ALRTA News 23 September 2016

VALE SHANE KNIGHT

It is with great sadness that we share the news of Shane Knight’s passing early on the morning of the 19th September, surrounded by his family. Shane Knight has been a passionate member of the LRTAV for more than 25 years and Vice President for four years.  Shane was also was also a regular contributor on the ALRTA National Council.

Shane was made a life member of the LRTAV in 2013, won the inaugural Significant Contribution to the Rural Transporting Industry award in 2015 and was inducted into the National Road Transport Hall of Fame this year, which we were delighted to celebrate with him and his family at our joint ALRTA-LRTAV Joint National-State Conference in Torquay, Victoria.

Shane has been a staunch supporter of our associations and was a driving force behind the development of our National Guidelines for Loading Ramps and Forcing Yards. Shane was passionate about driver welfare, and he had no issue with bringing people to task when they did not have driver welfare at the top of their list.

Shane and his wife Jeanine operate S & J Knight Livestock Transport from Tanjil South near Moe. He was father and father in law to Mark (Ralph) and Sarah, Kylie and Jason, Matthew and Sarah (Dot). Shane was a proud and adored Grandpa to Charlie, Levi and Leo.

We will miss Shane and extend our sincere condolences to Jeanine and family.

Funeral arrangements – The funeral of Mr Shane Knight will be held at Latrobe Valley Funeral Services Chapel, 6 Ollerton Ave, Moe on MONDAY (September 26th 2016) at 11am. At the conclusion of this service the funeral will proceed to the Willow Grove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to West Gippsland Palliative Care or The National Trucking Hall of Fame would be appreciated. Envelopes at the service.

ANIMAL WELFARE

The ALRTA National Animal Welfare Sub-Committee met via teleconference this week to discuss a range of issues including effluent control; crate safety; and promotion of best practice loading infrastructure.  The Sub-Committee has agreed that the ALRTA should host a broad stakeholder workshop on effluent and crate safety in early November.  Look out for more details in the coming weeks.

Shortly afterwards, an ALRTA delegation (LBCA President Lynley Miners, ALRTA Executive Director and ALRTA National Officer) met with the RSPCA CEO (Heather Neil) and Chief Scientific Officer (Melina Tensen) to talk about the proactive steps our industry is taking to improve animal welfare outcomes.  We extended an invitation to RSPCA to be part of our effluent workshop and assist in our comprehensive review of the truckCare system.

ALRTA ATTENDS LBCA FORUM IN TEMORA

Last week the ALRTA President and Executive Director headed to Temora NSW for an LBCA Forum that brought together transport operators, local councils, NSW RMS, TfNSW and the NHVR for an open discussion about improving road access with a particular emphasis on last mile, 4.6m height, livestock loading scheme and grain harvest mass management scheme.

Not unexpectedly, inadequate funding for local roads was seen as one of the key constraints to opening up more of the network, but equally, the perception that heavier trucks are less safe and cause greater pavement damage is also common at the state and local levels of government.

In fact, when measured on a ‘tonne kilometre’ basis, larger or heavier trucks are safer and do less damage than using a greater number of smaller vehicles for the same work.  Clearly, we need to do more to get that message out there to encourage local councils to take up livestock loading and grain harvest schemes.

The NSW Government has several programs in place right now that target new funding at country roads, bridges and truck washes.  Some Councils are clearly much better than others at building a credible case to access these monies and we saw some excellent examples where the funds had been used to connect up important parts of their local network that benefit local residents, rural transporters and local businesses. Much can be learned by others from these great examples.

Some issues can be downright frustrating and I would think could be solved with the application of a little bit of common sense.  For example, stock crates have been built at 4.6m and used on country roads for two decades – can’t we just accept that there is no evidence of a problem and formalise the current arrangement?

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I reckon that the forum was a very useful conversation starter that has improved understanding, established personal connections and teased out some of the issues and opportunities for improving access to the road network.  Of course, the challenge now is the convert the talk into concrete actions – council by council if need be.

THE FUTURE OF LAND TRANSPORT REGULATION

The NTC invites you to attend a workshop to discuss the unknown changes, opportunities and challenges for Australia’s transport system.  The key question is:How should we regulate land transport in the future?

The forums will be used to help shape a final report that will be considered by Ministers in May 2017.  It is expected that the findings will better inform future potential research and policy projects that affect the way governments regulate your business.

The workshops will be held during October in most capital cities.  ALRTA representatives will attend and make sure we are heard, but you are also welcome to come along yourself – if you are able to get to one of the venues.

More information can be found here.

HOW WELL DO YOU UNDERSTAND CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY?

As reported last week, the new chain of responsibility laws have been introduced into the QLD Parliament and will be rolled out across all HVNL states over the next 12 months.

The NHVR is now preparing materials to inform operators and supply chain parties about the new laws.  But, before they do that, they want to know about your understanding of, and attitude towards, chain of responsibility.

I have certainly heard some comments that are way off the mark as well as very strong opinions about what chain of responsibility laws ought to be able to do. Potentially, there is a lot to be learned by listening to our grass roots operators.

If you can spare 15 minutes, please take the time to complete the NHVR’s online survey which is open until 10 October 2016.  Your participation will help to shape the delivery of education materials and identify best practice within the freight and logistics sector.

You can find the survey here.

NOTICE OF ALRTA SGM AND COUNCIL MEETING DATES

Members are advised that the ALRTA will be holding an SGM and Council meeting in Canberra on Friday, 21 October 2016.  Details are:

Council: 8:30am
SGM: 9:30am
Close: 3:00pm
Location: ATA Board Room, Lvl 3, Minter Ellison Building, National Circuit, Forrest, ACT.

The purpose of the AGM is to consider the ALRTA’s audited accounts for 2015-2016.

For more information please contact the ALRTA Secretariat.

REMINDER: RECRUIT A MATE

Time is running out to get your $350 rewards pack!  All you need to do is help sign up a new member to one of our six fabulous state associations.

If you recruit a mate to join any one of our family of state associations between 5 August 2016 and 5 October 2016, we will send you a $350 rewards pack that includes:

  • A $100 fuel voucher – thanks to BP;
  • A $100 parts voucher – thanks to PACCAR Parts; and
  • A $150 tyre voucher – thanks to Beaurepaires.
  • And that’s not all – the new member will also receive the same rewards package!

Here’s how it works:

  • You recruit a new member;
  • They fill out an application form, make payment and nominate you as the referrer;
  • You both receive a $350 rewards package in the mail shortly after 5 October 2016.

All members are also eligible to enjoy ongoing benefits such as fuel discounts via the BP network, special tyre offers and extended coverage with NTI insurance products.

You can obtain more information and application forms from our state associationshere.

This offer is strictly limited to the first 50 new members Australia wide.

So, what are you waiting for?