Monday, April 23, 2007

TAXI TRIBUNAL THAT LACKS TRANSPARENCY

TAXI TRIBUNAL THAT LACKS TRANSPARENCY
BY GLENN LOCKITCH


A recent review of the taxi industry by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART - a NSW government body), invited submissions from the public and industry, but on its public hearingday only industry representatives were allowed to be interviewed.

According to Faruque Ahmed, President of the Taxi Drivers' Section of the Transport Workers' Union (TWU), this follows a pattern of thegovernment s close links with industry at the expense of the rightsof drivers and consumers.

This is the only industry where the systemic problems are blamed on the drivers, even though they have no input into the decision making processes." Ahmed told City Hub.

According to Ahmed, his submission to IPART - an 11 page document with 200 pages of annexes highlighting problems within the taxi industry was refused public scrutiny by not being shown with other submissions on the IPART website.


One day before the hearing Ahmed received a letter from John Dulley, General Manager of IPART's Secretariat, explaining why his submission was not made available for public scrutiny:"From an initial examination ..., I consider that it may be an exempt document... as it contains references to the affairs of agencies and other persons that may have an unreasonably adverse affect on them."


Ahmed told City Hub his submission had been "marginalised". If he had been notified immediately of perceived problems, he could have had an extra seven days after the due date to make alterations. He pointed out that an extension was granted to an influential industry representative to hand his submission in on November 20 - even though an Issues Paper outlining the tribunal process specifically stated: "Submissions on the issues raised in this paper should be received no later than November 13."


On the day of the IPART hearing. approximately 60 submissions had been received by IPART and yet only 23 were displayed on their website. Ahmed approached Dulley and was told in front of awitness, "Your submission is very compact. Everything is in it."As the results of the tribunal will only be released after the state election, Ahmed persisted with his correspondence to IPART, requesting why and what changes had to be made to his submission for it to be released onto the website.

A response finally arrived on February 9 from the Chairman of IPART, Thomas G. Pary "While the tribunal normally provides public access to submissions to assist with public understanding of the issues in its investigations, there is no obligation on it to do so."


Prior to the hearing, IPART had already chosen who was to be interviewed in front of the public. No smaller shareholders, union representatives or taxi drivers were interviewed in front of the public; in fact only a few industry power brokers and governmentr epresentatives had that privilege.One reason given to Ahmed for not being allowed to appear as a witness at the hearing was stated in Dulley's letter. "There is limited time available at the hearings ... "


The time table of the hearing day was given in the Issues Paper, adocument outlining the Tribunal and its processes, sent to interested parties prior to the tribunal. It indicated a 10am start, a 3.45pm finish, a 90 minute break for lunch and two 15 minute tea breaks. In total, just 3 hours and 45 minutes for the day.

Transparency


Issues of public participation. transparency and objectivity of government review processes were highlighted in the NationalCompetition Council's 1997-98 Annual Report, which stated:"... one of the matters consistently raised with the Council by members of the community is the appropriate level of... opportunity for public involvement. Typical concerns include ... failure to allow access to discussion pape/s ... [and]... unless it can be convincingly demonstrated that open processes would impose net community costs ... reviews should be conducted in an independent, open and transparent way, against clear terms of reference, and in a manner that allows interested parties to participate."

Both Dulley and Parry stated in their letters to Ahmed that his submission was not within the terms of reference of the tribunal's review. Parry said, ".. it is not dear to me how the public releaseof [Ahmed's) submission would enhance the tribunal's or the public's understanding of the issues relevant to the review."

Ahmed told City Hub that his submission gives an historical and current background to fundamental problems facing the taxi industry.

He feels that if his submission at the very least covers somerelevant issues, he should have been given the opportunity to be interviewed in person at the hearing.

Ahmed said that both Dulley and Parry have interpreted IPARTs parameters of review as limited to improving the competitive nature of the industry. Dulley's letter to Ahmed stated, "... you would prefer that these regulatory failures [referred to in Ahmed's submission] be rectified in preference to introduction of a more competitive environment."

Yet Ahmed argues in his submission that many entrenched problems in the industry are anti-competitive, unsafe and unjust for the drivers, unfair to the smaller players and costly to the passengers.

The scope of the issues of review that IPART has chosen is limited strictly to "competition", seen from within the existing power structure of the industry, which is controlled by just a few players. In contrast Bob Carr, the NSW Premier, said in a letter in the IssuesPaper, "In conducting this investigation, the tribunal should consider ... the social, financial, economic and administrative impacts of any recommendations made."

