Media Release
September 5, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) says the claim by Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe that the taxi industry has been paid $4.3 million in immediate financial relief is “a total lie”, revealing that not a cent has been provided.

Furthermore, TCQ chief executive officer Benjamin Wash says the entire $100 million package is a “fairy tale” that will never be paid.

“We have email correspondence from the department telling us that not a cent will be paid until late 2017 at the earliest, and the Government may not even be in office then.

“Queenslanders will also be shocked to learn that only around 20 per cent of taxi owners will even be eligible because the compensation is not going to be paid to anyone who has their licence in a company name.

“In other words, this figure of $100 million sounds good and gives the impression that the industry is being looked after, when in fact it’s a $100 million sham.”

Mr Wash said the Government’s proposed regulations are a mess.

“Nowhere in this regulation does the Government make rideshare legal, nowhere does it bring clarity on rank and hail business – this is government mismanagement at its worst.”

He said TCQ acted in good faith throughout the review yet the minister and premier have showed “unprecedented arrogance to the industry”.

“Put simply, the minister is fabricating these figures. None of this so-called red tape reduction will save the industry a solitary cent and it’s time someone called out this government for its ineptitude and shameless mistruths.

“He must think we are stupid. Waiving fees that have already been paid is not a saving.

“The minister is lying. There is no nicer way to put this.”
ENDS

Media Release
August 30, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) says proposed new legislation that will deregulate the taxi industry and prevent the public from identifying taxis will lead to an increase in sexual assaults in this state, just as it is doing overseas.

A recent Associated Press (AP) report in the USA revealed that a man posed as an uber driver to assault a woman in Atlanta; with similar cases being reported in several US cities including Los Angeles, where “a man was arrested and accused of luring a woman into his SUV and then raping her and choking her until she became unconscious”.
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The reports states that, “within the past 12 months, police in Washington, D.C., and in Chicago also have issued public alerts to warn residents about people pretending to be uber drivers and preying on unsuspecting customers.”

TCQ chief executive officer Benjamin Wash said the council has been warning about such attacks since the start of illegal rideshare services in Queensland but had been accused of scaremongering.

“It goes without saying that if the public cannot identify vehicles that are genuine taxis, there is opportunity for predators and people with criminal intent to easily exploit this, particularly when dealing with drunk and vulnerable customers.”

He said uber is not to blame, but “any system that allows unmarked cars to pick up passengers is a recipe for disaster.

“While rideshare drivers should only accept pre-booked rides, we know many cruise around nightclub precincts and schools trying to pick up passengers, and this will get worse with the new legislation that allows anyone to run their own taxi service.”

The AP report quotes police as confirming that “some uber drivers wait outside bars anticipating that people will need rides, much like taxis do.”

“This Government has given criminals and predators an opportunity to masquerade as rideshare drivers, offering lifts to passengers at their most vulnerable, and all Queenslanders should be outraged.”

AP article referred to above – http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/26/atlanta-police-seek-man-who-posed-as-uber-driver-attacked-woman/
ENDS

Media Release
August 29, 2016

Queensland’s taxi peak body has accused the State Government of targeting taxi drivers as payback for the industry’s lack of support for the deregulation of the industry, announced recently following the Varghese Review into personalised transport.

Taxi Council Queensland CEO Benjamin Wash revealed that police were breath testing all drivers on a major city rank on Saturday night, disrupting taxi services.

He said this had never happened before on this scale and that police informed drivers that they were acting on the direct orders of “Queensland politicians”.

“We feared that the Government would target law abiding taxi drivers because we didn’t jump for joy when they deregulated our industry, and it appears they are doing exactly that.”

Mr Wash said the review was a whitewash and it was clear that the Labor Government was more interested in supporting illegal multinational operators that don’t pay tax in Australia, over Queensland small business.

“Every small business in Queensland should be worried that not only did the Government abandon the 16,000 small business operators that make up the taxi industry, but are now vindictive enough to target them and ensure they lose more business.

“By deregulating this industry, they have stripped consumers of protection, ignored their responsibility to put safety first, and supported a breakdown of the rule of law.”

He said that under the new era of deregulation, anyone can start their own taxi service with no checks or balances, no rules and no quality standards.

“The Queensland public should be aware that this is not about a company called uber, but about opening up public transport to anyone with the bar set so low it’s scary and dangerous.

“Sadly something very serious will have to happen before the Government wakes up.”
ENDS

Taxi Council of Queensland Inc.
Media Release
August 15, 2016

The RACQ’s credibility is in tatters after it “played” the Government and media by running a dishonest campaign in support of uber for the sole purpose of entering the rideshare market itself, according to Queensland’s peak taxi body.

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) CEO Benjamin Wash says while the RACQ can conduct any legal business it wants, it was dishonest by providing comments under the guise of being a peak motoring body while not publicly declaring its interest in creating its own rideshare company.

“The RACQ has sold out Queenslanders by supporting a foreign multinational that sends its profits offshore at the expense of thousands of Queensland small businesses, and even worse it has been caught lying about its intentions.

“We called their management out last week and their response has been an embarrassing and confusing mix of admitting their intent and denying it all at the same time.”

RACQ executive manager Michael Roth has told the Sunday Mail that the organisation intended to ‘investigate the business opportunities presented by becoming a (rideshare) provider’.

“This is something that RACQ could do in the future,” he was quoted as saying.

Mr Wash said TCQ’s concerns were not about competition, but about integrity.

“It’s a big deal because the RACQ’s so-called ‘independent’ voice carries weight with the media and public who assume it speaks from a public benefit perspective, not from commercial self-interest.

“Tens of thousands of small business people associated with the taxi industry across Queensland who operate honestly, pay their taxes and abide by regulations will rightly feel betrayed, and many will have membership and insurance with RACQ.

“We call on all within the taxi industry and all other Queenslanders to immediately send them a message by cancelling their membership and insurance policies and changing to companies that support local business and display integrity.”

TCQ said the RACQ’s “doublespeak” is not fooling anyone. “The organisation must now come clean and be honest, or its contribution to future public debates won’t be taken seriously.”
ENDS

Media Alert
August 11, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wash will respond to the announcement by the State Government on the Varghese Review recommendations today. He will be accompanied by Rob Pyne MP.

Details:
Time – 2.15pm
Date – TODAY Thursday August 11
Where – Outside the office of Rob Pyne MP – 46-50 Spence St, Cairns
ENDS