‘Total ban': State's big move on e-bikes
One state government is mulling over a total ban on e-scooters and e-bikes, as concerns grow over the use of the dangerous and largely unregulated vehicles.
Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg has said the Queensland government is prepared to make some big changes to how e-bikes are regulated amid a current review. It is a move other states could quickly follow.
Mickelberg has indicated his Liberal government might not shy away from a total ban of the bikes amid 'widespread community concern' in regard to the rules and risk of e-bikes, e-scooters and other e-mobility vehicles.
'I'm prepared to look at any solutions that are going to address safety,' Mr Mickelberg told the ABC.
'The reality is they do have benefit in our community, but there's also situations right now where the risk does not justify their use.'
RELATED: Huge jump in e-bike injuries
Qld could ban e-bikes and e-scooters. Picture Queensland Police
TRAGIC DEATHS
Mickelberg said he understood there was a desire within the community that e-devices needed to be better regulated and that the laws governing their use need to be better thought out.
A Queensland government inquiry into the use of e-bikes was announced in May with a final report due in March next year.
The news of the chance of a total ban on e-bikes comes less than a month after a 14-year-old boy died in an e-bike accident in Sydney early last month.
Mohammed Mahid Younes was killed when he crashed while riding his new e-bike in the southern Sydney suburb of Arncliffe.
The tragic accident was a stark reminder of the dangers of e-bikes.
'I know my son is kind of a statistic at the moment,' Mohammed's mother Joanne Younes told The Saturday Telegraph.
Supplied image of Mohammed Mahid Younes died in an e-bike accident in Arncliffe on July 3, 2025. Picture: Supplied
'But if it can teach other children safety and to be aware (that would help). Although my son was doing all the right things at that time, things can happen when you least expect it.'
In October last year, a nine-year old boy died after a car ploughed into his family while they were out riding their e-bikes on the Gold Coast.
And last month, a 79-year-old e-bike rider died after she collided with a car on Bribie Island.
While the dangers of e-bikes to pedestrians are also a major concern, as shown by the manslaughter charges against a 17-year-old in Perth who was charged after allegedly hitting and killing a nurse in the WA capital's north last month.
A NATIONAL EMERGENCY
The prevalence of e-bike injuries have become a national emergency as illustrated by skyrocketing admission statistics from the country's hospitals.
In February, a report revealed that E-bike and e-scooter injuries have risen a whopping 300 per cent at a major Australian children's hospital, as the troubling toll the trendy riders are having on under 18s is revealed.
MORE: Chinese brand moves into Holden's home
Qld Minister for Transport and Main Roads Brent Mickelberg said all options are on the table. Picture: Liam Kidston
Injuries at The Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney's west skyrocketed on the back of the increasingly widespread use of e-transport by kids, The Daily Telegraph reported.
According to the report, hospitalisations of children at the medical facility due to accidents on e-bikes or e-scooters for children jumped from six in 2023 to 24 last year.
The majority of incidents involved riders hitting stationary cars or being hit by moving vehicles.
'NO RULES, NO REGULATIONS'
Swinburne Professor of Future Urban Mobility Hussein Dia said at the time he wanted to know 'why' kids are using these motorised modes of transport with seemingly no rules or regulations in place.
'The increase from six children hospitalised in 2023 to 24 children hospitalised in 2024 in Western Sydney is alarming,' Mr Dia said.
Sydney Northern Beaches Police Command during an e-bike crackdown operation, targeting jailbroken bikes, dangerous riding, speeding. Photo Jeremy Piper
'In other states where regulations have been put in place around shared e-scooters and e-bikes, it is illegal for children under the age of 16 to be riding them in public areas.'
'These are not toys – with an electric motor they can go very fast. Some of the devices on sale for private use can travel at speeds up to 45 kilometres per hour.
'With commercial schemes, there are regulations around maximum speeds at which they can travel (e.g. 20 km/h), the mandatory use of helmets, and where they can be driven.