Controversial history

The taxi industry has had a controversial history dating back manyyears. In 1940, Justice Edwards described many taxi operators(owners) as "lawless". This problem was reiterated by the Full Bench of the Industrial Commission in 1968 and by an industry commissioned survey in the late 1970s by Sir Asher Joel.

Joel's survey supported previous concerns about the unfair advantage taxi owners had over their drivers, to the extent that they could avoid their legal responsibilities.

Joel recommended the creation of a Taxi Advisory Council (TAC) toadvise the transport minister. To best represent all interests, hesaid the TAC should comprise police, industry (drivers, owners, etc.), the Department of Transport (DoT) and a consumer group.

The TAC was established and many felt that it allowed a wider set of views to be aired and dealt with. But this was not liked by the incoming Liberal Party Transport Minister Bruce Baird, who abolished the TAC in 1988.

The abolition of the TAC created "a vacuum whereby there was no longer a community or industry wide input into the formulation of the official taxi industry policy. This vacuum was filled by the heads of the employer body Taxi Industry Association (TIA)," said Ahmed in a report (containing facts collated over 10 years) which was recently submitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
"(They] created a non-registered body ... [called the Taxi Counci lwhich has] no status under the law)" concluded Ahmed.


Self appointed mouthpiece

Ahmed stated in his report to ICAC that the "Taxi Coundl was established in the early 1990s and unilaterally assumed the multi-pronged role of industry spokesperson, government adviser and media public relations, when in effect it was nothing more than a self-appointed mouthpiece for a small coterie of individuals drawn from the boards of directors of the major co-operatives [taxi companies). In reality it came down to three people calling the shots."

A major shift in the government's regulation of the taxi industry occurred after the introduction of the Passenger Transport Act 1990. which placed an increased emphasis on industry co-regulation between the Department of Transport (DoT) and industry groups. This is confirmed in the tribunal's Issues Paper:The NSW Taxi Council is the peak representative body of the taxi cab industry and ... play[s] the key role in co-regulation with the DoT."

It is interesting to note that not long after the Transport Act 1990 was passed, effectively giving the Taxi Council increase powers to influence legislation governing the taxi industry, at least three officials employed at the DoT resigned and were then employed by the Taxi Council and taxi companies.

One might ask why the government is prepared to co-regulate the taxi industry with the Taxi Council which is an unregistered organisation and has no mechanism for genuine representation of its workers, consumers or the multitude of single cab owners.

At a current value of approximately $280,000 for a taxi plate, only a small proportion of taxi drivers own one. As the number of plates is limited, owning a plate is considered to be a good investment by economically motivated people. In contrast to the past, many plates can now be owned by a single person.

Hence the more money you have the more plates you own, and therefore the more sway you have over smaller shareholders. A larger investor who is purely profit motivated, may have never driven a taxi before. They have more power through their voting rights over a single plate-owner driver, even though a driver would most likely have a greater insight into the needs of the industry

Ahmed has unsuccessfully tried to obtain a list from the DoTdisplaying the level of shareholder concentration within the taxiindustry. He is restricted from obtaining this information from theTaxi Council due to commercial confidentiality.

He asks, "Is the taxi industry a service industry or a speculative industry ?"
As the only review of the taxi industry in recent years has beenIPARTs tribunal, many drivers are furious at the lack of transparency of the review process and their lack of representation in the regulatory decisions made by the government.

Ahmed said "We are urging our colleagues to first vote for the minorparties or independents instead of the current Labor Government inthe upcoming election. Maybe then we will have a voice to improve our safety, the enforcement of our legal rights on shonky owners,improved environmentally friendly technology, better public education and ultimately better service for the passenger."

Rats In The Ranks

Rats In The Ranks

The City Hub recently obtained a leaked copy of a submission to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) alleging corrupt practices and maladministration within the NSW Taxi Industry, involving figures within the government, the Taxi Council and the Transport Workers Union. The submission was compiled over a 10 year period and highlights "a virus within tile body politic where good Government and competent public administration are forever beholden to a shadowy force of vested interests."

The author of the submission is Faruque Ahmed, a taxi driver of 14 years and President of the Taxi Drivers Section of the Transport Workers Union. Ahmed believes that "the corruption in the NSW taxi industry is so endemic that the normal processes of affecting political change and industrial redress" have been exhausted and are no longer available to him. In order to unravel a suspected web of corruption within the industry, for 10 years Ahmed has gathered "extracts from government reports, correspondence/replies from... (numerous) NSW State Government Ministries / departmental heads responding to a range of enquires from advocates of taxi industry reform, press coverage of the NSW taxi industry, Hansard transcripts, reproduction of official notices distributed to taxi drivers and minutes/summaries of...meetings." He submitted his report to the NSW Ombudsman, who privately suggested that he should forward it to ICAC. After spending 6 weeks reviewing it, ICAC has recently responded saying that they will look into it further.

