Taxi Plate Owners – 19/11/2024 ACT General Election Project
TAXI PLATE OWNERS 2024 Australian Capital Territory General Election
BACKGROUND
The 2024 Australian Capital Territory general election will be held on or before Saturday the 19th of October 2024 to elect all 25 members of the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly.
Mailing lists
Mailing lists are available to help you write to your local members.
- Mail merge list (Word, 68.5KB) | (Excel, 13.1KB)
- List of Parliament Members
ACT LIBERAL PARTY
Download the MINISTERIAL PLEDGE AND ASK THEM TO SIGN
| Title | F_Name | L_Name | JobTitle | Phone | |
| Mr | Peter | Cain MLA | Member for Ginninderra | (02) 6205 1927 | cain@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Ms | Leanne | Castley MLA | Member for Yerrabi | (02) 6205 0283 | castley@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Mr | Ed | Cocks MLA | Member for Murrumbidgee | (02) 6205 0234 | ed@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Mr | Jeremy | Hanson CSC MLA | Member for Murrumbidgee | (02) 6205 0133 | hanson@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Ms | Elizabeth | Kikkert MLA | Member for Ginninderra | (02) 6205 1405 | kikkert@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Ms | Nicole | Lawder MLA | Member for Brindabella | (02) 6205 0323 | lawder@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Ms | Elizabeth | Lee MLA | Member for Kurrajong | (02) 6205 1919 | lee@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Mr | James | Milligan MLA | Member for Yerrabi | (02) 6205 0101 | milligan@parliament.act.gov.au |
| Mr | Mark | Parton MLA | Member for Brindabella SHADOW TRANSPORT | (02) 6205 0099 | parton@parliament.act.gov.au |
ACT LABOR PARTY
Download the MINISTERIAL PLEDGE AND ASK THEM TO SIGN
| Mr | Andrew | Barr MLA | Member for Kurrajong | (02) 6205 0011 | barr@act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Ms | Yvette | Berry MLA | Member for Ginninderra | (02) 6205 0233 | berry@act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Ms | Joy | Burch MLA | Speaker | (02) 6205 0020 | speaker@parliament.act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Ms | Tara | Cheyne MLA | Member for Ginninderra | (02) 6205 0100 | cheyne@act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Mr | Mick | Gentleman MLA | Member for Brindabella | (02) 6205 0218 | gentleman@act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Ms | Suzanne | Orr MLA | Member for Yerrabi | (02) 6205 1439 | orr@parliament.act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Dr | Marisa | Paterson MLA | Member for Murrumbidgee | (020 6205 1448 | paterson@parliament.act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Mr | Michael | Pettersson MLA | Member for Yerrabi | (02) 6205 1436 | pettersson@parliament.act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Mr | Chris | Steel MLA | Member for Murrumbidgee | (02) 6205 1470 | steel@act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
| Ms | Rachel | Stephen-Smith MLA | Member for Kurrajong | (02) 6205 2661 | stephen-smith@act.gov.au | Australian Labor Party |
ACT GREENS
Download the MINISTERIAL PLEDGE AND ASK THEM TO SIGN
| Title | F_Name | L_Name | JobTitle | Phone | Party | |
| Mr | Andrew | Braddock MLA | Member for Yerrabi | (02) 6205 0225 | braddock@parliament.act.gov.au | ACT Greens |
| Ms | Jo | Clay MLA | Member for Ginninderra | (02) 6205 0131 | clay@parliament.act.gov.au | ACT Greens |
| Ms | Emma | Davidson MLA | Member for Murrumbidgee | (02) 6205 1941 | davidson@act.gov.au | ACT Greens |
| Miss | Laura | Nuttall MLA | Member for Brindabella | (02) 6205 0699 | nuttall@parliament.act.gov.au | ACT Greens |
| Mr | Shane | Rattenbury MLA | Member for Kurrajong | (02) 6205 0005 | rattenbury@act.gov.au | ACT Greens |
| Ms | Rebecca | Vassarotti MLA | Member for Kurrajong | (02) 6207 8975 | vassarotti@act.gov.au | ACT Greens |
As a Member of Parliament, you have a chance to do what is right and just
The ACT Australian Parliament has implemented very important Bills that negatively impacts the lives and wellbeing of ACT taxi owners and their families.
