Dr Nick Yim on e-Scooters and Queensland Budget

Transcript: AMA Queensland President, Dr Nick Yim, ABC North Queensland, Mornings with Susan Graham-Ryan, Monday 23 June 2025

Subjects: e-Scooters and Queensland Budget

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: There has been another loss of life from e-scooters, the latest in Townsville, a 34-year-old man. There have been many, many more people seriously injured from those e-mobility devices. News of the death out of Townsville coming just days after the consultation closed for the parliamentary inquiry into e-scooter and e-bike safety. There were more than 200 submissions already published on the inquiry page. The Australian Medical Association Queensland is one of those to have their say, and AMAQ President Dr Nick Yim is with me now. Thanks so much for your time this morning.

DR NICK YIM: Good morning.

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: So Dr Nick Yim, as a community we have been seeing a rise in the number of people who are using e-mobility devices but also the life-threatening impacts of them. What sorts of things have you been seeing yourself but also hearing from other frontline colleagues about the impact of e-scooters? 

DR NICK YIM: Yeah, so this parliamentary inquiry on e-mobility devices, it's just so important. Besides healthcare professionals, I'm sure many people in the community are concerned, I guess, with the injuries people are being sustained. Obviously, it's not just loss of life, but it's also some of the quite serious fractures, trauma that we are seeing seeing. And in particular for young people, you've commented already on a recent loss of life in Townsville, and that's really concerning, which is the reason why this inquiry is welcome. And we are seeing additional pressures on our emergency departments because of e-scooter injuries. 

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: So talk me through the submission from the AMAQ that the AMAQ has made to the parliamentary inquiry? 

DR NICK YIM: So I think first things first is we all acknowledge that e-scooters do play a role in transportation. We've seen this in scooters, also e-bikes. So we are urging the Queensland Government to invest into infrastructure to allow mobility devices such as e-scooters to be, I guess, separated for pedestrians because, as you can imagine, when an e-scooter hits a pedestrian, there can be actually quite catastrophic injuries. But at the same time, we are looking at maybe restrictions to persons maybe age 16 and older because we have seen that come into other jurisdictions where they do regulate it to the older people because I guess they are more aware of road rules, obviously integration between other cars as well. At the same time, we do need to ensure that there's safety as well. So I'm sure you and I, we probably have seen those e-scooters that rocket down a road at 65, 70 kilometres an hour. And there's not much between the individual and the piece of bitumen, which is the reason why we do need to look at reviewing the current speed limits involved. But the big thing is, obviously compliance and enforcement on some of those regulations. 

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: So there is a tricky balance here because you mentioned the banning the e-mobility devices from footpaths because of the risk to pedestrians. And just last week on this programme we were speaking with somebody who's a seeing eye dog user, and they talked about some of the risks and concerns that they experienced with e-scooters because they're quiet so they can't hear them. They can't, of course see them and sometimes they're having to walk onto roadways to get around inappropriately parked e-scooters. But then there's also some really quite significant risks in pushing more of the e-scooters onto the roads because there's then the interactions with cars. 

DR NICK YIM: Yeah, you're spot on. So we know currently, obviously, when e-scooters, when they're travelling down the major roads, that's definitely not safe for the e-scooter rider. At the same time, when you alluded to, obviously, when e-scooters are on the main footpaths, that's not going to be safe for the pedestrians, particularly due to many reasons, obviously, the speed of the e-scooter and also how quiet they are, which is the reason why we do need to look at investment into infrastructure. 

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: Is there any particular safety equipment or gear that people should be wearing as a compulsory measure when they're using these e-mobility devices, do you think, Dr Nick Yim?

DR NICK YIM: I think definitely we do need to ensure that everyone is wearing a helmet. When I speak to my colleagues in emergency departments, the number of head trauma that is coming through those emergency departments is quite concerning. And when someone does have a head trauma or head injury, it can be life-changing for the worse for that individual and also families and friends involved. 

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: You're hearing from Queensland President of the AMA, Dr Nick Yim. He's with me this morning. We've just been speaking about the e-scooters and e-bike submission to the parliamentary inquiry, but I also want to talk to you about the state budget which is being handed down tomorrow. From an AMAQ perspective what are the priorities that you would like to see addressed in tomorrow's state budget? 

DR NICK YIM: So we know that health care, it's so important for Queenslanders, at the same time we do know that our population is growing, our population is ageing, which is the reason why we need to ensure that there is adequate investment into the healthcare sector. We've been calling for many years now is that workforce is one of our biggest priorities obviously, and we know that the Christopher Wood government has made a big commitment into the healthcare workforce. But following on from that, we need to ensure that there's adequate funding and investment. At the same time, with that workforce, there needs to be appropriate training pathways. So those junior doctors to train to become specialists at the same time, those medical students to enter the pathway, there needs to be investment into funding into that. And at the same time, we need to also have incentives to attract the workforce, but also to keep the workforce in particular in Queensland, but at the same time to promote them into regional and rural Queensland. 

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: Are there any particular measures that you would like to see rolled out for regional or rural parts of the state? 

DR NICK YIM: So we know that in regional and rural Queensland, some of the great challenges is access to healthcare. So whether that be investigations, that means your x-rays, your CT, but also access to that sub-social care, such as surgeries. So we do need to develop models of care that allows Queenslanders, if possible, to be treated closer to home. Because if we know that when Queenslanders are treated closer to home, they are going to get better outcomes. 

SUSAN GRAHAM-RYAN: AMAQ President Dr Nick Yim, thank you very much for your time this morning. 

DR NICK YIM: Always appreciate it. Thank you very much. 

Read AMA Queensland's Submission to Inquiry on e-Mobility Devices

Read AMA Queensland's Budget Submission 2025-26