Mickelberg said that riders were simply ignoring rules that had been laid out and that the inquiry would follow other avenues of concern including the risk of fire.
MORE: New ute to spark price war
Originally published as 'Total ban': State's big move on e-bikes
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Police confusing victim with abuser, family workers say
Family violence workers hold major concerns about police misidentifying victims as perpetrators, minimising or downplaying violence and discriminating against marginalised groups. That's according to a survey of 225 frontline family violence experts including support workers and lawyers, published by advocacy group and charity Flat Out Inc. The report into Victoria Police released on Thursday found officers' responses to family violence can bring harm or replicate power and control dynamics that underpin abuse. Some 90 per cent of those surveyed said they had witnessed police discrimination or bias and 83 per cent said they had witnessed police misidentifying the victim-survivor as the perpetrator. They also reported cases of police minimising violence, colluding with perpetrators, avoiding accountability and "institutionally protecting" officers who committed abuse. Researchers noted many professionals reported police "targeting and discriminating" against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, migrant communities, LGBTQI people, people living with disability and other groups. "The testimony from family violence workers is a significant indictment of Victoria Police and their role in family violence response across this state," RMIT criminologist and report co-author Peta Malins said. Family violence sector workers are in a unique position to observe police practices by seeing them firsthand and through the experience of people they support, she said, adding the harms "are not standalone mistakes or failures". Family violence experts completed the survey in 2020/21 and the results were released by Flat Out Inc, an advocacy and support service for women, trans and gender-diverse people with experience of the justice system. The authors called for a move away from policing and towards investment in community-led family violence responses. A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force was not involved in the research and noted it was conducted in 2020/21. They said police work closely with sector-wide partners and regularly engage with support groups and professionals to strengthen their response to family violence. "The safety of victims is at the forefront of everything we do," they said. All police receive extensive family violence training including how to identify predominant aggressors, and more than 90 per cent of officers had completed Aboriginal cultural awareness training, the spokesperson added. "We know it's especially difficult for victim-survivors to come forward when their perpetrator is a police officer," they said. "That's why we created a team specifically tasked with tackling this issue, skilled in supporting victims and understanding the tactics police perpetrators use." About one in four Australian women has experienced family violence involving an intimate partner, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.
Courier-Mail
3 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
Bombshell new Prince Andrew, Epstein claims in new biography
Don't miss out on the headlines from Royals. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's nearly impossible to know where to start here. This weekend extracts from a bombshell new book about Prince Andrew, The Duke of York laid out a tranche of claims about the reviled, exiled royal, each of which is more stunning than the last. Mystery figure seen walking stairs near Epstein cell Questions are being asked about a mystery figure seen walking the steps to the floor which contained Jeffrey Epstein's cell the night he died. Video Player is loading. Play Video This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. X Learn More Loaded : 0.00% 0:00 Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. 00:19 SUBSCRIBER ONLY Mystery figure seen walking stairs near Epstein cell more... more mystery figure seen walking the steps to the floor which contained Jeffrey Epstein's cell the night he died. Questions are being asked about a... ... more Just some of the absolute jaw-droppers we have to choose from: That Jeffrey Epstein sold the duke's 'most intimate secrets' to Israel's Mossad, the Saudi Arabian authorities and Colonel Gaddafi's Libyan intelligence services; that Andrew met Epstein years earlier than he claimed; that they had 'shared women', that Epstein said the duke was 'perverted animal in the bedroom' and 'the only person I have met who is more obsessed with p***y than me'; or that during an official trip to Bangkok 'more than 40 women were brought to his hotel room'. Think Andrew had a grubby reputation