Transport Transaction Levy

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (15:23): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police representing the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure a question regarding the $1 point-to-point transport service transaction levy.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL: The point-to-point transport service transaction levy of $1 per trip applying to all taxi, ride sharing and chauffeur car trips in the Adelaide metropolitan area came into operation on 1 May. The government's rationale for this new tax on passengers is that it is to fund the compensation package for the taxi industry for opening the transport services market to new ride sharing operators such as Uber. However, once the tax that has been collected has covered the cost of the compensation package, the tax will continue to be charged and will go into general revenue for the government to use for whatever purpose it desires. My questions to the minister are:

1. What are the costs associated with the administration and compliance of the point-to-point transport service transaction levy scheme?

2. For each dollar that is collected, how much of this goes to administration and compliance?

3. What are the costs of this scheme to taxi operators and Uber, who will essentially be unpaid government tax collectors, to manage the collection, administration and remittance of this tax revenue?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:24): I thank the honourable member for his questions. Before formally taking the questions on notice and passing them on to the responsible minister in the other place, I note the fact that I know the Minister for Transport, along with the government generally, has been working incredibly hard to try to come up with a regulatory system in South Australia that best deals with the substantial advancement and disruption that has occurred in the taxi industry in South Australia. It is a challenge that is being dealt with by a number of governments and jurisdictions around the world that have this rather complex and difficult issue.

It is an approach that stands in stark contrast to the alternate government of this state, which, of course, is in favour of not having a regulatory regime at all and, rather, simply leaving the taxi industry all on its own in a way that doesn't represent the hard work they do in the community and the substantial investment they have made over many years.

We think the regime that is in place in South Australia now best represents a balance between emerging and new technologies, while also recognising the substantial amount of hard work that many within the taxi industry have put in over many years—and they hence deserve a rightful place within the market. That said, I am more than happy to take on notice the questions from the Hon. Mr Mark Parnell and ensure that he gets an answer to the more technical parts of his question from the responsible minister in the other place.