Uber suffers setback in Australia after being banned from the Northern Territory
Uber may have won over Australian states including New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, but the company is facing a hold out in the far north.
On Monday, the government of the Northern Territory announced it would not be making any regulatory changes to allow the ride share company to operate legally within its borders. The legal status of Uber in Australia varies state by state.
See also: Silicon Valley rebels grudgingly learn to play by the rules
The Cabinet shot down the proposal, Transport Minister Peter Chandler told ABC News, but the option to allow it to enter the market in the future remained on the table. "This was a Cabinet decision where we would stop Uber at the moment from coming to the NT," he said. "Companies like Uber may operate here one day. If and when they do let's make sure we've the right regulation."
In the NT government's review of the commercial passenger vehicle industry, it said it would wait until state transport ministers around Australia worked toward harmonising their respective ride share industry standards.
"The NT Government considers it prudent to wait until this work is undertaken before any decisions regarding the future of ridesharing transport services in the Territory are taken," it wrote. "The Northern Territory is a small market and the reforms that have been announced will have a fundamental impact on the industry."
The move is a blow to Uber's national ambitions, but losing a territory of only 244,600 people is unlikely to be too serious a setback. However, Uber will surely be hoping other Australian states such as South Australia and Victoria follow NSW's approach rather than the Top End.
David Rohrsheim, general manager of Uber in Australia, told Mashable Australia via email the NT's review left "the door open" for the service.
"With the NSW and ACT Governments leading the way, and other States announcing their intention to introduce ridesharing regulations in the coming months, the Northern Territory will have a considerable amount of precedent to assist them in their reform efforts," he said.
In December 2015, Uber was legalised in NSW essentially overnight after Transport Minister Andrew Constance announced changes to local regulations and offered taxi drivers a compensation package. In September 2015, the ACT legalised Uber, making it the first jurisdiction globally to do so before the service even launched.