The public generally has a very negative perception of taxi driversand the industry. Many think that the drivers charge too much for the journey, they often do not know where they are going, the vehicles are in bad condition and they are not around at times when they need them. The reactionary sections of the media then ride the wave of public discontent, abusing the drivers without much insight into the machinations of the taxi industry or the resultant affect their casual comments have on the safety of the drivers.

While there are many valid criticisms, Ahmed said that the issue isfar more complex than what is apparent at first glance. He said thatthe majority of drivers are competent at their job. 'There are a fewrogues, as you would find in any industry" he said, but he arguesthat many of these problems are as a result of the conditions thatthe drivers have had to endure due to laws that have been created in a hostile environment which lacks consultation between the taxiindustry "representative" body (the Taxi Council) and the drivers. He claims that there are corrupt and insidious reasons for the lack of consultation and ultimately the lack of efficiency in the taxiindustry. Many problems in the industry date back to the 1940s, but they escalated in the 1980s with the removal of the "seniority system for the allocation of new taxi plates". Under this system, thedrivers who had been driving the longest were allocated plates. These owners would generally drive the day shift and have another driver looking after the night shift. Ahmed said that "a close bond(generally) existed between the two through a system of trust". Many drivers feel that it was this method that was most fair and efficient. The drivers were rewarded for their long service and beingat the "coalface," they were directly responsible for their industry.

Taxi ownership was then deregulated and according to Ahmedthis "shifted the balance of power and numerical strength within theindustry away from the single owner operator / bailee norm in favour of the more corporatist fleet management/ entrepreneurial ownership regime that is now in place. This meant that someone could own a taxi plate without needing to drive a taxi. Owning a plate, or if you were wealthy enough, owning many plates, then became an investment issue.
The more plates you owned the more economic muscle you had and therefore the more decision making power you were granted in theindustry. Decision making powers were taken from the single owner operators and given to a Board of Directors who were the larger shareholders in owner 'cooperatives'. As a result the democratic nature and the efficiency of the taxi industry were undermined. The owner operators were required under government legislation to financially contribute to these 'cooperatives', even though, according to Ahmed, they had no say in the running of them.

Ahmed said that many disgruntled owners decided to leave theindustry, allowing "the big fish in the industry to furtherconsolidate their power." The bigger players either bought up thenewly available plates or convinced new owners to put the platesunder their management control. The industry was moving closer to monopolisation at this stage with the Boards of Directors of themajor co-operatives being able to use inside knowledge of the taxiindustry to both increase the percentage of taxi plates on the roadunder their direct control and extend their influence over government policy through the creation of the Taxi Council' as the major advisory body to the government." Taxis Combined Services, one of the taxi networks, now looks after the radio bookings for seven of the eleven taxi networks.

The need for a representative body for ail interests was expressed back in the late 1960's, when the Full Bench of the IndustrialCommission, said that "the taxi companies exercised an unfairadvantage over their bailee drivers to the extent that they were able to avoid their legal responsibilities to the drivers". A reportcommissioned by the taxi companies unsuspectingly reiterated theconcerns recommended by the Industrial Commission's findings and suggested a group comprising "representatives of the taxi industry (drivers, owners, etc.), Dept of Transport, Police and a Consumer group.

The resulting Taxi Advisory Council, created after these findings,gave a greater avenue for debate to the shareholders. But it wasdismantled by a newly elected Liberal Government in 1988. According to Ahmed, the heads of the employer body then filled its place with the less widely representative Taxi Council.

In his submission, Ahmed stated that the Taxi Council was and isstill today just a "self-appointed mouthpiece" for a small elitegroup from the Boards of Directors who use it as an "industry spokesperson, government adviser and (for) media public relations".He stated that two contradictory letters revealed "exactly how theTaxi Council had co-opted both the ministry and the bureaucracy to do its bidding". He showed that in one letter to the Taxi IndustryServices Association (TISA), an organisation representing non-owner driver interests, Pamela Sayers, Director of Vehicle Transport Policy Development, said that the Taxi Council was not appointed as a "co-regulator" of the industry. Another letter by the Labor Party Minister for Transport, Brian Langton, stated that anew "consultative mechanism" for the government and the Taxi Council was one of "co-regulation under the Passenger Transport Act, 1990".

This system of "co-regulation" is dictatorial in nature, as the drivers' union and other representative bodies are excluded from the negotiation process. It is designed purely for the elite in the industry to represent their commercial needs to government.

