Taxi Industry

In reply to the Hon. F. PANGALLO ().20 March 2024).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State): The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport advises:

1. The Malinauskas government committed to undertaking a review of all point-to-point passenger transport services in South Australia.

On 30 August 2024, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (the department) released the Passenger Transport Act Review report. Recommendation 4 outlines a buyback of taxi licences from metropolitan taxi licence holders residing in South Australia. The buyback would be of metropolitan taxi licences that were obtained privately or at auction before the introduction of rideshare that are still held by the licence holder.

If legislation is passed by the South Australian parliament the department will release guidelines that set out how taxi licence owners can apply for a payment under the Taxi Industry Reform Package, as well as detailed eligibility requirements. The department will write to all taxi licence owners to provide a copy of the guidelines and outline the process.

Following stakeholder consultation, the next step to progress implementation of the review recommendations is to introduce a bill into South Australian parliament to amend the Passenger Transport Act 1994.

2. If you are referring to the Maurice Blackburn class action against Uber in the Supreme Court of Victoria, as the South Australian government would not be a party to any future civil action taken by the taxi industry against Uber, it has not sought legal advice.

3. I am advised that the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (the department) is not aware of any 'secret negotiations' with Uber undertaken in late 2014.

4. I am advised that the department conducted a search for documents within the scope of a freedom of information request and no documents were identified as being within the scope of the request. A review by the South Australian Ombudsman found that it did not appear that the department had failed to undertake reasonable searches for documents in response to the Taxi Council's application.

5. An independent report of the State Ombudsman found that the department had acted appropriately in relation to the freedom of information request.