Dad’s Story In May of 2012, Allan Fels released the Taxi Industry Inquiry’s draft report titled Customers First: Service, Safety, Choice. His recommendations, should the government choose to accept them, will be damaging to thousands of Victorians who have invested in the taxi industry. What Fels fails to do in his draft report is consider the financial implications for these investors. My parents are just two of these investors. This is their story; taxi licence holders in Victoria. My Dad came to Melbourne in 1951 and my Mum in 1957. My Dad travelled to Australia alone having heard that Australia was a land of opportunity. Back then, it was a 6 week sea voyage to a land of unknowns, where he knew not a soul. He was working at the Newport Railway workshop within four days of disembarking. He worked continuously in a variety of roles before he started driving taxis in 1962. He spent over forty years as a taxi driver and, along with my Mum, raised a family. He rarely took time off and ‘annual leave’ was not even in his vocabulary. He was building a life for himself and his family and this was the only way he knew how. He finally stopped work in 2002 at the age of 71, not because he wanted to retire, but because his health required him to. Nevertheless, thanks to their hard work they were able to be self-sufficient and not rely on any form of government pension. To this day, he and my Mum do not (and have never) receive a pension, something that many people their age receive. Their investment in taxi licences (an industry he understood well) was their superannuation. Most importantly, these licences provide my parents with a steady income. What Allan Fels is proposing to do to them, as well as many other licence holders in a very similar situation, is remove this income at a time in their lives when they do not have the ability to just rejoin the workforce. What’s being proposed not only threatens them financially but will also have a detrimental effect on their health and emotional wellbeing. Before the Fels draft report came out, the market dictated the price of taxis. Since the draft report came out the market has become so uncertain that their asset base has been effectively shattered. My dad has always had to overcome adversity. He was orphaned at the age of 7 and started working when most children are still being walked to school. · He has spent over 50 years involved in the Taxi Industry. · He has always worked and paid his taxes accordingly. · He has never received a government pension of any kind. He is not a ‘fat cat’ as Allan Fels would have people believe. Fat Cats don’t work 7 days a week for their entire careers, they don’t have to clean other peoples vomit from the back seat of their cars, or deal with people stealing taxi rides. And they certainly are not at risk of verbal and physical assaults when working Friday and Saturday nights. This was my Dad’s lot. He never complained and he never quit. He just did what he believed was right for his family. He is a hardworking migrant, the type that earned everything that he has accrued. This inquiry now recommends that it be taken away. Along with my Mum, he has raised and educated 4 children. These 4 children have all been in the workforce for at least 2-3 decades and continue to be employed. My Dad deserves an acknowledgement for his contribution to Australian society, but he is a humble man and would never expect such a thing. He has never put his hand out for anything. Well now he is asking. He is asking for a fair go. If the government believe so strongly in these changes, then I believe it is only just that he be fully compensated. My Dad’s situation is not unique. In attending a meeting for Taxi Industry stakeholders at Dallas Brookes Hall on Saturday the 7th of July, I saw a lot of older people present; people my Dad’s age, dealing with the same challenges. He is not alone. These people have spent years building nest eggs for themselves, nest eggs that Allan Fels is only too happy to destroy. Fels is the first to admit that his recommendations did not consider licence holders like my Dad. He wants to ignore all these people. Thousands of them. Not his problem as far as he’s concerned. He couldn’t give a damn. My parents acknowledge that change to the Taxi Industry is required and understand that this will come at a cost. But the cost should not be everything that they have worked for their entire lives. My Dad’s main concern is that taxi rentals will be capped at $20,000.00 per annum. Optimistically, this will value a taxi licence at $200,000 to $250,000 depending on what the markets capitalise this constantly depreciating asset at. Obviously, over time (depending on the rate of inflation) the value of this asset will tend to zero. Please note that: · He has been involved in the industry since 1962 and the investment is now his and my Mum’s nest egg. He is not a speculator. · He didn’t break any law when he purchased his licence. · At no stage has the Government informed him that the value of his licence could be decimated at the whim of the Government. · It was the Victorian Government that mandated the listing of taxi licences on the Bendigo Stock Exchange. · His licence was legally purchased on the Bendigo Stock Exchange, as required by the Victorian Government. · Never has his investment returned more than 6.5%. · He always set the rent in consultation with the depot and driver. · He has always favoured long-term leases and none of his leaseholders have ever complained about the rental. · He has always complied with the accreditation process and paid his annual fees on time. · He didn’t complain when the Government released extra licences in order to alleviate the lack of taxis on Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately, that initiative failed to rectify the issue. · If the recommendations are passed in their entirety, he will have his life savings slashed by at least 50% and his return on investment reduced on average by 33% without any indexation for the rest of their lives. · How is this not an expropriation of legitimately acquired assets?? · We as a family were shocked when we learned that Fels would be appointed Chair of this inquiry when his position with regards to deregulation has been well known for many, many years. It is akin to permitting a judge to decide a case when he had previously stated biased views. How can this even be possible?? This inquiry was only ever going to reconfirm Fels’ views. It is devoid of independence and incredibly unfair to my parents and other stakeholders who have so much to lose.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 10:32:15 +0000
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