In a letter responding to Ahmed's query regarding the status of theTaxi Council, it was revealed on 3/8/95 by Brian Langton that theTaxi Council "has no status under law". Under the Industrial Relations Act 1996/1990 and the Industrial Arbitration Act 1930 the Taxi Council, as an unregistered body, cannot legally represent anybody. How then does it come to represent elite interests in the taxi industry ? How could it have been allowed to co-formulate regulations with the government?

The breaching of privacy rights of 20 000 registered drivers in NSW is also called into question through further correspondence from John Stott, the Acting Director General of the Department of Transport, which alarmingly revealed that the release of personal files from the government department to the taxi networks was allowed under an existing "contractual agreement" between the Department of Transport and the NSW Taxi Council "whereby the Dept. may grant a very limited view access to certain records contained in its database of public transport drivers and operators..."
Ahmed asks the question "why weren't other stakeholders, such as the Transport Workers Union (TWU), informed or consulted over contractual arrangements governing the release of private computer database information on individual taxi drivers and owners?"
The potential infringement of the rights of drivers to freedom of speech by the Taxi Council and its authoritarian nature is again highlighted by the 1990 "Code of Conduct" which, according to Ahmed, makes it an offense for drivers to do or say anything thatis "detrimental to the (taxi co-operative) network". Ironically,Ahmed is in breach of this Code by submitting his document to ICAC.

The Taxi Council has recently proposed another law to be passed bythe end of October that will severely curtail drivers' freedom ofspeech. Under the new law the NSW Taxi Council will be ordering cabbies to not discuss politics, religion or football and to agree with anything the passenger says. It was reported in The Daily Telegraph (14/8/98) that "the Taxi Council assistant executive officer Howard Harrison said that drivers would be ordered ... to always agree with passengers". He then went on to contradict himself and said "drivers would be told not to initiate conversations about politics in an effort to "control the atmosphere of their car".
How is it possible to control the atmosphere of a conversation byblindly agreeing with the passenger? In order to control theatmosphere a driver needs to have the freedom to judge the mood and direction of the conversation. It is far more dangerous for a driver in a potentially life-threatening situation to have to rely on a set of rules to judge his/her next action. ] Communication skills cannot be learned ( from a 3 hour Big Brother lecture (as the Taxi Council is proposing) because they are subtle skills learned experientially. Any taxi driver knows how important it is for their safety to be in control of the vehicle that they are driving. Passengers hop in, in all states of mind, under all sorts of influences. What is political to one person might be general conversation to another. This new law poses a serious threat to the safety of the drivers and an attack on the most basic of their rights guaranteed to them under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Passengers, especially tourists, enjoy hearing new ideas andexperiencing individual personalities rather than a McDonalds*version of our eclectically diverse city. Many taxi drivers also know that most of their tips come from people that appreciate good open conversation. What the Taxi Council is proposing is no different from the reactionary, mind-numbing control that Pauline Hanson is attempting to impose on Australia's diverse community. The Taxi Council's proposal should not be "law", but just one of the options available.
Ahmed thinks that the Taxi Council would like to use this law to stop dissenting drivers from speaking out to passengers.

He said that he has tried to support the conditions of the drivers by representing their concerns through the NSW Transport Workers' Union (TWU). He has found in his correspondence to the government that it rgards the TWU as the representative of employee/bailee drivers. While Ahmed makes the point that he is no union basher, as unions are vital for the protection of workers' rights, he recently has strong reservations about the TWU full-time Executive who he feels have been compromised by the Taxi Council "to such an extent that no fair-minded person would consider they are still acting in their members' interests."

Two years ago the government and the Taxi Council claimed that it was necessary to raise the flagfall (starting amount on meter) from $2 to $3 in order to pay for new security measures. This caused a rise in the drivers' daily pay-in of up to $40 a night. Many drivers feel that as a result of this fare increase they lost many smaller fares, where passengers would hop in the taxi knowing that it would not cost them more than their loose change. When the flagfall dropped back down, the pay-in stayed at the same rate with a small compensation. Drivers felt hard done by and are frustrated at the inaction of the TWU in standing up for their ever-diminishing conditions. When money was initially being raised for the 'safety'features, the first 'safety' devices introduced were newly styledlogo stickers for the taxis. A cynic might suggest that these were introduced as a superficial aesthetic change for the public. Many drivers were angry at the safety priorities of the Taxi Council. Howmany unnecessary attacks were there as a result of the stickers receiving a higher priority over true safety features?

The Taxi Council also plans to introduce 500 extra taxis before theOlympics to cope with the rush hour even though statistics show that taxis are empty for 35% of the time they are on the road. These plates will only be available to certain people which is raising questions about corrupt practices.

