrectly advised NSW Health that the Ruby Princess was low risk. The politician went on to say stopping transmission was a joint responsibility. “Every single agency needs to take responsibility for our borders,” she said. “Whether it’s a ship at a port, whether it’s a planeload of people coming in from overseas. We’re still having thousands of people coming in on planes every single day. “All authorities have to step up, including NSW <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/health" target="_blank">Health</a>, including all the other authorities involved. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-GoIRTBLuQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-GoIRTBLuQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Gladys Berejiklian (@gladysb)</a> on Mar 23, 2020 at 9:50pm PDT </div> </blockquote> “What is really imperative at this time, we realised, is strong communication between authorities and everybody stepping up.” Dr Kerry Chant who is NSW’s chief health officer said in a statement that the ship had originally checked in at a Wellington dock in New Zealand and found no cases of COVID-19. She went on to say NSW authorities had checked in on all the passengers of the Ruby Princess once they recognised coronavirus had been on the vessel. Dr Chant assured reporters there was “no action that NSW Health could have taken to prevent those people acquiring the disease”, as they had acquired it on the ship. She said NSW Health were working hard to limit onward transmission, and that if there had been any “we would have deployed health teams.” “Of course, with hindsight, we would have acted differently, had we known we had a Covid-positive cruise ship.” Chant fiercely defended NSW Health letting passengers fly home overseas, as it was part of an agreed protocol to send them into self-isolation at home. She said authorities are tracing of people sitting in rows around infected passengers was being conducted. Kristina Keneally who is the Labor’s spokeswoman on immigration said the Ruby Princess would be able to be traced back to many COVID-19 cases in Australia. “We have now 133 passengers and counting from the Ruby Princess cruise ship that have tested positive for coronavirus,” she said. “The Ruby Princess cruise ship coronavirus cases account for 10% of the cases in NSW. And, quite tragically, there has already been one death. “They went into taxis and public transport, they interacted with friends and neighbours, they went to shops, they were allowed to travel across the country,” she said. “It is gobsmacking that we are in this circumstance today. We need to ask, we need to demand to know how this happened and we need to ensure it does not happen again. The Australian government needs to get on top of this situation very quickly.” Topics Outram’s timelines of interactions between the ship and NSW Health are as follows: He said that ABF’s responsibilities went as far to checking passports and ensuring that customs regulations were complied with. He said the federal Department of Agriculture was responsible for biosecurity checks. “On the 17 March, 2020, NSW Health requested the following information from the Ruby Princess’s senior doctor: estimates of arrival into Sydney, a log of details of passengers and crew presenting with fever or acute respiratory symptoms or both, travel histories, and whether tests were conducted and the results,” Outram said. “On March 18, at 9.39 am the senior doctor on the Ruby Princess notified the health department with the following: they had collected viral swabs for a few cases of febrile influenza, negative test, and that those people had been isolated. They also requested a transfer for other passengers who had unrelated illnesses.” <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-DY6Gehyz_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-DY6Gehyz_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Gladys Berejiklian (@gladysb)</a> on Mar 22, 2020 at 3:38pm PDT </div> </blockquote> “On March 18 2020, at 5.17pm, they stated: ‘The NSW Health panel assessed the Ruby Princess as not requiring onboard health assessment in Sydney.’” Outram said NSW Health had asked for Ruby Princess to send the 15 samples to a NSW Health lab for Covid-19 testing and to attach lab forms as required. “NSW Health stated to the Ruby Princess, ‘You are free to disembark tomorrow. However, in accordance with the Australian government guidance, all passengers must go into self-isolation for 14 days,’” Outram said. The ABF commissioner continued by saying that on the 18th of March, the Department of Agriculture was informed through Ruby Princess that a risk assessment had been conducted. He also went on to say that the ship had been considered “low risk” – an assessment that is consistent with NSW Health’s version of events. “NSW Health decided not to board the vessel and attend, and that they had also given clearance for all passengers to disembark the vessel,” Outram said. “That red light has just gone green. So, the vessel came into port on March 19. “They felt the vessel was low risk and there was no need to attend the vessel, but our six officers wore masks and gloves nonetheless.”

