MP Hermann Vorster addresses community-generated report outlining key e-bike issues across southern Gold Coast

Parliament has been told a three-year-old girl was hit from behind by an e-bike travelling at 25km/h on the southern Gold Coast. READ MORE

Parliament has been told a three-year-old girl was hit from behind by an e-bike travelling at 25km/h on the southern Gold Coast.

The toddler was hit from behind near Currumbin Rock in an early morning incident late last month.

“She took one step (to the) right and you hit her. You had her pinned to the concrete ground screaming, with your e-bike and your weight on top,” the girl’s parent wrote in a social media post.

E-bikes incidents on the Gold Coast have become more common. Photo: Supplied,

Burleigh MP Hermann Vorster on Tuesday told parliament a report presented to him containing comments from hundreds of Gold Coasters showed they harboured deep concerns about e-bikes.

“What started as a trend has now become a serious public safety problem,” Mr Vorster said.

“We saw that recently at Currumbin Beach, where (the) three-year-old girl was hit by an e-bike.”

Mr Vorster said following that incident community response had been overwhelming, with 80 per cent of people demanding change.

“That’s not just noise – that’s a community crying out to be heard,” he said.

Injuries linked to e-devices have skyrocketed by 112 per cent since 2021, with eight Queenslanders last year losing their lives.

MP Hermann Vorster.

Mr Vorster said it was not just the machines that were the issue – but the culture that’s grown around them.

“We’ve all seen it, riders flying down narrow walkways, no helmets, popping wheelies, weaving through families,” Mr Vorster said.

“It’s reckless, it’s illegal and it’s putting lives at risk.”

The Crisafulli government has established a parliamentary inquiry into the issue. The inquiry is expected to run for almost a year.

Originally published as MP Hermann Vorster addresses community-generated report outlining key e-bike issues across southern Gold Coast