Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown): Earlier this week I met with Loretta and Warren Hall. Loretta and Warren are hardworking, salt of the earth people in their seventies. They did not want to rely on government support in retirement and they wanted to leave a bit of a financial legacy for their children, so they purchased taxi licences, thinking they would be a good investment to carry them through. They bought their first plate in 1980 for $44,500. That is roughly $201,000 in today's dollars. Their second plate cost $45,800 in 1981, or $189,000 today. Their third plate cost $60,000 in 1984. That is $195,000 in today's dollars. Their fourth plate cost $140,000 in 1989. That is $312,000 in today's dollars. Their fifth and final plate was purchased in 1993 for $180,000, or the equivalent of $353,000 today.
That was just the plates. It did not include the vehicle and all of the purchases associated with setting up a taxi. They have paid more than $1.2 million in today's dollars just for the licences. In fact, they bought their first taxi licence for the same amount as the Adamstown Heights home they bought at the time. Loretta, Warren and their family scrimped and saved their whole lives to give their children a brighter future. They went without holidays while their children were still at home. They were certainly not living the high life. Unfortunately, the changes made to the taxi industry by this Government have badly damaged the value of what they had hoped was going to be their retirement investment and modest income.
Ms Liesl Tesch: Shame!
Ms JODIE HARRISON: It is absolutely a shame. In 2012 they were getting about $375 per week per lease. Now that return is down to $70 per week per lease. When the Government introduced the Point to Point Transport (Taxis and Hire Vehicles) Act in 2016, taxi licence owners like Loretta and Warren saw the value of their investment evaporate. Overnight the security of their retirement disappeared. The numbers speak for themselves. In December 2015 Sydney taxi licences were worth around $220,000. By February 2020 the value had plummeted to around $100,000. There is no question that the point to point travel industry changed enormously with the introduction of rideshare services like Uber. What had been a stable and—for Loretta and Warren—modest income stream was disrupted by the emergence of these new players.
There has been nowhere near enough done by this Government to ensure the protection of people like Loretta and Warren who have seen their hard-won retirement security disappear. Although the choices Loretta and Warren made through their working life were to ensure that their children were well set up financially when they passed, now their own daughter is supporting them financially. Even worse, reforms introduced in June last year, which were aimed at further deregulating the industry and introducing higher levels of flexibility, have prevented people like Loretta and Warren from selling these assets.
After meeting with Loretta and Warren and hearing their story, I signed the NSW Taxi Industry Pledge, which seeks fair and proper compensation for all taxi licence owners who have lost the value of their New South Wales taxi licences. The pledge calls for continuation of the passenger service levy to make sure that those owners receive their due compensation. It also calls for a viable, affordable, regulated and reliable taxi industry that is available to all. The Liberal-Nationals Government needs to do right by people like Loretta and Warren. When they were sitting in my office, I was struck by how honest and hardworking they were, and what amazing decisions they have made throughout their lives to do the right thing. They were the words they used: "the right thing". After all they have done throughout their lives to support themselves and be self-sufficient, it is time this Government stopped pulling the rug out from under them.