Taxi owners are not opposed to change, but the Reform Bill in their current form do not pass the “fair and reasonable” test for licences that were purchased as property (And the concept was confirmed in the case of Commissioner of Taxation -V- Murrary [1998] when a dispute over ownership and goodwill involving a taxi licence went to the High Court – the highest court in Australia and won). and consequently devalued by allowing commercial rideshare to enter as an unregulated competitor in a non-level playing field.
From October 30, 2018 taxi licence fees were halved to $10,000, and halved again to $5000 FROM 2019 TO 2024. Canberra Times makes it clear stating:
Owners of perpetual plates paid as much as $250,000 for their plates at auction from the government and in private sales, and before this month’s deregulation of the industry were leasing them to taxi operators at about $20,000 a year.
Hire car licence fees will be slashed from $4600 to just $100 per year.
LETTER TO ACT MINISTERS
Dear Ministers
ACTTPOA is seeking an optional full buyback of taxi plates based on their purchase value (inclusive of CPI) without paying tax and to fund this buyback by introducing a LICENCE FEE on all on-demand transport fares.
This proposal is both fair and reasonable to both taxi owners and the public.
As a Member of Parliament, you have a chance to help right the wrong.
There is an alternative approach that achieves this outcome.
Taxi plate owners believe that the ACT State Government can adequately pay taxi owners and have all future operators in the new on-demand transport industry fund the buyback through a relatively modest annual licence fee, with no impact on the public
Historical Context
- For over 80 years, successive ACT State Governments have recognised and perpetuated taxi plate values.
- Taxi owners have entered the ACT taxi industry under the regulatory environment established and continued by ACT State Governments during that time, including the:
- issuing of taxi plates,
- upgrading ACT Government taxi plate lease fees at a cost relative to market values (ie peak period taxis upgraded to full time taxis).
Alternative Taxi Buyback Proposal
- Buyback value of taxi plates to be consistent with the value of taxi plates prior to the unregulated introduction of rideshare UBER in 30 October 2015, valued at $250,000.
- Introduction of a weekly license fee to cover the costs of operating a passenger vehicle rideshare service.
- All new on-demand transport operators are to pay a weekly fee of (say) $75, which is to be used to fund the buyback costs to existing taxi owners.
- On-demand transport (including taxi) fares to no longer be set by Government, to provide for competition.
- Once a fair and reasonable taxi buyback is implemented, there can be unlimited entry to the new taxi (on-demand) industry.
** There are say 300 taxis that would need to be included as part of a buyback. 304 taxis multiplied by $250,000 per taxi, equals a total buyback cost of $76million.
There are an estimated (my guess) 10,000 on-demand commercial rideshare vehicles operating in ACT. Multiply this number by a $75 per week licence fee, would result in a revenue of (say) $39m per year.
https://www.drivenow-magazine.com.au/statistics/category/act
Taxis versus Rideshare in ACT – Not a level playing field
Statistics speak for themselves. https://www.drivenow-magazine.com.au/statistics/category/act
$39m per year would enable the buyback cost to be repaid in approximately 2 years (plus an additional period to cover the interest on the buyback amount).
If the payment weekly rate is halved to $42.50 or number of vehicles to 5,000 then it would be 4 years to recover costs to the government.
Outcomes of Alternative Taxi Buyback Proposal
- No restriction in numbers operating in the on-demand transport industry, resulting in increased consumer choice and service availability.
- No restriction, and therefore competition, in taxi fares.
- Taxi owners to receive a fair and reasonable buyback price for their taxi plates, as a result of changes in regulation of the on-demand (taxi) industry.
- No cost to the public (ie a 10% levy on taxi fares) to fund the tax plate buyback –buyback to be funded by future participants in the on-demand transport industry.
- Buyback to be repaid in a short time.
- Once buyback cost is repaid, on-demand licence fees can be reduced to cover only the cost of administering the on-demand industry.
- The proposed buyback arrangements will result in a significantly lower level of compliance and administrative costs to introduce and manage the new regulatory environment (ie no enforcement of a 10% levy on taxi fares).
ACT taxi owners need your urgent help to achieve a fair and reasonable outcome.
Without this, there will be serious consequences to the health and financial circumstances of taxi drivers and their families.
We simply ask you to help achieve a buyback price for our plates that is right and just.
