Page 3990 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 17 November 2015

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I was pleased to be a part of a housing roundtable last month when these issues were canvassed with a range of government, community and private sector representatives. I was encouraged by the genuine commitment to cooperative action and the willingness to explore new and innovative options to these important but challenging issues. I am optimistic that, together, new and viable options can be successfully implemented for the benefit of those on low and middle incomes.

Homelessness and affordable housing continue to be important issues for the ACT government. The Assembly’s resolution of 5 August 2015 demonstrates that all members of the Assembly have a keen interest in addressing these persistent issues. I welcome this interest, and I am pleased to provide this progress update to the Assembly. I present the following paper:

Homelessness services—Progress update—Ministerial statement, 17 November 2015.

I move:

That the Assembly take note of the paper.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) (Taxi Industry Innovation) Amendment Bill 2015

Debate resumed from 29 October 2015, on motion by Mr Barr:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

MR COE (Ginninderra) (11.24): The opposition will be supporting the Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) (Taxi Industry Innovation) Amendment Bill 2015. It is important to note that this bill does not make a value statement about taxis or ride share vehicles. Rather, it provides a legislative backbone for the introduction of ride share services in our legal framework.

The government’s complete taxi reform package goes much, much further than this bill. For instance, the day-to-day operations and the fees and charges placed on transport booking services will be determined by regulation. Cabinet can also authorise a compensation package for existing perpetual plate owners. Indeed, the opposition’s decision to support this bill does not detract from our strong support for plate holders.

The bill makes a number of changes to the Road Transport (Public Passengers Services) Act, namely to allow for the legal introduction of ride share services in the territory. To do this the bill creates a number of new definitions, including for ride share services and ride share vehicles.

The bill also introduces the term “transport booking service” as an overarching term for taxis, ride share vehicles and hire services. This effectively replaces the concept of


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