Uber and ride-sharing services in Queensland will be legal from early September - with the taxi industry to be compensated with a $100 million "transition package" to be funded by the Palaszczuk government.
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Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe announced the package on Thursday, announcing it would include "one-off" payments of up to $40,000 for existing taxi licence holders - $20,000 a licence, capped at two licences, with limousine licence holders receiving up to $10,000.
The fund, which Mr Hinchliffe said would come from government funds, not a levy on trips, would also include a $26.7 million "hardship fund" taxi licence holders would be able to apply for, to ease the transition.
Fees for the taxi industry would be waived up to the tune of $4.3 million with a further $3.75 million available for the taxi industry to improve their business.
"I know what the pain of uncertainty has been," Mr Hinchliffe said in explaining the need for the assistance package.
"This process has dragged on for far too long. The impact of not knowing what the new rules will be has been the biggest impact on licence values."
The new framework would be implemented from September 5, which would include Uber and ride-sharing drivers needing a driver's authorisation, with a category to be created that would include taxi drivers. All hire vehicles would have to be signed.
Beyond that, the government planned to put in place legislative changes next year, which would introduce a new licence for all hire vehicles, which will include ride sharing drivers, as well as investigate security cameras for all hire vehicles. But the government was also hoping to open up the market to new taxi companies.
Part of the legislative changes it hoped to get through would remove the operator accreditation for taxi services, paving the way for new taxi companies to enter the market.
It also hoped to cap electronic payment surcharges at 5 per cent and introduce an annual licence for all booked hire services, removing the need for perpetual taxi licences.
Opposition transport spokesman Andrew Powell said the LNP would examine the detail of the Labor policy before commenting wider.
"Given the report has only just been handed down, as Queenslanders would expect of their opposition, we are going to give that a thorough going over, we are going to talk to stakeholders and we will form a decision based on that," he said.
"...The LNP has supported an even playing field, we have always been on about passenger safety, but I want to have a look and my colleagues want to have a look at the details of the report, we want to talk to the key stakeholders and make sure that we get our decision right - and I can guarantee you it is going to take less than 18 months to do that."
But he zeroed in on the cost of the assistance package.
"What I think Queenslanders deserve, if the Palaszczuk Labor government are going to keep raiding their cookie jar, is an explanation of how that money is going to be put back. We see this $100 million on the back of $235 million for the public transport fares and $100 million in Treasury cuts.
"So that is a total of $435 million the Transport department is being asked to find. It is a transport budget black hole and I think that Queenslanders would like to know how it is going to be filled.
"I would prefer the Palaszczuk Labor government come clean on how they are going to fund this $100 million package."
