20 March 2025
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:09): I rise to speak on the Passenger Transport (Point to Point Transport Services) Amendment Bill on behalf of the Greens and to indicate, as other speakers have alluded to, that I will be moving some amendments to the bill. The passenger transport sector in South Australia has undergone rapid changes in recent years due to the growing popularity of rideshare services, and it is important that our laws keep pace with these changes. I note that last year the government released a review of the act, which made numerous recommendations and which were informed by feedback from industry, customers and key stakeholders to support the industry and make services safer and more reliable.
I understand this bill addresses many of the challenges facing the passenger transport sector. These include safety concerns and cracking down on fraudulent practices and inconsistencies in industry regulations. It adds stronger compliance provisions, including the automatic suspension and cancellation of accreditation for serious breaches, in addition to consumer protection measures such as a ban on surge pricing and declared emergencies to prevent price gouging.
An important aspect of the bill is the licensed buyback scheme—and other members have touched on that. This scheme will be made available for metropolitan taxi licence holders who resided in South Australia before rideshare's introduction. Taxi licences, once seen as a valuable investment, have plummeted in value, causing financial distress to many licence holders. This scheme will enable these licence holders to receive the financial relief they need.
I know that it is often a contentious debate as to when the parliament or the government step in when a business is no longer viable because of changes in technology or market forces. I remember that when I was a kid I used to go down to the local video store and hire a video. Then, when videos got replaced by DVDs, I would go and hire a DVD.
The Hon. C. Bonaros interjecting:
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: That is before my time, the Hon. Connie Bonaros. I would go and hire a DVD, but again that has all been superseded by streaming services and those businesses are no longer viable. I am not telling that story to trivialise what taxidrivers or that industry is going through, but I make the point that we have seen a huge disruption in our economy and our society over the last few years as a result of the gig economy, as a result of the wide ranges of options that are now available to consumers.
In the case of the taxi industry, I do think it is appropriate that they get support, and I recognise, as other members have done, that many of the people who purchased taxis years ago did so on the basis that it was a plan for their retirement. They have now got to that stage of life when they are seeking to divest that asset, yet it is no longer worth what it once was. Given that the taxi industry has always been a regulated industry by government, people would have invested in that industry with an expectation that it would have provided long-term certainty, so on that basis it does make sense for there to be a level of government support and intervention.
The bill will enable the state government to increase the point to point transport levy, which the Minister for Transport has indicated will rise from the $1 it sits at currently to $2 to fund the taxi licence buyback scheme and to regulate the passenger transport industry and support people with disability to access transport services. The Greens will be moving amendments to the bill to ensure that all of the funds raised from the levy are hypothecated towards these purposes, as well as the provision of active and public transport in this state. Many members have expressed concern around the potential for the existing levy to go into general government coffers, disappear into government revenue, without appropriate oversight around how that money is being spent.
It is my understanding that my amendment will be supported across the parliament today. It makes very clear what precisely this levy can be spent on, and of course it is my expectation that this expenditure will be appropriately accounted for within the budget papers so that there is a level of transparency around how this money is spent. Just to be clear on the specifics of my amendment, to save some time in the committee stage, I have filed two amendments: I will be moving amendment No. 1 [Simms-2], but not amendment No. 1 [Simms-1].
The amendment makes it clear that amounts collected as a point to point transport service transaction levy—amounts under schedule 2, that is—may only be applied for any one or more of the following purposes: the provision of public transport services in the state; the administration and regulation of the passenger transport industry in the state; measures to improve disability access to passenger transport services; the facilitation of active transport in the state; and implementation of a prescribed scheme under section 52AB. Section 52AB refers to the buyback scheme, so that is what we are talking about there. The amendment also defines 'active transport'; that is, walking, bike riding, scooter riding or other self-propelled means of transportation.
It is certainly my hope that this will give the minister, once the buyback scheme has been discharged, the opportunity to invest additional moneys into improving disability access, which is an area that has long been neglected. I recognise that many South Australians are in a very difficult position when it comes to access to transport in our state. There is a real shortage of access cabs, there is a real shortage of Ubers that are appropriately accessible and there is a real lack of accessibility when it comes to public transport infrastructure as well, so it is my hope—and indeed this amendment makes this explicit—that this money will go towards improving that accessibility for those transport users.
It also talks about the administration and regulation of the passenger transport industry. I took over from the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos last year on the inquiry into the gig economy. A number of recommendations were made there that relate specifically to rideshare, and I hope that as part of the administration and regulation of the passenger transport industry the government turns its mind to that—but also, might I say, this potentially guarantees a revenue stream for public and active transport projects into the long term as well. We know that we desperately need rail to Mount Barker. We need an integrated cycling network for our state. This is potentially a source of revenue for those things as well.
I know that the Hon. Ben Hood will be moving a sunset clause provision. I indicate that the Greens will not be supporting that. The reason for that is that these projects—public and active transport projects in particular—are long-term investments and if we implement a sunset clause it is going to make it very difficult for governments to be able to plan with certainty. Our view is that once we lock in what this money can be spent on, let's provide certainty as well, so that any future transport minister can plan and have a sense of what money might be coming in.
It is our view that if the government is going to make South Australians pay more every time they hail a cab or catch an Uber, we must ensure that the money that is being raised is being put towards improving passenger transport across South Australia rather than simply going into the government's coffers. It is certainly my hope that my amendment will be supported by all members in this place.
I do want to acknowledge that I and my office have also been engaging closely with Minister Tom Koutsantonis on this, and I have appreciated the opportunity to have conversations with him around this and the collegial way in which he and his office have approached this. Might I say, I actually think there has been goodwill across the whole parliament in terms of trying to address this issue. Everybody has recognised—as both the Hon. Ben Hood and the Hon. Connie Bonaros have noted—that this is a challenging area of policy. I think we are all trying to do the right thing by the stakeholder groups involved and also by the broader South Australian community, and I think that through the amendments I am advancing today we have struck the right balance.