News

"I'm going to jail, this is my fault": Triple-0 call revealed for toddler found dead on minibus

The manager of the childcare centre that has been charged with the manslaughter of a three-year-old boy, after he was left on the centre’s minibus has been released on bail. The Cairns Magistrate Court were able to listen to a transcript read aloud by Senior Sergeant Maynard Marcum of the minibus driver speaking to authorities after he found the boy dead outside the Goodstart Early Learning Centre. Michael Glen Lewis, 45, was the one who stumbled upon the horrific discovery of the young boy deceased outside the day care in the southern Cairns suburb of Edmonton on Tuesday and was also the one who made a triple-0 call to authorities. “Oh my God, this kid is dead,” Sergeant Marcum recounted. “Oh my God. I'm the director of the childcare centre. “The child was left on the bus all day. “I've just opened up the bus and he's here, dead. “... I'm so sorry buddy. “I'm going to jail, this is my fault. “Oh my God. My whole life is over.” Mr Lewis initially forgot to pick the three-year-old child up from his home, the court heard and was forced to drop off a busload of children to the centre and double back to pick up the boy from his home. He drove around 4.5 kilometres back to the childcare centre at 9:15 am, the court was told. Just sat two seats behind Mr Lewis was the young child, when the bus driver forgot to take him inside. Mr Lewis then drove to another centre across town for a meeting that took several hours. At 3:16pm, Mr Lewis found the boy dead in the bus outside Hambledon State School. Mr Lewis, who is a father of three, failed to manually sign in the child when he got on the bus, Senior Sergeant Marcum said. However, he was signed in on the centre’s computer system as being present even though he never arrived. “This is an act of criminal negligence, appalling in its nature,” Senior Sergeant Marcum said. “In that 4.5 kilometres, this child was forgotten. “There wasn't even a cursory glance.” <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-25/two-people-charged-manslaughter-cairns-toddler-death/11997438" target="_blank">ABC news</a> reported Mr Lewis sat in the dock with his head down during the proceedings. A casual worker who had only been employed at the centre for less than a month was also granted bail after facing court for manslaughter over the child’s death. Childcare worker Dionne Beatrice Grills, 34, was granted bail after a brief appearance. Acting Detective Inspector Jason Smith told reporters outside the court that the pair had been charged Monday afternoon after a week-long investigation. "The family is … distressed and very upset about this and hopefully now that the matter is before the court, they'll get the answers that they need," he said. "This is the culmination of a week-long investigation and we are grateful for the assistance of specialist detectives from Brisbane and Townsville. "During the investigation, police have liaised with the family and in fact, their broader family in Bamaga and Townsville. "The staff from Goodstart Early Learning did provide detectives with assistance and at this stage, no-one else is under investigation." One of the boy's relatives, Thomas Namok told the media he and his family were deeply upset by the tragedy. "We're all distraught at the moment. We just can't believe this has happened. We just want answers," he said. "The last few days have just been terrible but everyone [in the family] will continue to support each other. "He was just a cheerful little boy … we would always laugh every time he's around. That's what I remember of him. It's going to be sad he's not going to be around anymore."

News

Who’s at fault? Dash cam footage divides the nation

A video shared on the Dash Cam Owners Australia Facebook page has left viewers divided as it shows a slow speed collision between two cars on a road in Victoria. The footage shows cars lined up behind roadworks in Ballarat, separated only by a few orange cones. Assuming the driver was impatient to wait his turn, the owner of the silver Ford Focus decided to overtake stationary cars on the wrong side of the road. But it doesn’t end well, as during his attempt to cut the line, the driver of a blue Mercedes convertible begins to make a U-turn before crashing into the Ford. The video left users stuck on who’s side to choose, as they claim both drivers made a failure in judgement. “I would love to hear the argument between the two drivers,” wrote one person. “No indication but heading down wrong side of the road. Good luck on this insurance claim,” wrote another. A few believed the silver car was the one at fault. “U-turn legal, no lines, no signs OK. Car on wrong side of the road (is) 100 per cent wrong,” commented one user. “That’s what happens when you get impatient in a roadworks area and ignore the cones to sneak onto the wrong side of the road to overtake and make a right turn,” wrote another. But others disagreed, saying the driver of the Mercedes should have checked before turning. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDashCamOwnersAustralia%2Fvideos%2F351217129111046%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> “(Blue) car at fault – one must give way to overtaking vehicles,” wrote one person. “Mirrors. They’re on vehicles for a reason,” said another. Looking into Victoria’s Roads may have seemed like a no-brainer, but instead, it left people scratching their heads. According to VicRoads, this is when you cannot make a U-turn: “If there is: A single continuous line down the centre of the road; double continuous lines down the centre of the road; a ‘no U-turn’ sign. “When making a U-turn you must give way to all other vehicles and pedestrians.” But despite the driver of the Mercedes copping a blow, it doesn’t leave the Ford in the clear. “It is an offence to: Drive on the wrong side of a divided road (or) pass to the right of a right turning vehicle or a vehicle making a U-turn from the centre of the road.”

Travel Trouble

Tricycle rider slammed into by car on busy road – but who’s at fault?

