At the time of the Government's commercial passenger vehicle reform announcement in August, the VTA supported the broad framework of the reforms but remained concerned about the fairness of the transition assistance package and the impact of the planned approach to implementation on industry competitiveness. The VTA has continued to work hard to give a voice to those that have invested in our industry in good faith and represent the interests of our industry in to the future.
Late today, Transport Minister Jacinta Allan announced changes to the Government’s reform agenda for the commercial passenger vehicle (CPV) industry in Victoria.
Key changes include:
- Transition assistance payments to cover 4 licences rather than 2, with $100,000 for the first licence and $50,000 for each subsequent licence up to four
- Transition assistance payments made over 2 years rather than 8
- Adjustments to the planned appraoch to legislating the reforms with the first piece of legislation to be introduced into Parliament in early 2017.
Their release also noted Fairness fund applications have opened.
These represent significant changes to the package announced in August. The VTA will refarin from detailed commentary until we can consider the Fairness Fund eligibility criteria and see the detail of the changes but commends the Minister and Government on their willingness to listen and consider sensible and evidence-based arguments on how best to progress reforms. We will continue to engage in these discussions to achieve the best possible outcome for our industry.
In the meantime, you can read the Government's media release detailing the announcement here and the VTA's immediate response here.
Further detail will be uploaded here on our website and sent to our mailing lists as soon as it is available.