Page 437 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 20 February 2019
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(b) implement reforms so that taxi plate insurance premiums more closely align with those paid by Queanbeyan plate owners and other ACT rideshare services;
(c) reform the Working With Vulnerable Persons application process so as to prevent bottlenecks in approvals for licences; and
(d) streamline the age limit for registrable vehicles across the entire on-demand transport industry.
It is with a heavy heart that I rise today to defend the 89 Canberra families who have had their retirement savings decimated by the policies of this ACT Labor-Greens government. These are Canberra families who those opposite would have us believe are wealthy retirees or rich investors but who are actually hardworking everyday Canberrans, Canberrans who have worked their entire lives, paid taxes, and made the decision not to be a burden on their families or the taxpayer. They have saved and invested so that they may enjoy a modest retirement.
Narelle is 75 years old and has recently had to return to work, due to this government’s unfair policy. David is 55 and says:
I feel a lot of anxiety about the uncertainty of my family’s future. I just don’t understand WHY the government is doing this to us.
Ibrahim is 59 and recently had to take on another job to try and support his family. He says:
Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the money I handed over to the ACT government … Governments are supposed to support the public, not think of ways to steal our money.
Antonia and Ado are in their 70s, and they are now struggling to pay their electricity bills, register their car, and put food on the table. They have worked hard their entire lives and now have nothing because the ACT government has decided to take it away:
How do I live and pay my bills and rates? You still expect money from me when you have already taken it all away. I don’t know if it’s worth living any more!
Peter is 52 and has a 12-year-old daughter. Peter says:
My investment in my family’s future is now almost worthless. Because of that I feel sad and helpless everyday. You changed the rules, and have left my family with huge financial loss.
William has been forced to continue driving his own cab at 77 years of age because his taxi plate can no longer sustain him. William says:
I have shingles as a result of the extreme stress that the circumstances have caused me, and I am getting sicker as the pressure on me becomes greater. The ACT Government has put so little thought into what would happen when they released those new plates. It is ludicrous.
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