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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Tuesday, 22 June 2004) . . Page.. 2316 ..

provide reasonable compensation to existing licence owners, while also being affordable for the government and hence the community. Funds for this buyback will be provided as soon as possible and no later than 1 July 2005.

The government gave careful consideration to the issue of taxi licences and to the committee’s support of an off-budget buyback scheme. However, in light of the government’s earlier investigations of this approach and the failure of other jurisdictions, in particular Western Australia, to be able to make it work, we see no value in going down this fruitless path once again.

Therefore, the government will proceed with its legislation which proposes the release of taxi licences by auction using a formula-based approach. Under this approach, 10 licences will be auctioned as soon as possible to address growing demands for taxi services.

The government will also implement an accreditation regime for hire cars similar to that that exists for the bus and taxi industries. The proposed accreditation regime has the full support of the committee and of the hire car industry.

The government has considered all the other recommendations of the committee and has agreed to adopt many. However, some recommendations have not been agreed, including the proposal that the wheelchair accessible taxi fleet—the WAT fleet—be transferred to the ACTION Authority. This proposal does not have the support of the ACTION Authority board, nor is the government prepared to compulsorily transfer the WAT services to operate under a particular network, whether or not that network is government owned. This is consistent with statements the government has made since coming to office, that the creation of a second network is something for the market, not for the government, to determine.

That is not to say that we are fully satisfied with the service that WATs are providing to the disabled community. Service standards have improved, particularly since the introduction of the new lift fee and closer cooperation from Canberra Cabs, and it is clear that many WAT drivers and operators take their responsibilities seriously. However, some do not, and the government is now working with the network to significantly improve the effort of all WAT drivers and operators, and both the network and the government will apply substantial sanctions and penalties if satisfactory improvement is not forthcoming.

As noted in the standing committee’s report, it is now over eight years since the ACT agreed to review taxi and hire car legislation. Two major independent reviews and an Assembly committee review have preceded the standing committee’s inquiry. The delay in coming to an agreement about the appropriate reform path has not only created a great deal of uncertainty for the industry and resulted in less choice and higher prices for consumers, it has also caused the Commonwealth to withhold over $1 million in competition policy payments.

The government will move as quickly as possible to complete the reform program to bring certainty and viability to the industry and provide benefits to the community. I seek the Assembly’s cooperation in the passage of the amended Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Amendment Bill 2003 when it is next presented.

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