There is a suspicion amongst many drivers that the Taxi Council is introducing changes into the industry as part of a money making exercise. According to Ahmed's calculations the Taxi Industry should have raised up to $126 million from the fare increase, the costs of the safety features would have come to approximately $20 million (including satellite tracking, surveillance cameras and safety screens). Uncomfortable and some say authoritarian looking uniforms were introduced. These were purchased for $1.50 per garment from Indonesia and sold for up to $20.
New 'safety* capsules were installed in the taxis. Owners complained about their high price. Drivers complain of the lack of security that they provide, that they trap air in the front seat, they cannot hear the passengers, they are uncomfortable and in the event of a driver's door being smashed in an accident that they will be trapped in the front seat, and that they dangerously distort their vision behind them. Every day, especially on Friday and Saturday nights emergency codes are sent out on the internal taxi radio giving the location of taxi drivers consider themselves to be in danger from a passenger, this is done in the hope of receiving support from other taxis in the area as it can take the police up to an hour to respond. One would think there is a media blackout on this issue, as attacks on taxi drivers go unreported every day.

Ahmed says that he has tried to communicate the drivers working conditions and safety issues to the government, but keeps getting referred back to the TWU. Even though he is a member of the TWU, he feels that the Executives are not responding to his concerns. He has much support from the drivers, but thinks that the union is protecting their leadership "to prevent the emergence of any groupwho wish to democratise their union leadership in the interests ofworker/bailee drivers".

Ahmed said that many drivers who have tried to stand up for their rights have found that they come up against a wall of silence or intimidation. Under the Taxi Industry (Contract Drivers) Contract Determination 1984, the owner has the right to instant dismissal.Under the current laws there is a lack of political will to enforce basic conditions for individual owners and non-owner drivers.Individual owners are still not given much say in the industry decision making processes of the monopolistic Taxi Council, being voted out by the larger players. But they are still forced to pay increasing network membership fees and business expenses (in 1995 a green-slip was $2200. now it's $4450, and monthly radio network fees have doubled since the $1 flagfall rise). Some of these costs are passed down to the non-owner drivers, who are not guaranteed a minimum wage, holiday pay or sick pay and are working in an increasingly dangerous environment.

Ahmed is determined to create change within the industry. He said "I do so on behalf of myself as an aggrieved individual who has been denied the right to work at various times as a result of the corruption that exists within the NSW taxi industry. I do so also outof consideration to the bailee taxi drivers that I represent, on behalf of the overwhelming majority of honest workers within the NSW taxi industry, in consideration of the long-suffering taxi commuters of NSW and in the interests of natural justice, good government and democratic rights (including the right to earn a living) of the people of NSW and Australia."The author's name has not been printed due to taxi drivers' freedom of speech being limited under The 1990 Code of Conduct


Source:
Sydney Taxi Corruption

TISA 2000 MEDIA RELEASE

Faruque Ahmed
President
TAXI INDUSTRY SERVICES ASSOSCIATION
PO BOX 349, Alexandria 2017 Ph: (02) 9564 1079 Mobile: 0418 227 551


MEDIA RELEASE



The long overdue Parliamentary Stay Safe Committee Inquiry into the Taxi Industry (http://www.geocities.com/taxisafety/) was killed by Premier Bob Carr, the call for an ICAC Inquiry (http://www.geocities.com/sydney_taxicorruption) went nowhere, the popular call for a long overdue Taxi Industry Royal Commission has faced stiff opposition.The Hylda Rolfe Inquiry recommendations, Taxi Drivers Safety Report (Keatsdale Report), Independent Pricing Tribunal Recommendation (IPART) have been twisted, misinterpreted or shunned throwing the abysmal performance standards by taxi cab networks to the backgroundand promoting the already biased enforcement activities of the Department of Transport even further onto the long persecuted, non owner taxi drivers (http://www.geocities.com/taxi_council/).


