More than a year after the Liberal Opposition introduced a Bill into Parliament that would have allowed private e-scooters to be used in public spaces – it’s been revealed government legislation to legalise the devices may not come into effect for another year.
As reported in InDaily, the Adelaide City Council said they’ve been advised by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport that e-scooter and personal mobility device laws might not change until “early 2025”.
Right now, only e-scooters hired from operators who have a partnership with councils can be used on footpaths and shared paths in selected trial areas.
Those caught riding their own devices in public face fines worth close to $2,000.
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Vincent Tarzia, said if Labor had supported the Opposition’s legislation, private e-scooters would be legal in public right now.
“The wheels of e-scooter legislation are turning at a glacial pace thanks to Peter Malinauskas and Tom Koutsantonis,” Mr Tarzia said.
“It is ridiculous that we are still talking about e-scooter trials five years on and now we discover this will continue well into 2025 when we know they are popular and already used by so many South Australians – but in many cases illegally, and Tom Koutsantonis refuses to still legalise the devices.
“The Liberal Party introduced legislation in February 2023 to make e-scooters legal and the Malinauskas Labor Government continues to ignore this sensible and much-needed reform.
“Tom Koutsantonis needs to pull his socks up and make e-scooters legal – it just makes no sense that Labor are against environmentally friendly personal mobility devices.
“The majority of states in the country have made this move while South Australia is stuck because of Labor’s horse and cart mentality.
“Peter Malinauskas and Tom Koutsantonis need to get with the times and give e-scooters the green light.”
