squeers, I don't care what you think I am. I'm sick of having dangerous enounters with morons in the open road taking up more then their fair share of the road.
Stickman, if your car's at home, you are not paying as you go by using fuel, which is taxed.

By all means use your bikes safely and in a way which doesn't inconvenience other road users, just don't expect me to help you pay for your hobby.

I must also stress an important factor in the cyclist/motorist road use issue, and that is the fact that Greater Sydney (that is, everything between Camden/Windsor/Cronulla/Hornsby- is simply much too large, too crowded and already much too slow for its size to expect people to convert to public transport or cycling from one end to the other.

The reason European cities have little trouble is because they are tiny enough to walk around in a couple of hours (instead of a couple of DAYS), and their streets were never even meant for motorists to begin with.
Basically, most people drive in from other towns on the (uninhibited) high-speed expressway or via bullet-train, park outside the city and cycle in (or walk or catch the tram).

Here any compromise on motorists travelling "inter-city" (more like "interstate" would simply worsen traffic jams- and fail to encourage cycling use (because it's too far) or public transport (which is WAY to limited further out).

Near to where I live in Brisbane is a 4-way intersection. About six months ago the Brisbane City Council changed one road sign from "Give way" to "Stop". This road is used by the "lycra brigade" on their way to and from work. About 60 cyclists use the road daily. I have observed these cyclists' behaviour at the stop sign since its erection. Not one of them has stopped.
So I find it difficult to sympathize with this group of cyclists who believe that road laws apply only to other road users.