The Media Release of 6 July 2000 put out by the NSW Minister for Transport, Carl Scully clearly indicates the proposed and current redrafting of the Passenger Transport Act 1990 stems from the IPART (http://www.geocities.com/kangaroo_tribunal) Inquiry into the Taxi and Hire Car Industry released in November 1999. It further states, "legislation would be introduced into the next session of Parliament following industry consultation"Since then neither the "exclusive" Taxi Advisory Committee or any other industry stakeholders have had an opportunity to view, discuss or debate the proposed Passenger Transport Bill 2000 which is inextricably linked to "the standards" that flow from that Act. A few attempts to view the proposed Bill were unsuccessful. Thanks to Democrat leader Dr Chesterfield Evans, Independent MLC Richard Jones, Clover More MP and Lee Rhianon MLC for alerting us and made a copy ofthe proposed Bill became available to us.There are many flaws in the proposed Bill:
1. It gives unprecedented power to the Director General of the Department of Transport and thereby in many ways denies natural justice to taxi industry workers.
2. The Passenger Transport Act, in principle, is in place, to ensure a safe, efficient and reliable transport system for the people of NSW, BUT somehow the proposed changes are protecting the interests of a privately owned credit card company (hope nothing to do with Neville Wran) at the expense of discriminating against all other credit card companies and industry workers under the guise of unjustified and unlawful power to "networks".
3. It gives unlawful and undemocratic power to taxi companies who are not accountable to the Department of Transport or to industry workers.Why is the Minister for Transport so secretive like the taxi industry Mandarins?




Faruque Ahmed
15/11/2000

Sunday, April 22, 2007

IPART is the Joke

IPART is the Joke!

Joolsie's organization is nothing but a self-serving confusion. The IPART under NSW Labor is a joke.

--- In ozcabs@yahoogroups.com, peter pan wrote:
Re: ipart 2007

To:
ozcabs@yahoogroups.com
From: "taxifixer" <
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ozcabs/post?postID=cwUW6n7fgKmK22uFAvAj2yUV8W7Is21m5O0b314Ux-3z108rEpwvnE5s-L80voCoYX6KkO5RkXSyK3ffHiw> Add toAddress Book Add Mobile Alert
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:19:48 -0000
Subject: [ozcabs] Re: ipart 2007


IPART is the play - thing of the state govt.Why?The NSW govt is anxious to keep inflation down in the state- that means keeping cab fares down. ....but the mining lease for whacking on a premium to Sydney taxi fares is already staked out by a certain taxi credit card company-these guys really know their stuff- they contributeheavily to political coffers.QED taxi drivers GO TO HELL

-----------------------------------------------

The Taxifixer is dead right! It's highly unlikely that IPART would ever recommend that taxi fares should increase by more than the CPI.Taxi drivers' organisations should only make submissions to IPART as part of a wider strategy that has to include the use of other tactics includingindustrial action to enforce their demands.But to have the capacity to do this would require that drivers' organisations maintain a sizeable membership base whose morale and interest is kept high by aninclusive and active organisational life. Only such an organisation could sufficiently motivate drivers toput their livelihoods on the line by risking a strike.Joolsie's organisation, the ATDA, is a one-man show with about half a dozen hangers-on. When IPART tells Joolsie, thanks for your submission, Mr. Jools, but piss off, that's what Joolsie has to do because he has no recourse to any other tactic, except to wait for another year, waste time drafting another submissionand then be told to piss off again.Will Joolsie ever learn? Not if his past record is any indication - this is his sixth submission to IPART.

Source:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ozcabs/message/25059

Justice Edwards Report

Justice Edwards Report

--- In ozcabs@yahoogroups.com, "taxifixer" wrote:
Re: Taxifixer, come in please!

-The Report of Justice HG Edwards to the NSW Parliament in March 1940 can be viewed at the NSW Industrial Commissionlibrary at the cnr of Phillip and Bridge St Sydney.Anyone who wants a copy write to me and I will in time send a photocopy of it . The Edwards Report lays the foundation for theBeattie Report that came 28 years later and was basically a response to the flagrant exploitation in the industry of bailee taxidrivers at the time of the Great Depression.The owners were breaking all manner of industrial law as they still do today and Edwards decreed that things like drivers be guaranteed an entitlement to so many shillings in the pound retention of the total take....an interesting read.It is curious that this state has done more than most jurisdictions across the world to establish legal rights for cabbies and yet cabbies are as mercilessly exploited as almost anywhere in the developing or developed countries- the only time that I'm aware of when Sydney cabbies really made money wasin the 60's - 70's durring the American R in R Vietnam.

taxifixer


Thanks for your effort.Edwards J 1940's was one of the NSW cases which apparently questions Coglan. The austlii database only starts off at 1985.Thought you or one of The Lurkers might have been familiar with it.--------------------------------------If anyone knows anything about this case it'll be Taxifixer.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

IPART and Taxi Mafia Lies

Please consult with my letters to the IPART Chairman, Minister for Transport regarding labour component and reply received from them on that time. Most of you would have a copy as I have given them to you earlier. It would be pertinent to have a copy of the TDA submission, assisted by me - submitted under the name of Jools and reported in the Cabbie about taxi mafia lies as per my four 'infamous' letters.

I remain strong.



