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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-18 Daily Xml
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PASSENGER TRANSPORT (DRIVER ACCREDITATION) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (16:58): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Passenger Transport Act 1994. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (16:59): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I will proceed to explain the bill—and I will delight my colleagues by saying that this explanation is much shorter, and I thank them for their tolerance today. They are good colleagues. I am mindful that I have a number of bills on the Notice Paper so, as I said, I will be brief. Also, in my contribution on the select committee investigations into practices in the taxi industry, I have already touched upon the purpose of this bill.

In collecting evidence for the select committee, I have been given some appalling information. One informant told me that he caught a taxi from the airport and found out that the driver had been resident in Australia for three weeks. Another allegation I have received is that someone has made offers to new arrivals to Australia and that he knows people in the advisory and government structures who can get a driver's licence if they pay him the right bribes. Of course, this is information for the select committee, if it is approved by this chamber, and not for the bill. However, I point this out to show that there is something seriously wrong with the licence accreditation process at the moment.

Sadly, some people who come into Australia may have been used to corrupt activities in their country of origin and allegedly—and I say 'allegedly'—are willing to pay bribes to obtain a licence. Again, that is the select committee's business, but the simple antidote is to strengthen the licensing requirements as in this measure.

These are just illustrations of a host of drivers who are not only inadequately trained on where Banksia Park or the Entertainment Centre are but who also do not know South Australian or even Australian road rules because of the way they were quickly able to get a licence to drive a taxi. I believe that the Minister for Road Safety may also have an interest in this bill for the safety of South Australian motorists, and I acknowledge her commitment to road safety.

This bill simply requires taxi drivers to have one year's prior driving experience on an open Australian licence before they can obtain a taxi licence. Submissions I have received so far indicate unanimous support amongst drivers for this change. At this juncture, I say that the bill is not an attack upon the drivers themselves. I reinforce that this is definitely not an attack upon the drivers: it is a move to regulate an industry that is operating in a dangerous, potentially corrupt and toxic vacuum.

Surely, persons who are tasked with the safe passage of South Australians and tourists within the state, those who spend more time than the average person driving a motor vehicle, ought to have held an open Australian driver's licence for more than one year. This is not only a safety measure but also a measure for customer service, better delivery of passengers to their home and better tourism service.

For the record, I add that we would not be the first state to adopt this bill into legislation. Western Australia, which in recent years conducted a comprehensive review of its taxi industry under a former Western Australian Labor government, implemented this reform. I understand that two Labor governments in the eastern states are looking to make a similar change to deal with a growing problem in the industry nationwide.

I refer to a story in The Advertiser of 6 February 2009 in relation to a select committee into the taxi industry. In the article, the President of the Taxi Council, Mr Wally Sievers, is quoted as saying that 'drivers should hold a minimum 12-month unrestricted Australian driver's licence', so he supports the bill in principle. A recent driver survey by the Adelaide cab drivers association indicated that the majority of drivers also want this reform.

In summary, this measure has the support of the whole industry, and I look forward to the support of the government and the opposition for what the taxi industry wants and needs. I point honourable members and readers of Hansard to my motion to establish a select committee into this industry, as this bill and that motion go hand in hand. I urge honourable members to support the proposals.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. B.V. Finnigan.

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