before? Figured your estimation of King Charles' brother couldn't go any lower? Well, enter veteran author Andrew Lownie who after having published critically acclaimed biographies of Lord Mountbatten and Edward VIII has turned his attention to Andrew with his new bookEntitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. Over the weekend the Daily Mail ran the first extracts from Entitled and the allegations it raises are more explosive than a TNT factory with faulty wiring. Of course, outsiders like us cannot know whether or not any of the now highly publicised claims are true. The prince has yet to make a response. Most damaging are Lownie's new claims about Andrew's friendship with Epstein, including the allegation that they first met years earlier than Andrew has claimed. Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell posing for a photo. Picture: AFP MORE: Wild reason Charles can't kick Andrew out In 2019 Andrew told the BBC during his infamous Newsnight interview that he had met Epstein in 1999 but Lownie says that Andrew's former private secretary Alastair Watson confirmed the financier and the duke had been introduced in 'the early 1990s'. According to Lownie, Epstein described the duke saying, 'We are both serial sex addicts. He's the only person I have met who is more obsessed with p***y than me. 'From the reports I've got back from the women we've shared, he's the most perverted animal in the bedroom. He likes to engage in stuff that's even kinky to me – and I'm the king of kink!' Ivan Novikov, Epstein's personal driver in New York told Lownie: 'Whenever Andrew was in town I'd be picking up young girls who were essentially prostitutes. New claims do not paint Andrew in a flattering light. Picture: Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL / AFP 'One time I drove him and two young girls aged around age 18 to a hotel. Both girls were doing lines of cocaine. Prince Andrew was making out with one of them.' The Duke of York also allegedly was a 'mainstay' at Epstein's Palm Beach house, according to Epstein's long-time housekeeper Debra Gale. According to her, the duke 'kept newly- wrapped women's pantyhose, lingerie and sandals of several sizes in his closet'. 'It was weird seeing all that. It appeared he had all types of fetishes,' Ms Gale has said. 'I once found sex toys on the floor of his room and women's panties in the bed. 'When the girls went I'd give them an envelope that Mr Epstein had left, with anywhere from $USD1,000 to $USD25,000 in it.' Ms Gale told Lownie she would see the 'handsy' royal 'a couple of times a year, if not more' and that 'Epstein made it clear he wanted to make Andrew happy'. He writes that the duke was allegedly 'a regular' on Epstein's private island Little St James. An employee of the 72-acre property reportedly told the US Virgin Islands attorney general they had seen him 'on a balcony groping girls right out in the open'. Entitled also makes claims about Andrew and Donald Trump who both reportedly attended Heidi Klum's annual Halloween Party in 2000. According to Lownie, 'Shortly afterwards and clearly good friends, Trump and Andrew were overheard at an event to discuss Trump's plans for a golfing complex in Scotland, talking entirely about 'p***y', with the American producing a list of masseuses for the prince.' Trump has not yet made a response to these claims. Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, MA in 2004. He was later convicted of having sex with underage women. Picture: Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images In 2001 the Duke of York retired after a two decade-nearly naval career and was appointed as an international British trade envoy that saw him flit around the world on behalf of the UK government. Andrew 'was easy prey for a rattlesnake like Epstein,' Lownie writes. 'Epstein played Andrew. The prince was a useful idiot who gave him respectability, access to political leaders and business opportunities. He found him easy to exploit.' Lownie writes that, according to Steven Hoffenberg, Epstein's one-time 'mentor', 'Epstein would boast that Andrew was his 'Super Bowl trophy' and he planned to sell Andrew's secrets to Israel's intelligence agency Mossad'. Hoffenberg, who died in 2022, told Lownie: 'Andrew had a weakness for the girls and fast life, Epstein provided that fantasy. Andrew would then give intelligence that Epstein would give to Israel. Andrew didn't understand that he was being used.' Lownie also reports on claims made by 'many in Andrew's circle' to journalist Ian Halperin that Epstein had 'sold Andrew's most intimate secrets to notorious foreign intelligence agencies, including Israel's Mossad, to Saudi Arabia and to the Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya, the national intelligence service of Libya under Colonel Gaddafi''. He also reports on allegations that 'Epstein had Kremlin connections and may have been an 'agent of influence' for