Get To Know: Leonie Kyriacou, Equity partner at Pigott Stinson lawyers

Leonie Kyriacou leads both the commercial law and workplace relations practice groups. Leonie has worked for the taxi industry for over 17 years. She has worked on the full range of legal matters impacting the industry and works for taxi networks throughout NSW, as well as in other States.

​Leonie does a lot of volunteer work. She is a member of the Public Gift Giving Board for WIRES and a board member of national charity, Endometriosis Australia. Leonie has two boys aged 8 and 10, and manages their sporting teams. She also volunteers as an ethics teacher for the local primary school.

The South Australian Government will seize the dubious honour of becoming the only jurisdiction in the world to actively disincentivise the purchase of electric vehicles through tax if it goes through with measures announced early November by SA Treasurer Rob Lucas.

"While governments around the world are using every means possible to incentivise the uptake of electric vehicles, South Australia reckons they have it all wrong," said Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari.

"If the revenue from fuel excise is falling because South Australians are burning less foreign oil, that should be considered a blessing."

The Maurice Blackburn class action against Uber Technologies (Uber) was instigated by Rod Barton MP and Transport Alliance Director, André Baruch on behalf of Melbourne, Sydney and Perth taxi and hire car licence owners.

There is also a lawsuit filed against Uber by the Sydney based company behind ride-booking platform GoCatch, Taxi Apps.

Both the class action and lawsuit have accused Uber of conspiring to illegally operate UberX in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia since April 2014, and in Victoria since it was regulated in 2017.

The U.S. Department of Labor last month said it would soon propose a rule that could make it easier to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, a major issue for the “gig economy” and other industries that use contractors to contain costs.

The potential misclassification of workers as independent contractors has been the subject of renewed scrutiny with the growth of the gig economy. The Obama administration issued informal guidance attempting to limit the scope of independent contractor status, but the current administration withdrew that guidance on June 7, 2017.

NSW government is exploring innovative options available for the taxi industry to assist with contact tracing.

This comes on the back of nine untraceable passengers who travelled in a 13cabs Silver Service taxi on September 7-18, 2020 in NSW, with a driver who was COVID-19 positive. These passengers are yet to be identified, with health authorities finding it increasingly difficult to trace them, as they got into the taxi from a rank or hailed it and did not pay with a credit card.

Currently, a few major challenges in the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia is the lack of Government driven incentives and emissions regulations, as well as the high cost of these vehicles for businesses and individuals.

The federal Government will be introducing incentives for businesses to invest in new electric car fleets, in the aim towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The incentives are then in turn envisioned to bring down the costs of EVs and make them more accessible to Australians.
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A $74.5 million Government package will assist businesses in trialing new technology for fleets, such as hydrogen, electric and biofuelled vehicles, and fund the installation of charging infrastructure in workplaces across Australia.

In order to receive financial assistance from the COVID-19 CPV Industry Assistance Support Grants, Booking Service Providers (BSPs) are required to complete and submit paperwork to the Department of Transport (DoT).

Victorian medium and small BSPs must complete a Survey Application, and large BSPs (eg 13cabs, Silver Top Taxis and Uber) are required to complete a Funding Agreement. The grants are to cover financial hardship due to COVID-19 for the quarter July - October. --> SURVEY LINK <--
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Yet, the DoT is dragging the chain in paying entities which have completed the required Funding Agreement. It has been over 10 weeks since the grants were announced, with only two weeks remaining before the period of assistance has expired.

The final report for the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017 reforms was tabled on 26th November 2019. The government initially had 6 months to respond to each of 13 recommendations arising from the inquiry. However, due to COVID, this deadline has been extended to at least the end of 2020.

Rod Barton MP has now been appointed to an advisory panel charged with advising Ben Carroll MP, Minister for Public Transport, to develop the government’s response to the inquiry recommendations. It is a rarity and a privilege to have a non-government member invited to such a position.

City of Melbourne's security upgrade works around
Southern Cross Station are continuing. Steel bollards
have already been installed at the intersection of
Spencer and Bourke streets.

The next phase of works will include installation
of security measures at the intersection of Collins
and Spencer streets as well as between Collins and
Bourke streets.

These measures are part of a program of security
enhancements being delivered by City of Melbourne
in partnership with the Victorian Government and
Victoria Police.

Melbourne's "little" streets will have their speed limits lowered from 40km to 20km per hour, in a move to make them more pedestrian friendly.

Melbourne City Council has announced the speed limits will be lowered in Flinders Lane, Little Collins Street, Little Bourke Street and Little Lonsdale Street in the coming weeks, to allow pedestrians to safely socially distance as more people return to the CBD.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said, "Many of our footpaths are less than two metres wide, so there’s not enough space for people to pass each other safely while maintaining physical distance. The changes will ease footpath congestion as people safely return to the city."