Thursday, January 28, 2010

Anne Turner – Do Not Destroy the NSW TDA

Anne Turner – Do Not Destroy the NSW TDA




I do not now whether you are corrupt or incompetent! However, lately you have not shown enough interest in:

1. Taxi Drivers’ Safety,

2. Taxi Drivers’ Welfare,

3. General wellbeing of Taxi Drivers,

4. No Standing/Stopping issue,

5. Ill-motivated attacks against taxi drivers by the Sunday Telegraph and other television stations,

6. Parliamentary Inquiry re Taxi Industry,

7. ACCC case, IPART, NSW IRC,

8. David Campbell’s taxi mafia inspired congestion tax and

9. Number of burning issues regarding our survival.


However, you have had lots of conversations and meetings with “very powerful and knowledgeable people” i.e. taxi mafia. Yet, you failed to provide exact accounts of those meetings and discussions.


You have organised meeting with the Director General of the Transport & Infrastructure without me on the basis of “I am good” and “He is not”! Again you failed to provide exact account of that meeting (9.00 am, Tuesday, 10 November 2009).


In the meantime, I am getting threats like;

A. The DG of T&I will cancel your authority ….,

B. “Very powerful and knowledgeable people” i.e. taxi mafia do not like you, … ,

C. The mafia will deport you from Australia

D. Someone will bash you up, …… .


In short, you are trying to convert the NSW TDA as a group of “trunk operators” and “taxi owners” close to investor type people. As I said before, understood and accepted by everyone before, “The NSW TDA resources must be dedicated for working taxi drivers and owners because what is good for working taxi drivers and owners are good for everyone”.


It came to my attention that, today, you went behind my back to present the “other side of the story” (poor taxi owner/investors violin) to my good friend Lee Rhiannon to neutralise Faruque Ahmed’s singular point of view! Ironically, you have displayed your ignorance and tremendous prejudice against Lee Rhiannon MLC a few days ago!


Who is assisting you with your misadventure Ann?


That sad and miserable person who turned the world upside down and I was forced to waste plenty of my private time and resources to tackle that issue. On the day you went on to meet up with the big DG of T&I (12/10/09). Later, Tony Denton became a mental! He physically attacked you and a few little girls. Tony vandalised a chicken shop and another person’s backyard. Today he is your friend to counter Faruque Ahmed in favour of the taxi mafia!


You are also very keen to remove Ted! I told you before and I am telling you again that no one should be sacked without following due process of law! Ted may be a difficult person but we need people like him too. Lately, you are not answering many telephone calls.


Ann you must be stopped. The taxi mafia must not be taking over the NSW TDA.


Should you really want to assist the taxi owners, you must tell them as I did before that they must demand to re-write the NSW Passenger Transport Act and Regulation. Because the Act compels the taxi owners/operators to be a part of communication network/radio room. However, no one ever bothered to justify the radio fee. They charge whatever they like and the taxi owners/operators got no say in this regard. The radio networks got a build in component for;

1. NSW Taxi Industry Association fee and

2. NSW Taxi Council Limited “extortion money”.


In other words the regulators are forcing taxi operators/owners to join the NSW TIA and Taxi council Limited. Such a compulsion is illegal under many laws including ACCC related legislations and voluntary unionism. This compulsory unionism by stealth is one of the problems of the taxi industry.


If the taxi owners/operators can overcome the first hurdle, then they may negotiate down their insurance fees and other expenditures. However, no one should demand that the NSW TDA must do everything for them.


Just now I have seen Trevor’s agenda! It must be blessed by you and I am shocked to see this agenda.


Now, you want to murder Ted. Then me! Remember, all of a sudden you have asked me for the NSW TDA letter box key on Sunday. The taxi mafia bribed the NSW TWU back in 1984, 1997 and possibly today. I won’t be surprised if the taxi mafia would like to control the NSW TDA.


The agenda items, the way the agenda was prepared and process observed to write the agenda are wrong and unacceptable.


