I'm pretty sure the lanes are clogged up with cars not bicycles.
Registration is not required because cyclists don't kill people. Motorists do and need to be identified when they try and do a runner and they also need to have insurance, most of the cost of registration is the greenslip/TPP.
How does a dead cyclist identify a car from a rego plate. If the bike had rego, the car driver would be able to identify who he ran over.
I was recently yelled at by matching peacock lycra wearing turds on super skinny expensive bikes. (Beside the point but why would you go out in matching suits anytime, anywhere? Since when is this a good thing?) I was idling thru a roundabout in 2nd (trying to cruise around the neighborhood to put kid to sleep at the crack o dawn) and these idiots tried to undertake me on a roundabout doing twice my speed. The bike lane stops before and after the roundabout cos there's not enough room for both. So these twats in peacock lycra appear next to my bullbar and start shaking their fists at me. All because they couldn't plan an overtaking move properly and arrive beside me anywhere except the roundabout. Idiots like these give the rest of the lycra crowd a really bad name.
good to see some consensus appraising
" only guys in lycra ( girls obviously excluded 
) and ( I would say) any on fixed gear bikes should pay rego " 
the rest ride free
I think you would find that even if you paid the same licence fee they would still try and run you over. They just use the fact that you don't pay a licence as an excuse for their bad behaviour.
Repeat after me, the right or wrong of riding on the road is irrelevant. There is no point in being right when you're dead, crippled or brain damaged
The continuing emphasis is that cyclist are killed or injured because drivers are bad (and cyclist are good). The whole problem would be fixed if drivers only took the effort to drive better.
This is complete and utter bull****.
Arterial roads at peak hour are an industrial system. There is not much difference between an arterial road and a fork lift lane in a warehouse or a conveyor belt on an assembly line or a railway track. In those cases you have big yellow lines and security cameras and sensors and stuff. There are protocols to shut down the process before people are allowed anywhere near them.
I used to do work on the railways and it took us weeks of work and planning before we were allowed within 3 metres of the track. Months if we actually wanted to do actual work on the track.
But in the cases of roads and cyclists, it's all right to have semi-naked people on the road, wearing foam lunch boxes on their heads, riding on flimsy frames, with inadequate tyres and brakes, riding at 1/3- 1/2 the speed of the traffic, with a visual profile that is completely obscured by a door pillar or passing vehicle, virtually unable to see behind them, certainly unable to react to any emergency situation, in the impact zone for people turning or opening doors, with the expectation that the very same drivers (who are incapable of sharing the road and driving carefully enough) will protect you.
You are out of your ****ing mind!! The very fact that you want to ride on the road at peak hour means you have no appreciation of the situation. You need to be tranquilised and put into care.
PS. While we're at it, I ride with multiple, mega-powerful LED lights front and rear. I go to a fair bit of effort not to blind other riders and pedestrians.
There are two issues with cycle lighting:
1. Even the brightest of bright lights are totally obscured by a shrub or a pole or a door pillar. You cannot expect to be seen just because you have 1000 lumens of flashing light. Most cyclists have single leds with flat batteries.
2. If you wear your mega power LED on your head you just blind everybody else riders, pedestrians and drivers. Turn them off or learn to dip them when people are oncoming. It's not that hard.
There is one and only one way to have bikes as transport. Ban all bikes from arterial roads (at least at peak hour) and build a segregated bicycle arterial road network.
It must be physically separated from road transport and from pedestrians. It should have at least a curb, or preferably a barrier.
I spent 7 years driving between Marangaroo and Rendez. Ob. City. in Scarborough, down Hepburn and Marmion/ West Coast hwy, and it amazed me the amount of bike riders who prefered or insisted to use the road and mix with traffic- when there is a lovely flat purpose built bike and pedestrian pathway provided running parallel to all these roads, with often more than 6m separation and kerbing between the path and the road/Hwy.
In that time I saw the results of 9 accidents on that stretch where bikes and riders ended up under or over vehicles, and a few vehicles paintwork and mirrors damaged from bikes splitting lanes that resulted in heated exchanges.
I think its a fair statement that there would be many I didnt see.
I will agree that bikes have the right to use the roads- but common sense says if you mix with monsters you may well get hurt.
If a bike path or dual use path is there why not use it!
If you are worried about other bikes or pedestrians getting in the way- use the bell that you are required to have on your bike, and go around them. Its a damn sight safer than being on the road.
I imagine that a collision with a bike or pedestrian will do you less damage than going under a buss, truck, 4wd or sedan.
As for lane splitting- it is one of the few perks that both bicycles and motorcycles have in traffic, but I am pretty sure it is an offence to drive (or ride) within 4' of another vehicle. (Thats what I was informed by an instructor way back in the dark ages)
If anyone can clarify this- please do so!
The one off fee is an OK idea.
An annual fee of say $100 would be a joke. Although, perhaps a $200/year registration fee is reasonable for cyclists with no car.... But near impossible to police.... silly idea! Sorry for suggesting it.
this years cycling extrravaganza on SBS is sponsored by Subaru (they don't hurt as much when they hit you)
I used to ride quite a bit in the not too distant past (commuting), part of the reason I stopped was because it just wasn't safe out there for anybody and registration ain't gonna stop that.
I think like macroscience and Gorgo said, the only safe way is complete, cut off segregation, ie no cars where there are cyclists and no cyclists where there are cars, same for pedestrian/cyclepaths. One particular piece of town planning that always fascinated me was the bike/footpath leading up to barrack street jetty past the rowing club. They built a nice new path surrounded by palm trees with lots of shade etc, and made it the shared path and banned cycle traffic along the other bland but direct path. Guess which one all the pedestrians want to walk along?
What chance have we got with brilliant planning like that on the go?
Hard core cyclists won't use cycle tracks because they ride too fast. The cycle tracks have pedestrians and car park access and roadside furniture and dogs on them.
They also believe they have a legal right to ride on the road.
There's probably a common attitude among many drivers and cyclists. They just want to go as fast as they can and screw everybody else who gets in the way.
Statistically it is safer for a bunch of cyclists to ride together. Most cycling accidents happen to single riders (which is understandable because of the inherent invisibility of a single bike. Same goes for motorbikes.)
I just ride on the cycle track and moderate my speed so that I don't come into conflict with anyone. I like to cruise and see the view and arrive at work all chilled out. It's nice to perve on the morning joggers and see the antics of dogs chasing seagulls.
I ride a bit harder in the evening because I want to get home. My ride does take me past a couple of restaurants in the evening. I am merciless to pissed blokes hanging on the bike path entering/exiting cabs and blocking the whole path while they declare undying friendship with their eating/drinking buddies. 
I do ride on the road after peak hour (about 7:30 pm in winter) and only on tight sections where I have to avoid a couple of yacht clubs and a footy ground.
