Get To Know: Jennifer Moon, Principal Advisor, Access and Stakeholder Engagement, COMS, Guide Dogs

Jennifer Moon is a qualified Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialist and has worked in the field for almost 30 years teaching people with low vision or blindness how to travel around their communities safely and independently.

Her work with Guide Dogs organisations across Australia, including communities on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula and Thursday Island, and in outback NSW, has given her fantastic opportunities and experience working with people of all ages and abilities. Her international experience includes extensive work and teaching in the United Kingdom and also Russia (Siberia).

Earlier this month the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam, put forward a motion to change the way that Victorian Parliament’s Legislative Council (aka Upper House) is elected.

The motion received only one vote in favour, by Dr Ratnam herself.

The Group Voting Ticket (GVT), as part of the 2006 reforms, makes it difficult for a single party to have control of the Upper House and diversifies the political party pool to better represent Victorians as a whole.

​“This means that if your chosen candidate does not get the numbers, your vote won’t end there. You can choose whom the vote goes to after that, or you can let the candidate decide for you,” says Rod Barton, Transport Matters Party Leader.

The Wedding Car Association of Victoria (WCA) was established over 40 years ago to bring together a number of wedding car and hire car operators with a common goal — to provide the very best service to clients who would like the pleasure of riding in special cars such as Vintage, Classic, Limousines, Hot Rods and more.

In the early days, wedding cars were supplied by Dads, Uncles or taxis, but people soon realised they could become a business.

​The Government wanted the hire car industry regulated to control the number of licences being issued so it formed a Tribunal. As more people wanted to get into the hire car industry, to our dismay, the Government put us under the control of the Victorian Taxi Directorate. We were not and are not taxis; we are professional wedding and hire car operators.

In July 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked eighth in KPMG’s annual Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index, performing well in technology infrastructure and the willingness of its people and government to embrace driverless cars.

Cruise, an Autonomous Vehicle (AV) company backed by General Motors, is getting ready to launch its robotaxi service in Dubai very soon, with plans to have up to 4,000 vehicles in operation by 2030.

Officials are wanting 25% of all taxi trips in Dubai to completed by AV taxis, buses and copters by 2030.

​RTA Director General, Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, said: “Selfdriving vehicles contribute to raising the level of traffic safety on the roads, as human error is the main cause of more than 90 percent of accidents.

A crackdown on touting is ongoing at Melbourne Airport, designed to deter offenders from this activity which has been illegal in Victoria since 2019.

Touting and the advertising of commercial passenger vehicle services by non permit holders is an offence.
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Anyone who approaches potential customers directly, or holds up a sign offering services, is breaking the law and can face fines of up to $10,000.

VICTORIAN LAW FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH THE REST OF AUSTRALIA

In Victoria, it is now law to give bicycle riders sufficient space on the road so they can ride safely. This law has already been successfully implemented in every other Australian state and territory.

Whatever the reason for riding, whether it be for recreation, sport, health, fitness or mere transport, riders share the road equally with drivers and motorcyclists, and deserve to be respected and safe just like everyone else.