Vladimir Putin.' On Sunday, Lownie told The Times that 'The claim about the kompromat, I've got it from other sources.' One friend of the duke's also said: 'Ghislaine is manipulating him and he's too naive to realise it…It's all very premeditated.' Entitled's new Andrew claims also extend to his personal life back in the UK. Prince Andrew, Duke of York reacts as he leaves at the end of the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day service in 2022. Picture: Daniel LEAL / AFP As of 2001, a royal source said, 'There is the spectre of drugs hanging over almost everyone he's now associating with'. A friend reportedly said: 'He's spiralling out of control.' Andrew allegedly asked a woman to dance at at wedding and she turned him down, he replied, 'I suppose a b*** j** is out of the question, then?' He allegedly said to a masseuse, 'Hey, nice ar**e. Do you take it up the a**e?'' She said of the experience, 'All the way through he was talking about anal sex and making anal sex jokes. He asked when I had last had sex.' According to Entitled, 'Nor were staff out of bounds. There was a long-standing rumour of an affair with a household staff member when he was still married to the Duchess of York. One nanny left because he made unwelcome advances. 'When I started,' an employee told Lownie, 'I was warned to stay away from him. He would sometimes enter the staff quarters.' In 2006, Andrew represented the late Queen at the King of Thailand's diamond jubilee celebrations. During his stay, 'more than 40 women were brought to his hotel room'. Lownie writes: 'Hotel staff were used to foreigners bringing in girls, but amazed that more than 10 a day were going to Andrew's room.' The relationship between the two men is being examined in a new biography. Tom Sykes, a longtime and highly connected royal correspondent, has offered a corroborating account in his new Substack newsletter The Royalist. A veteran diplomatic source told Sykes of Andrew's alleged behaviour: 'What was so extraordinary about the Andrew thing was… the sheer number of girls going in and out of his room that weekend—and the fact that he just blatantly didn't give a shit who knew about it. 'I think now the floodgates are opening. If even one-tenth of the women who've slept with him—or just had weird sexual encounters with him—decide to talk, this could be a tsunami of shit for him.' Sykes writes that 'other Thai contacts confirmed' the Bangkok story and 'Even in Bangkok, what he did shocked people.' Back in London, rumours had, according to Sykes swirled for years about Andrew's so-called 'voracious sexual appetite'. Sykes also recounts a 'chilling' joke that is one of the duke's reported favourites: 'The grand old Duke of York, he had 10,000 men—and by golly, I can tell you it hurt.' A woman who knew him during his teenage years at Gordonstoun school in Scotland described him as 'a very slimy so-and-so, arrogant, pleased with himself, a bully'. The Duke of York is also described by former paramours as being 'perfunctory' and a 'let down' in bed who 'has been dumped by most of the girls linked to him because he is a bore.'' An image provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows financier Jeffrey Epstein. Wendy Berry, the housekeeper at King Charles' Highgrove and whose son worked at Buckingham Palace told Lownie: 'Apparently his bedtime habits as a single man left a lot to be desired. A collection of scrunched-up, soiled tissues usually lay scattered around the bed each morning for staff to collect after they had made his bed.' Meanwhile the Duke of York allegedly tells such 'disgusting' jokes that even a friend of his said they left dinner guests 'aghast'. He reportedly joked about farting to Prince Edward's then girlfriend Romy Adlington in the 1980s, 'Don't you find they always smell worse when you do them in the bath?' Andrew's sense of humour is reportedly painfully juvenile. Lownie recounts how at a dinner party he turned to someone beside him and said, 'This pâté smells. What do you think?' and when she lent 'forward to smell it and he promptly pushed her face into the dish.' There is more, so much more from Entitled, like that the Duke of York allegedly pulls off shonky moves on the golf course, pinched bottoms female during house parties, referred to 'The royal member' and could be 'cruel' towards royal staff. It's understandable why, even two weeks before Entitled is released, it is already on the bestseller list. On Sunday a glum-looking Andrew and his ex-wife and roommate Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York were photographed in grey old Windsor. It's hard to get further away from a Caribbean private island or a luxe Bangkok hotel. Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years' experience working with a number of Australia's leading media titles. Where to find help If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse or family violence contact: National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Counselling Service 24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 on 24-hour Emergency Accommodation helpline on 1800 800 588 Safe At Home helpline on 1800 633 937 National Violence and Abuse Trauma Counselling and Recovery Service on 1800 FULLSTOP (1800 385 578). They also have a specific line for the LGBTIQA+ community called the Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline on 1800 497 212 They also have a specific line for the LGBTIQA+ community called the Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline on SHE (free and confidential counselling and support) on 6278 9090 Sexual Assault Support Services on 6231 1811 , or after hours 6231 1817 , or after hours Family Violence Crisis and Support Service on 1800 608 122 Bravehearts – Sexual Assault Support for Children on 1800 BRAVE 1 Kids Helpline is for young people aged 5 to 25 on 1800 551 800 Don't go it alone. Please reach out for help by contacting Lifeline on 13 11 14 Men who have anger, relationship or parenting issues, should contact the Men's Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or the Don't Become That Man helpline on 1300 243 413 Originally published as Bombshell claims emerge about Prince Andrew in new biography
Sky News AU
6 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Alleged machete attack survivor urges Victorian Premier to listen to victims of violent crime as he seeks medical support
A man who suffered horrific injuries in an alleged machete attack has made a heartfelt plea for Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to listen to victims of violent crime. Saurabh Anand, 33, was allegedly ambushed by four teenagers at Central Square Shopping Centre in Altona Meadows, Melbourne, on July 19. Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday evening, he urged the Victorian government to understand the trauma victims of violent attacks have to endure. "I'm not a lawmaker or an advocate for creating an entirely new different stream of laws that would prevent these attacks to happen. That's for the government take into consideration and make sure that Victoria is a safer state moving forward," he told Sky News host Steve Price. "But as a victim of crime, (what) I would say is that at least hear us out." Mr Anand was visiting a pharmacy when he was allegedly attacked by the teenagers, aged 14 and 15, with a machete. His left arm was so severely injured it almost required amputation. He also suffered organ damage and a spine fracture, as well as sustaining a concussion from falling to the ground during the alleged attack. ' My hand was literally hanging by the skin of it. I had all the broken bones in my arms, all the muscles, tendons and the nerves got damaged in my wrist and the bones were cut off there as well. There is an injury in between my thumb and index finger, there's a huge fracture there as well,' he said. 'So a very, very horrific experience for me to go through.' Mr Anand said he did not know what the future held for him as he was unable to work and his visa was expiring in September, all while he was seeking physical and mental health support. 'If I'm out of work, how can I get any sponsorship or anyone to hire me?' he said. Mr Anand said he was 'looking for some justice' for the trauma he sustained and that his priority was to see 'some accountability'. 'I'm looking for some justice, to be honest,' he said. 'All I seek is that there is some accountability moving forward by the government and the people who did this. And that is what I can ask for from the government to be fair, to be just and to treat me like a citizen here and help me get back on my feet and in my life again.' Liberal MP Moira Deeming said she visited Mr Anand, her constituent, when she saw the news of the attack. She said he sustained 'defensive wounds' from protecting his neck, suggesting the alleged attack could have been fatal. 'He's not alone in this experience,' Ms Deeming told Sky News. 'The fear that has spread throughout the community is pervasive and Victorians are being gaslit by this government and actually treated as though they are bigots or snobs for having genuine fears, which clearly are not unfounded by the fact that this is a lawless state.' Ms Deeming said the Victorian government was 'begging' violent criminals to hand over their weapons after it spent $13 million setting up 40 machete disposal boxes across the state. An amnesty period will run from September 1 to November 30 to allow people to hand in their machete after the state banned the weapons, making it a criminal offence to own, carry and buy one without a permit. Ms Deeming said Victoria needed to implement state opposition leader Brad Battin's proposals to fix the bail system and to support the police. 'Justice delayed is justice denied,' she said. 'It's just out of control. The human carnage is disgraceful and Labor should be ashamed.'
