New taxi bill criticised

Green Party MP Keith Locke says a bill to fix a law that resulted in some bus and taxi drivers with historic sexual convictions lose their jobs will create a similar problem for drivers with different convictions.

The Land Transport Amendment Bill was drafted after angry protests from people who lost their jobs over law changes that came into effect on January 16.

Those changes banned drivers with convictions for murder, and serious sexual and violent offending from holding passenger service licences.

It also caught out drivers with historic convictions such as a bus driver convicted 34 years ago for having sex with his girlfriend two days before her 16th birthday.

Mr Locke said the new bill would allow those drivers to apply to the Director of Transport for reinstatement but now all those with convictions for violence would not be able to get passenger service licences at all.

He said that meant someone who got in a pub fight years ago would not be able to become a passenger driver and he predicted the change would cause similar outrage.

- NZPA