Parliament week to deliver on our election commitments

Michael Ferguson,Leader of the House

This week in Parliament, the Tasmanian Liberal Government will be delivering key initiatives we took to the election that are part of our plan to secure Tasmania’s future.

We will be debating the Traffic Amendment (Personal Mobility Devices) Bill 2021 in Parliament, which is the first in a package of regulatory amendments to allow personal mobility devices, like e-scooters, to be used by people 16 years and older.

E-scooters are easy to carry, great to get to and from public transport and above all, good for our environment, but under our current regulatory framework, electric devices like these are not allowed on footpaths and shared paths – nor are they eligible to be registered for use on roads.

Our legislation will ensure these Personal Mobility Devices can be safely used on footpaths, shared paths, bicycle paths and some local roads, in line with our election commitment. Footpaths and local roads will be decided by Local Government.

Importantly, in recognition that this is a very new form of transport, we have also committed to reviewing the regulatory framework in 12 months to identify and address any emerging safety implications.

Our hope is to see e-scooters parked outside our workplaces and schools, as we deliver on clean, clever and effective mobility solutions that help people get from A to B in ways that suit them best.

As we head towards the end of the parliamentary year, we will also be debating the TasTAFE (Skills and Training Business) Bill 2021, and the Stadiums Tasmania Bill 2021 – delivering the commitments we took to the May election, that the people voted for.

This stands in stark contrast to the bitterly divided Labor party, who will no doubt use the week to whinge and complain about everything, while offering no solutions of their own.

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