Dashcam footage has captured the moment a car hit a tricycle rider, knocking him off his bike as he attempted to cross a busy road. The video, posted to the Facebook page Dashcam Owners Australia, shows the car travelling down Pinjara Road in Western Australia on Tuesday. As the vehicle with the dashcam drives in the left lane, two vehicles in the right lane can be seen slowing down to a halt. Moments later, a man on a tricycle moves out in the middle of the left lane and is hit by the car. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDashCamOwnersAustralia%2Fvideos%2F1822832147776417%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> The vehicle slams on its breaks as the cyclist is knocked off his bike and onto the road. The stunned cyclist then climbs back onto his feet and drags his bike onto the footpath. The video has been viewed over 135,000 times and many users have weighed in on who is at fault in this incident. Many are blaming the cyclist, with one saying that he “should have used the pedestrian crossing or waited for a decent break in the traffic to make it across the road". Others believe that the vehicles in the right lane are at fault for stopping and allowing the cyclist to cross the busy road. “That's why cars shouldn't stop for people wanting to cross the road when not at a crossing or intersection and especially not on a multiple lane road,” wrote one Facebook user. “Even though the driver who stopped thought he was being courteous, he could've been the reason old mate ends up dead. Lucky man.” Some also believe the driver with the dashcam should have responded to his surroundings and slowed down when he saw the cars in the right lane adjusting their speed. The cyclist luckily walked away from the collision without any injuries. Who do you think is at fault in this road incident? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Legal

Truck sends car spinning on QLD motorway — but who is at fault?

Dash cam footage has captured the moment a truck clipped the back of a car as it attempted to overtake on a Queensland highway. The footage was shared on Facebook group Dash Cam Owners Australia and shows a car approaching two trucks that were travelling in the outside and inside lane on Port of Brisbane Motorway. The car appears to use the left lane to overtake the first truck and then as it goes to change lanes, the truck clips it which sends it spinning out of control. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDashCamOwnersAustralia%2Fvideos%2F1704177882975178%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> The video has generated a lot of conversation as viewers argue over which driver is at fault. Some have claimed that the car driver should have been aware of the truck’s blind spots. "While the truckie was in the right lane (and shoulda been in the left lane) ... you never never never sit to the left of a truck or semi ... and not expect to be run over. How hard is it to understand that a truckie cannot see you when you are slighty (sic) in front of him and to his left?,” one person said. “People put on their indicators and think they can just move across. How about checking first if it was safe to do so. You pulled in front of a bloody big truck,” another added. But others have come to the defence of the car driver. “The dash-cam driver was in their lane doing everything legally and got hit by a truck.” The owner of the Facebook page even contributed to the debate and said, “I’m confident if the roles were reversed here, everyone would be blaming the car for sitting in the right hand lane.” A person who claimed to be the driver of the car said he gave both trucks plenty of time to see him before merging into the right lane. “8 seconds after the right truck disappears from view, he started to veer towards the left lane. I do not know if he was merging or otherwise occupied,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, he did not see my car and the front of his truck clipped the back drivers side of my car. This forced my car to spin onto the front of his truck and bounce off to the other side of the road.” “At the time of impact, I was NOT merging into the right hand lane.” The man claimed that the truck driver admitted fault to the police when they arrived. Who do you think is a fault in this incident? Let us know in the comments below.

Insurance

Who is at fault when cars and bikes collide

There is a common perception amongst motorists that cyclists tend of have crashes because of the way they ride, but new research suggests this might not be the case. A report which examined cyclist crashes from 2011 to 2015 in the great Adelaide region, suggests that when it comes to collisions with motor vehicles more often than not it’s the motorists who are the ones which are at fault. Royal Automobile Association of South Australia’s (RAA) Charles Mountain spoke on the data, "Most of the crashes occurred at intersections across popular cycling routes and were deemed not to be the fault of the cyclists. This points to the fact that people driving through are not as aware as they should be of cyclists." Across five busy roads where there were often incidents, research showed that injured bike riders were not at fault in 191 out of 245 crashes, or 76 per cent. Charles Mountain says the report ,"does highlight overall that there is a need for a high level of awareness amongst motorists". "Motorists and cyclists need to watch out for each other, particularly at intersections and when turning. Motorists should also be checking for cyclists before opening their doors," Mountain said, while cyclists should "do things to make sure they are as visible as possible". Do you think more should be done to protect cyclists?

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Tricycle rider slammed into by car on busy road – but who’s at fault?

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Who is at fault when cars and bikes collide

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Travel

Health

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Compare

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The Whitlam government gave us no-fault divorce, women’s refuges and childcare. Australia needs another feminist revolution

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"I'm going to jail, this is my fault": Triple-0 call revealed for toddler found dead on minibus

Who’s at fault? Dash cam footage divides the nation

Tricycle rider slammed into by car on busy road – but who’s at fault?

Truck sends car spinning on QLD motorway — but who is at fault?

Who is at fault when cars and bikes collide

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