--- In NSWTDAEXEC@yahoogroups.com, "Ted Hirsch" wrote:

A letter from IPART was cleared from our PO Box on Friday 13 April 07.The letter is dated 5 April 07 addressed to me at NSW TDA. (How IPART know my name is a small "mystery")

The letter advises :- Submissions for the annual taxi fares review are due by 23 April 07. Submissions should address the Terms of Reference on the Tribunal website. The Final Report on the Review of Regulation for Taxis is on the Tribunal website.
Website
ipart@...
Signed by James Cox

For information, How should we reply to this letter?
Cheers,
Ted


--- In Sydney_TaxiCorruption@yahoogroups.com, "mamubhi" wrote:

Statements contained in these links are true and accurate. Faruque Ahmed already delivered them to the relevant Ministers for action. So join the team and assist us to clean up the taxi industry instead of attacking each other for nothing.


--- In ozcabs@yahoogroups.com, "Robert" wrote:

if all that bullshit was true - how come they're not in jail?
last I heard NSW was part of oz and the rule-of-law stood.... can you keep your hallucinations to yourself - as I haven't the time to verify every crazy accusation that self-demented halfwits care to idly post!
no wonder the tda down there is in loads of bother!
just so you know mate .... lying under oath is perjury and is a criminal offence!

--- In ozcabs@yahoogroups.com, "mamubhi" mamubhi@ wrote:


Have a look if you want to.

Treasurer Peter Costello Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

Australian Security Commission Inquiry Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

NSW Minister for Transport Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

NSW Attorney General Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree


Source:
Sydney Taxi Corruption

Sunday, April 8, 2007

NSW Attorney General Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

Faruque Ahmed
P O Box – 349
Alexandria – 2015, Australia
Mobile: 041 091 4118
Email:
union_faruque@yahoo.com.au


5 April 2007

Director General
Attorney General's Department of NSW
Level 9, Goodsell Building
8-12 Chifley Square
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9228 7777Fax: (02) 9228 8608TTY: (02) 9228 7676
Email:
director_crd@agd.nsw.gov.au

Re: Australian Security Intelligence Commission Inquiry

Dear Director General,

Two taxi industry executives namely John Bowe and Howard Harrison admitted under oath, in front of CC Connor of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (Matters 4181/544 - 2004):
A. They have been lying to the courts and commissions,
B. They have been making false and fabricated submission at the courts and commissions,
C. They have been denying workers lawful entitlements most of the time and
D. They have been double dipping the taxman by claiming tax relief for unpaid workers entitlements.

Only last year, we have proven in front of three eminent Federal Judges of the Australian Competition Tribunal (Matter No 3 of 2005) that the same lot of taxi industry leaders have:
i. Failed to tell the truth to the Australian Trade Practices Commission,
ii. Mislead the Australian Trade Practices Commission and
iii. Used racism to obtain some authorisation for their advantage.

Ideally speaking, these proceeds of crime (hundreds of million dollars) should have been seized and utilised for public and workers safety and welfare. Ironically, these are the same people who are involved with:
1. Taxis Combined Pty Ltd,
2. Combined Communications Network Pty Ltd
3. Cabcharge Australia Pty Ltd
4. Taxi Council Pty Ltd.
5. NSW Taxi Council Pty Ltd

In light of the above and many more allegations, as well as public a good and safety at this stage we would like to request the Australian Security Intelligence Commission to open appropriate investigations to ensure people involved with the above mentioned public and private companies are fit and proper person and adhering laws and regulations of the land accordingly.

With thanks.

Sincerely Yours


Faruque Ahmed

NSW Minister for Transport Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

Faruque Ahmed
P O Box – 349
Alexandria – 2015, Australia
Mobile: 041 091 4118
Email:
union_faruque@yahoo.com.au
Blog:
http://sydneytaxi.blogspot.com/


5 April 2007

Minister for Transport
Level 21227 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Telephone: (02) 9268 2800Facsimile: (02) 9268 2900


Dear Minister,

Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

Two taxi industry executives namely John Bowe and Howard Harrison admitted under oath, in front of CC Connor of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (Matters 4181/544 - 2004):
A. They have been lying to the courts and commissions,
B. They have been making false and fabricated submission at the courts and commissions,
C. They have been denying workers lawful entitlements most of the time and
D. They have been double dipping the taxman by claiming tax relief for unpaid workers entitlements.

Only last year, we have proven in front of three eminent Federal Judges of the Australian Competition Tribunal (Matter No 3 of 2005) that the same lot of taxi industry leaders have:
i. Failed to tell the truth to the Australian Trade Practices Commission,
ii. Mislead the Australian Trade Practices Commission and
iii. Used racism to obtain some authorisation for their advantage.

