May 2, 2018
KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy has fronted media in Cairns today alongside dozens of unhappy local taxi owners to support them in their bid to pursue the Queensland Government for compensation after ride sharing operators have left them at breaking point, and in some cases, unable to repay their home loans.
KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy has fronted media in Cairns today alongside dozens of unhappy local taxi owners to support them in their bid to pursue the Queensland Government for compensation after ride sharing operators have left them at breaking point, and in some cases, unable to repay their home loans.
Representatives of the taxi industry in Cairns met with Mr Katter and told him of the true cost that ride sharing businesses have had on the industry and their livelihoods. In some instances, taxi operators have been left homeless, while others have fallen into deep states of depression with at least two deaths attributed to the situation.
According to a Cairns taxi owner, prior to ride sharing being allowed in Australia, taxi licenses were valued at over $500,000 and a number of drivers are repaying bank loans to cover that expense. Since ride sharing, the value has declined to around $100,000 – leaving almost a $400,000 abyss in the loan repayments.
Mr Katter said it was time for the Queensland Government to stand up and take responsibility for failing the taxi industry.
“Quite simply, $1000 million was taken off hardworking Australians and given to a foreign corporation here. And let me be very clear; that was Madam Palaszczuk and Madam Trad that did that, and their equivalents in the other states.
“In the state of Queensland they have enforced the laws for over 80 years around taxi licensing. This government decided – having enforced it against Australia for over 80 years – that Uber goes unprosecuted and not only that, they changed the laws for them.
“The politicians in the other parties, apart from One Nation and our party, they think its fine that $1000m is taken off them, take their superannuation gone, hand it to a foreign corporation – 25% of all the taxi income goes overseas, that’s the outcome.
“There are one set of laws for Australians, and another set for foreign corporations. They don’t deliver justice, they treat it with contempt. They are going to be yarded and sent off to the knackery. ”
Mr Katter said that the taxi delegation pursuing the compensation campaign against the Qld Government were dealing with the best lawyers in the country and they remained very confident they are going to win.
“I am not ignorant of the law. It is a very strong case.
“These people now will have squandered $1000m of the tax payers’ money. The Government doesn’t care about the hard working Australian, but they do care about big foreign corporations, and they are on their knees kissing their boots.”