I therefore reject them entirely and ask for a different date of meeting with a proper agenda, plan of action and intention.


Oh, please do not throw Tony Denton inspired and fictitious slurs and slanders as serious accusations against me.



Faruque Ahmed

Secretary, NSW TDA, Email: union_faruque@yahoo.com.au, Mobile: 041 091 4118

Tuesday, 17 November 2009


--- In NSWTDAEXEC@yahoogroups.com, "teebrad54" wrote:


Congratulations Faruque

The two notices of motion put up in the Legislative Council, upper house, by Lee Rhiannon in September, and October 2009 were the result of a lot of spadework by Faruque. Congratulations Faruque good work well done.


And now for the good news; We are actually going to have a Taxi Enquiry Committee in the upper house of the NSW Parliament. The parliamentary debate on the issue is following


Keep the Faith Trevbrad



From: peesinbox@... Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:16:20

To: Ernie Mollenhauer<erniethecabbie@...>

Subject: Re: NSW Taxi Drivers Association OPPOSES releasing more taxi plates

Ernie,


Rather than total opposition I think we should instead push for the MT&I to reduce the number of intended plate release, The TDA should probably adopt a negotiating strategy when dealing with all interested parties and then capitalize on what is achieved when it is achieved so on and so forth, now this shouldn't be viewed upon as a weakness but in fact the opposite, the reality is that to them its business as usual and they will plan and do whatever they will want to do because at the end of the day without their approval and co-operation we can't achieve much. This isn't a trick show but if anybody is unsure why the sudden plate release I suggest maybe ask Faruque Ahmed. Moreover this isn't all bad news because maybe one day all full time professional drivers can afford plates of their own and put some of the deranged operators out of business, I feel really strong about this because of some of the current conditions out there in regards to renting a taxi, where you have some operators wanting all the benefits of a weekly hire, but yet unable to even realize that drivers aren't robots and can get sick or even worse think of asking for a day off.


Also the release of new plates does not automatically mean a sudden explosion of drivers and cars the reason has always been evident in driver training schools yet there has not been any chronic shortage of available taxis to drive, Now operators are aware of this and will calculate carefully any desires in acquiring extra plates, the hope will then be that decent fitting drivers get the plates.


Regards Junior.


--- On Thu, 12/11/09, Ted Hirsch wrote:

From: Ted Hirsch

Subject: Fwd: [NSWTDAEXEC] Re: All Members of Parliament

To: "Faruque Ahmed"

Received: Thursday, 12 November, 2009, 10:07 PM


Faruque,


Congratulations !

An Inquiry by the NSW Upper House into the taxi industry.

And a NSW Office of Industrial Relations crackdown on bases denying entitlements. SMH Thurs 12Nov09 page 3. Splendid !


This year is shaping up as "interesting times" for Reg, with an ACCC case, Upper House Inquiry, driver entitlements investigation all happening at once.


Plus losing his stranglehold on Plate Lease fees and hence Plate Values. Splendid !


I do not know what your post below is about. But we must avoid infighting AT ALL COSTS ! We need everyone fighting together for drivers and using everyone's skills to take advantage of this year's events !

Cheers and congrats !


Ted



Faruque Ahmed wrote in

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/NSWTDAEXEC/message/4338



The NSW TDA resources must be dedicated for working taxi drivers and owners and NOT for Cabcharge or other investors. The NSW TDA is an open and transparent organiusation and it must reject secret meetings, character assassination and politics of divide and rule.



Some committee members are spending too much time for taxi plate issue and they have ignored The Sunday Telegraph’s consistent attack against taxi drivers based on false and fictitious issues as well as many other vital issues.

If Les Wielinga tampers with my Authority, I have options including taking this matter to the United Nations for breaching my fundamental rights. So, no one should be patronising me in this regard.



Faruque Ahmed

Secretary, NSW TDA

Email: union_faruque@yahoo.com.au, Mobile: 041 091 4118

Tuesday, 10 November 2009