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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Tuesday, 24 August 2004) . . Page.. 4092 ..

standards; they are about costs; and they are about the working conditions and wages of taxi drivers. In the end, these are the issues that we need to be addressing in any reform of the taxi industry, but these issues are not addressed by this bill.

Taxis form part of this city’s sustainable transport infrastructure. Taxis provide people who cannot or choose not to rely on private car transport an alternative means to get around. They might be for shopping or late night transport or getting somewhere in a hurry and are particularly important for people who, because they cannot afford to or are unable to, do not drive a car. They are also important as an option to avoid drink driving and they support night time safety. They play a role in the ACT’s tourism industry and for interstate and international business visitors. It is unfortunate that these functions of the taxi industry are barely acknowledged, let alone reflected in the government’s reforms.

So we need to start again, unfortunately, on taxi reform. And we should not start from a position that focuses on competition or taxi plate licenses. We need to start by recognising the role the taxi industry plays in this city and identify any problems the people of Canberra have with that service. We need to look at how taxis fit with our other transport modes and the sustainable transport plan. This will lead us to identify current problems and work towards meaningful solutions, whether they be market-based or regulatory and legislative solutions.

This whole saga should be a lesson to government and demonstrate the problem with looking at an issue of competition in a vacuum. We cannot simply assume that competition will produce a fair or better outcome or that any means of increasing competition is automatically a better option. Instead, we should be taking broad and inclusive perspectives of industry regulation and working with stakeholders to achieve improved outcomes for consumers and workers.

That being said, that is why we will support parts of the Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Amendment Bill which actually support the hire car industry in the regulation of that industry, but we cannot support the proposal put forward by the government in relation to the option of new perpetual taxi licenses because it just reinforces the mistakes that have been made in the past and does not provide a positive solution to the problems that exist today.

MS TUCKER (6.30): This amendment bill centres on the buyback of hire car licences and the staged release of additional taxi plates in the ACT. The issue of taxis has been before the Assembly in various guises over a long period of time, and it is disappointing that it remains unresolved. While I have no problem with the buyback of the hire car licences it is my view that the release of more taxi plates will do little to address the challenges we currently face and on which the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment was charged to report last year.

Given that other states have elected not to deregulate the taxi industries, and particularly given the experiences with deregulation in Victoria and the Northern Territory, I am concerned that a buyout may penalise passengers rather than increase the quality of services available. I understand that Canberra Cabs is already having trouble attracting good drivers and that the increase in taxi plates would exacerbate the situation. I am also

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