Mandatory cameras in taxis are creating as many problems as they are solving, and rogue drivers are ''getting away with murder'', New Zealand Taxi Federation members say.
About 100 federation members are in Dunedin for the organisation's 75th annual conference this week.
They raised concerns yesterday with Associate Transport Minister and Dunedin MP Michael Woodhouse, who spoke about the Government's review of taxi safety initiatives, including mandatory cameras within taxis and ''24/7'' surveillance of dispatch systems.
Mr Woodhouse said cameras were helping to solve crime, including abuse of drivers, and deterring criminal behaviour.
Federation executive director Tim Reddish said many drivers did not want cameras and bought the cheapest available, then failed to use them.
''The bottom end of the industry is getting away with murder.
''Our people (federation members) can be trusted, but, unfortunately, there are a lot in the industry that went for the cheapest solution because they didn't want cameras in the first place and we know anecdotally there are a huge number of cameras not working out there,'' he said.
Mr Woodhouse was aware of ''knock-off'' Chinese cameras being used, which was ''effectively fraud'' by operators.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) was making it harder for those who ''continue to do the wrong thing'' and was working with police and local authorities to tackle non-compliance among operators, he said.
Mr Woodhouse was confident the review would help address non-compliance, although Mr Reddish was not convinced.
He said the review should be done by ''top end'' Ministry of Transport and NZTA officials, rather than Opus International Consultants.
''There are a number of real problems that have to be fixed up and we wonder whether this review is tight enough to deal with those problems,'' he said.
Mr Reddish cited the proposed ''substantial'' increase in compliance costs, and said operators were happy to pay as long as the Government better dealt with non-compliance.
Mr Woodhouse said the cost of dealing with compliance far outweighed what the Government collected through licensing.
''You don't like regulation and you don't like paying for it - who does? But the answer is to a large degree in your hands, and we want to work with taxi organisations so we can have more confidence you are going to comply with necessary standards to keep your drivers safe, their passengers safe and other road users safe.
''If we get to that place, costs will go down and regulatory oversight will go down,'' he said.
Another federation member said drivers were increasingly asked for camera footage by police and the NZTA, which came at a price.
''There is a cost to retrieve images ... The cost is becoming not insignificant and I wonder if there is a way to recover costs,'' she said.
She acknowledged cameras were useful and, in some cases, had exonerated drivers accused of misconduct including sexual assault, but sought a ''meeting of the cheque books''.
Mr Woodhouse said cost recovery by operators could be considered through the review.
