On Friday, London's transport regulator said Uber was not "fit and proper" to hold a private vehicle hire licence and its licence would not be renewed when it expires on September 30. Transport for London said Uber had demonstrated "a lack of corporate responsibility" and cited "potential public safety and security implications". An Uber spokeswoman said there were 72,000 drivers in Australia and more than 3.3 million "active" customers across 17 cities. She added that Australian state governments had "led the way globally in embracing ridesharing". "We will continue to work closely with all local governments and regulators on ensuring that millions of Australians are able to access safe, reliable and affordable transport in each of the cities in which we operate," she said.

Mr Davies said the same concerns and problems associated with Uber in London – including the use of the secretive Greyball program to deceive authorities – had occurred in Australia and would continue "unless state governments crack down on Uber as Transport for London has done". "Uber are a global organisation providing a global service and the same issues they have in London we've seen in Australia," he said. "We're seeing more recordings of assaults of passengers in Uber vehicles, we've had an Uber driver convicted of rape in Sydney, we had a couple of drivers in Brisbane charged with rapes and another one charged with deprivation of liberty. "This is cause for some state governments to not just rubber stamp applications to Uber and other ride sourcing companies – they need to properly scrutinise companies. "State governments here should be looking at their licensing, just as Transport for London did."

The London decision has also prompted Transport Workers Union boss Tony Sheldon to write to state and federal transport ministers asking for a national audit of Uber, which is currently being investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman. The ombudsman is examining whether Uber drivers' contract breach federal workplace laws and the union also has concerns about the employment structure. "We want Uber to continue operating in Australia, but only if it can meet community expectations about safety and fairness, both for drivers and consumers," Mr Sheldon said on Saturday. "We are all for ride-sharing platforms, but they must not be built on poor safety, weak oversight and exploitation of drivers." Uber said the 3.5 million Londoners who regularly use Uber's app would be astounded by the city's decision, which would put 40,000 drivers out of work.

After losing its licence to operate in London, Uber stoked the rage of its customers by encouraging them to sign a petition. The petition, on Change.org, was receiving about 1000 signatures a minute Friday morning, as people reacted to the decision that was endorsed by London mayor Sadiq Khan. A spokeswoman for the Victorian state government said it would take similar action to its London counterpart if Uber repeatedly broke laws. "Under our reforms any operator that consistently breaks Victorian laws will lose their licence to operate," the spokeswoman said in a statement.

The Victorian opposition declined to comment. At a glance | Uber licence denied in London Transport for London denied Uber's request for a new licence in September 2017 after finding the company "not fit and proper" to operate in the city. TfL said Uber's policies could have "public safety and security implications". Why was it denied? TfL's reasons for not renewing Uber's license include its approaches to reporting serious criminal offences, obtaining medical certificates and its use of the Greyball software, which helps it evade authorities.

What happens now? Uber has 21 days to appeal the decision. Its cars will be banned from the streets by September 30 if the company doesn't appeal. If it does its service can continue operating while the appeal is underway. What has Uber said? The company said it follows TfL rules and intends to "immediately challenge this in the courts". How big is Uber in London?

Uber says it has 3.5 million users in London, where it launched in 2012, and 40,000 drivers. How big is Uber in Australia? Loading Uber says it has 3.3 million users across Australia and 72,000 drivers. - with The Telegraph, London and AAP