Nick Reece’s e-scooter debacle shows poor leadership

A lack of leadership at Town Hall has made a horrible mess of inner Melbourne’s e-scooter issue.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece’s fumbling mismanagement of policy has confused the public and left the City of Melbourne, and therefore ratepayers, exposed to potential legal action by e-scooter operators.

Just last month Mr Reece stood next to Victorian Minister for Public and Active Transport, Gabrielle Williams, solidly in support of the current scheme.

“E-scooters are here to stay,” Ms Williams said, and Mr Reece didn’t contradict her.

But over the past few weeks he has been all over the place, culminating in a chaotic council meeting on Tuesday which left some councillors dumbfounded and complaining about lack of consultation.

The meeting was originally supposed to consider measures to improve the e-scooter program, including new technology being rolled out by hire companies Lime and Neuron.

However, Mr Reece rammed through a last-minute motion to cancel contracts signed with those operators, leaving one firm to question: how the council agenda could go from a proposal for new technology to an outright ban in just one day.

It all reeks of desperation from a Lord Mayor who clearly isn’t up to the job.

Mr Reece’s flip-flopping on this issue is breathtaking.

When the e-scooter trial started some years ago and there were early signs of dangerous riding Mr Reece merely shrugged and said the scheme was going well because every rider he saw had a smile on their face.

But amid growing concerns about illegal footpath and tandem riding, in August last year Mr Reece announced a “crackdown” which included hi-tech fixes to rein in the behaviour.

“I love the e-scooters. I want to see them continue in Melbourne, but I’ll be the first to say we need to crack down on hoon behaviour …” he said at the time.

But the so-called crackdown obviously didn’t work, safety concerns persisted, and we are now left with a council transport plan in tatters.

How can Mr Reece say one day that shared e-scooters are an important part of the transport mix, and the next day tear up contracts that would see them banished from the whole municipality?

Has he thought through the consequences, such as the inability of riders to travel directly from one inner council area to another because the City of Melbourne has banned commercial e-scooters in its space?

In light of this backflip, Mr Reece needs to guarantee that not a single ratepayer dollar will be going to these e-scooter companies in compensation for this failure of leadership.

Before Mr Reece’s current mess over e-scooters, I released my plan for reforms.

I pledged that if elected Lord Mayor in October I would take immediate and decisive action to ensure that e-scooters were used safely and responsibly.

Unlike Town Hall’s chaotic stance, my reforms would put safety and accountability front and centre, aiming to protect both pedestrians and riders while maintaining the city’s commitment to sustainable transport options.

My plan includes mandated advanced safety technology on all e-scooters, requiring operators to install cameras to prevent footpath use, pedestrian detection technology to avoid collisions, and helmet sensors that disable scooters if not worn.

To protect pedestrians, the elderly and people with disabilities, hired e-scooters would be banned from the Hoddle Grid, and speed limits reduced to 12km/h.

Operators would be required to remove broken or fallen scooters sooner, preventing hazards and eyesores.

These are sensible proposals that would enhance safety while promoting a sustainable transport option and not exposing the City of Melbourne to possible legal challenges.

Since becoming Lord Mayor in July after a deal with his predecessor Sally Capp, Mr Reece has been engaging in a series of picture opportunities to promote himself ahead of October’s council elections.

He has been “identifying” issues that should have been dealt with during his nearly four years in office, but sadly have been largely neglected and ignored.

What City of Melbourne ratepayers, residents and businesses want is strong and sensible leadership from their Lord Mayor.

Mr Reece has miserably failed the first serious test of his leadership with the e-scooter debacle.

One can only imagine how badly he will perform when other key challenges arise, as surely they will.

The people of Melbourne deserve much better.