‘They had one job, and they goofed it’: Rejigged e-bike laws raise ire

New e-bike rules have been tinkered with by the Queensland government, but have still drawn the ire of community members.

Riders will now be required to slow to 12km/h when passing a pedestrian on a shared path, instead of 10km/h on all paths under a previous version of the proposed laws.

Instead of an outright ban, children aged 12 to 17 will be allowed to ride an e-bike limited to 250 watts and assistance up to 25km/h while pedalling – but they must be supervised by an adult, so could not ride independently to school on a legal e-bike.

On Tuesday, Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg revealed the LNP government’s revised version of its e-mobility bill, set to be debated and passed this week.

“The legislation this week will be tweaked, will be amended, to ensure we strike the right balance,” he said.

“In some high-risk settings, we’re able to facilitate use, for example under parental supervision, while ensuring that those who do the wrong thing are held to account for their actions.

“Those young hoons and hooligans who are participating in ride-outs here in Brisbane CBD or on the Gold Coast will be held to account by police who can now be empowered, from July 1, with seizure powers to seize and subsequently destroy illegal e-bikes or bikes where individuals have done the wrong thing.”

However, Bicycle Queensland CEO Professor Matt Burke said if the speed limits were badly drafted, it would cause “absolute havoc on the bike network”.

The new laws came after a 10-month parliamentary inquiry, sparked by community concerns about dangerous e-scooter use and high-powered electric motorbikes, which are already illegal to use in public.

The inquiry’s recommendations were turned into a bill by the government, which was referred back to the same committee that did the inquiry. After a fresh round of hearings, the committee recommended the laws be partially watered down.

The bill attracted almost 5000 submissions, most of them in opposition.

Under the changes, from July 1, there will be a 12km/h speed limit on footpaths and while passing pedestrians on shared paths. The minister said that when not passing pedestrians, the speed limit on shared paths would be 25 km/h.

“Things like the bike path here along the river would be a 25km/h speed limit,” Mickelberg said from a media conference at state parliament, near the Bicentennial Bikeway.

A spokesperson later clarified there would not be changes to speed limits on shared paths such as the Bicentennial Bikeway.

Legal e-bikes in Queensland are already restricted to assistance up to 25km/h, although they c