There are no plans to compensate taxi plate-holders if the industry is deregulated in Western Australia, Transport Minister Dean Nalder has said. 

The arrival of passenger services such as Uber has prompted calls for a shake-up of the sector. 

The Liberal Party passed a motion at the weekend calling on the State Government to remove regulatory barriers surrounding the services. 

In response to the motion, Mr Nalder said deregulation of the taxi industry was "inevitable". 

"I believe that deregulation is inevitable, but certainly we believe there's room for increased competition and therefore an improved customer proposition," he said. 

He said if it did happen, plate-holders would not be compensated. 

"The value of one's licence should be more about the customer proposition and quality customer service rather than government regulation," Mr Nalder said. 

"At the moment, you have the same price for all plate-owners, irrespective of quality of service that's provided." 

Premier Colin Barnett backed Mr Nalder's stance but said any change to the sector would have to be gradual. 

"Taxi plates, I think, would need to be phased out over time," he said. 

"I don't really see compensation, I think taxi plates have allowed people to make money out of the industry, it's reasonable to phase them out." 

Livelihoods threatened by change: Taxi Council

The comments have angered the WA Taxi Council chief, Steven Gill, who said plates were currently trading at $300,000 each. 

"We've got people who have invested their livelihoods into this industry and to be told that the playing field is changing, it's a real concern," he said. 

"There are hard working taxi drivers who have mortgaged their homes to be able to have an investment in the industry, have a stake in the industry, and have a vested interest in delivering good service. 

"We think it's unfair to suddenly change the playing field and the laws in which they operate in so there's a lot of concern from taxi drivers." 

Labor MP Ken Travers said the comments have devalued the plates by up to $200,000. 

He said taking away a property right without compensation was a very dangerous path to go down. 

"There is no doubt the taxi industry in WA needs to be reformed, but to be talking about deregulation without compensation for plate-owners is incredibly irresponsible," he said. 

"By his (Mr Nalder's) actions today, he's devalued the plates. 

"The state sold many of the taxi plates that are out there today for considerable sums of money. 

"To deregulate it, without paying back the people the price they paid for their plates, would be an absolute outrage in the first instance, but, I believe, leave the state open for arguments in the courts for compensation." 

The State Government has been reviewing what it considered were major issues in the industry, including the quality of customer services and the protection of drivers. 

In June, Mr Nalder announced that taxi credit and debit card surcharges would be slashed in half, and said he was considering putting more cabs on the road.