The Victorian treasurer has recently announced a budget surplus, but Melbourne taxi drivers have been forced to protest outside of parliament this week due to the Coalition's austerity-driven taxi reforms.
The Denis Napthine government wants to deregulate taxi licensing and claims that taxi standards have been compromised due to a lack of "competition" in the industry.
Taxi drivers and stakeholders know this is a lie.
Some taxi licence owners now stand to lose their homes and many thousands of dollars as the value of their perpetual taxi licence is deflated against the introduction of government leased licences for $22,000 a year, plus CPI for five years.
The total licence fees and charges for a government leased licence will exceed $120,000 over five years. After 12 months, taxi licences will be available on demand to approved applicants by the new "regulator" — the Taxi Services Commission — headed by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Graeme Samuel.
Taxi licence owners do not oppose some aspects of the Coalition's reforms. But they feel the Napthine government should compensate any taxi licence owner who borrowed from a bank to finance their business decision to invest in a taxi licence. Taxi licences have been regularly released by state governments and traded through the Bendigo Stock Exchange; an arrangement set up by former Labor Premier Steve Bracks.
Taxi driver and stakeholders also have concerns about the integrity of the new Taxi Services Commission. Samuel is responsible for monitoring standards in the taxi industry, but appears to have a conflict of interest as he is also promoting a government business through taxi licence leasing for the state government.
Recently he urged taxi drivers to stop protesting and to take advantage of the many opportunities available from the Coalitions taxi reforms. Samuel was asked to provide evidence to support this proposition, but has not replied.
The Australian Fair Work Ombudsman's office has declared "sham contracting" illegal, but Samuel accepts the Coalition's reforms which are based on a modified version of a sub-contracting model, called a "bailee agreement", that is little more than a front for the continuation of sham contracting and the exploitation of taxi drivers.