Chief Minister Stanhope is having a spray at the Liberals’ Alistair Coe for failing to have the PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ report into taxi industry reform (following on from yesterday’s announcement).
“Yesterday, he told members of the media that the ACT Government had yet to release the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) analysis of the Territory’s taxi industry; this is the same report that is on the front page of the Department of Territory and Municipal Services website.
“This is the same report which, in draft version, the Government made widely available to taxi industry, wheelchair accessible taxi user groups and business sector participants during the taxi review.
“And this is the same report which formed the basis of the taxi roundtable meeting of all stakeholders in September last year.
“It seems that everyone in Canberra who has an involvement or interest in the taxi industry is well aware that this report has long been in the public domain in one form or another – everyone that is except Mr Coe.
Another quality display of chiefly petulance.
Much as it pains me to go to bat for Alistair Coe there are some problems though:
- 1. The TAMS website only linked to the taxi documents between 16:00 and 16:20 yesterday (yes I have a record of this). So unless Mr Coe was speaking very late in the day to the journalists he was actually correct.
2. Circulation amongst buddies, cronies, select groups, and magic circles is not, in a million years, the same thing as publication.
Perhaps the public, who have to use the taxi system, could have been included in the debate?
Or are taxis just for drunken labor heavyweights on a driving ban?
(It would, however, be nice if Mr Coe could also publish his response to the taxi reforms rather than mouthing off to select media mates)