Faruque Ahmed’s Submission to the NSW Upper House Inquiry re Taxi Industry
Taxi Industry is a service oriented industry.
Taxi Passengers must be given a safe and comfortable ride.
Taxi Drivers must be provided with a safe workplace and safer work practices.
Taxis plates are the property of the state and general public.
Taxis licenses must be used for the benefit of the people of
The Reality: It is very difficult to summarise the taxi industry problems, reasons and solutions in a simple manner. I therefore would like to present the Preamble first and then the Written Submission as per the Terms of Reference of the NSW Upper House Inquiry with an expectation to make an In Person Presentation later.
Faruque Ahmed: Some people blame Faruque Ahmed for everything including as small as sneezing to something big as Tsunami! Yet, the NSW Taxi Drivers have got more rights and protection than any other state by the statute at least!! It appears people like Justice Edwards, Justice Beattie and a few more decent figures in the past had some respect for justice, fairness and decency. A state by state comparison may reveal more about the Australian taxi industry and even assist us to move forward with reality.
Mr. Faruque Ahmed has served in many positions including the followings:
1. Secretary/Treasurer and President of Taxi Drivers' Section of the NSW Transport Workers Union, respectively.
2. Vice-President and President of Taxi Industry Services Association, respectively.
3. President, NSW Cabbie Welfare Association..
4. Media Manager, NSW Taxi Drivers Association.
5. Secretary, NSW Taxi Drivers Association.
He is also an Author, blogger, columnist, electronic activist and webmaster; campaigning for justice, fairness, equality, democracy, human rights, social reform and many more progressive and humanitarian issues.
Mr. Ahmed is also Moderator/Owner of a few Discussion Groups and contributor of well-known and robust forums.
Yet, some taxi industry leaders and senior NSW public servants refer him as, “unapproachable, one sided, …. and they do not want to negotiate with him. However, these people mentioned above failed to point out any wrong doings by Faruque Ahmed!
Faruque Ahmed’s proposed submission to Director General of Transport and Infrastructure “NSW Taxi Royal Commission” and submission of the New South Wales Taxi Drivers Association Inc below are for your consideration.
1. ICAC Submission provides an easy and step by step picture of the NSW taxi industry.
2. Faruque Ahmed’s initial submission and final submission to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission contains lots of useful evidence to understand the taxi industry.
3. The NSW TWU's Crime against Taxi Drivers presents a picture of 1984 sell out by the NSW TWU leadership.
4. The Ghost and Gas – No Conspiracies sheds some light on how they passed the burden of gas and wash to bailee drivers' shoulder illegally! One may ask why did the then TWU boss Steve Hutchins who is also President of the NSW Labor Party and a Senator from NSW took the “king’s shilling” and sold out taxi drivers with labor lawyer Adam Hatcher?
5. The AIRC transcript is like a "scary canary" trying to expose many crimes and corruption in front of seven judges under pressure.
Before you make up your mind please remember it is your state and you must protect the interest of the state and public.
Should you wish to obtain any source materials in links/documents mentioned above, please feel free to contact the undersigned for access.
In the mean time please do not forget to ask yourself, how the taxi mafia managed to silence and sabotage far too many inquiries and outcomes mentioned in The Power of the Taxi Mafia and in the Sydney Morning Herald!
Miranda's Xmas and Taxis produced Beyond Taxi Driver Bashing and New years Eve and eventually Ray of Hope! Here is an example of straight logic and commonsense at work! They have produced a good result this year.
We too, can do it better if we are honest enough and do not kowtow to the taxi mafia.
With thanks
Sunday, January 03, 2010
