And your petitioners humbly pray ...

Cars

Half-mile Petition 1936

Presented by George Lamb MP

The Half-mile Petition is one of the iconic items in the State’s archival collection. Measuring around half a mile (820 metres) in length, it attracted great media attention when it was presented to Parliament in 1936.

The Motor Transport Defence League initiated the petition. They pointed out that the motor car was no longer a ‘luxury’ item and had become a “virtual necessity in all walks of life”. They argued that existing registration fees were prohibitive for potential motorists and requested a reduction of registration fees for “all private and commercial vehicles”.

The petition was signed by 36,000 “enfranchised citizens of Victoria”.

The Government did eventually reduce car registration fees to the level requested in this petition.

Random Breath Tests 1976

Presented by James Ramsay MP

These concerned citizens wanted random breath tests introduced in Victoria. They believed that motorists who drove under the influence of alcohol “infringe the civil liberty” of the community and endangered “the life and limb of all who use the road”. In the same year as this petition, Victoria’s Parliament did introduce random breath testing, the first Australian state to do so.

City Link Project - Tullamarine Freeway Section 1998

Presented by Judy Maddigan MP

City Link was built to connect three of Melbourne's key freeways – the Tullamarine, West Gate and Monash – to allow traffic coming from the city’s west and south-east to bypass the CBD. City Link was officially opened in 1999.

From the outset, the project was controversial for a number of reasons. Car and motorcycle users were opposed to having to pay a toll, while residents protested against noise and air pollution levels.

“Citizens of the State of Victoria” petitioned for noise barriers to be erected on sections of the Tullamarine Freeway, and that the borders of the City Link Freeway be landscaped. Eventually in 2004, Transurban advised that additional noise barriers would be constructed along sections of City Link.

"Petition Half A Mile Long", Argus, 8 July 1936. Newspaper Collection, State Library of Victoria.