Ideally speaking, these proceeds of crime (hundreds of million dollars) should have been seized and utilised for public and workers safety and welfare.

Ironically, these are the same people who are involved with:
1. Taxis Combined Pty Ltd,
2. Combined Communications Network Pty Ltd
3. Cabcharge Australia Pty Ltd
4. Taxi Council Pty Ltd.
5. NSW Taxi Council Pty Ltd

In light of the above and many more allegations, as well as public a good and safety at this stage we would like to request the Ministry of Transport to open appropriate investigations to ensure people involved with the above mentioned public and private companies are fit and proper person and adhering laws and regulations of the land accordingly.

With thanks.

Sincerely Yours



Faruque Ahmed

Treasurer Peter Costello Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

Faruque Ahmed
P O Box – 349
Alexandria – 2015, Australia
Mobile: 041 091 4118
Email:
union_faruque@yahoo.com.au



5 April 2007

The Hon Peter Costello MP
Treasurer
Parliament House
CANBERRA
ACT 2600AUSTRALIA

Re: Australian Taxation Office Inquiry

Dear Treasurer,

Two taxi industry executives namely John Bowe and Howard Harrison admitted under oath, in front of CC Connor of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (Matters 4181/544 2004):
A. They have been lying to the courts and commissions,
B. They have been making false and fabricated submission at the courts and commissions,
C. They have been denying workers lawful entitlements most of the time and
D. They have been double dipping the taxman by claiming tax relief for unpaid workers entitlements.

Only last year, we have proven in front of three eminent Federal Judges of the Australian Competition Tribunal (Matter No 3 of 2005) that the same lot of taxi industry leaders have:
i. Failed to tell the truth to the Australian Trade Practices Commission,
ii. Mislead the Australian Trade Practices Commission and
iii. Used racism to obtain some authorisation for their advantage.

Ideally speaking, these proceeds of crime (hundreds of million dollars) should have been seized and utilised for public and workers safety and welfare.

Ironically, these are the same people who are involved with:
1. Taxis Combined Pty Ltd,
2. Combined Communications Network Pty Ltd
3. Cabcharge Australia Pty Ltd
4. Taxi Council Pty Ltd.
5. NSW Taxi Council Pty Ltd.

In light of the above and many more allegations, as well as public a good and safety at this stage we would like to request the Australian Security Intelligence Commission and Australian Taxation Office to open appropriate investigations to ensure people involved with the above mentioned public and private companies are fit and proper person and adhering laws and regulations of the land accordingly.

It also came to my attention that the NSW Taxi Council Pty Ltd was registered under your department and to the best of my understanding the application of registration was not based on true facts and grounds.

With thanks.

Sincerely Yours


Faruque Ahmed

Australian Security Commission Inquiry Re: Taxi Mafia Crime Spree

Faruque Ahmed
P O Box – 349
Alexandria – 2015, Australia
Mobile: 041 091 4118
Email:
union_faruque@yahoo.com.au


Thursday, 5 April 2007

NSW Minister for Fair Trading
PO Box 972
Parramatta - NSW 2124 Australia
Tel: 61 2 9895 0111 Fax: 61 2 9895 0222


Re: Australian Security Intelligence Commission Inquiry


Dear Minister,

Two taxi industry executives namely John Bowe and Howard Harrison admitted under oath, in front of CC Connor of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (Matters 4181/544 - 2004):
A. They have been lying to the courts and commissions,
B. They have been making false and fabricated submission at the courts and commissions,
C. They have been denying workers lawful entitlements most of the time and
D. They have been double dipping the taxman by claiming tax relief for unpaid workers entitlements.

Only last year, we have proven in front of three eminent Federal Judges of the Australian Competition Tribunal (Matter No 3 of 2005) that the same lot of taxi industry leaders have:
i. Failed to tell the truth to the Australian Trade Practices Commission,
ii. Mislead the Australian Trade Practices Commission and
iii. Used racism to obtain some authorisation for their advantage.

Ideally speaking, these proceeds of crime (hundreds of million dollars) should have been seized and utilised for public and workers safety and welfare.

Ironically, these are the same people who are involved with:
1. Taxis Combined Pty Ltd,
2. Combined Communications Network Pty Ltd
3. Cabcharge Australia Pty Ltd
4. Taxi Council Pty Ltd.
5. NSW Taxi Council Pty Ltd

In light of the above and many more allegations, as well as public a good and safety at this stage we would like to request the Australian Security Intelligence Commission to open appropriate investigations to ensure people involved with the above mentioned public and private companies are fit and proper person and adhering laws and regulations of the land accordingly.

With thanks.

Sincerely Yours


Faruque Ahmed