ALRTA Newsletter – 8 February 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

The PACCAR and Dealer Industry Fund is a proud supporter of the ALRTA and our family of state associations.

LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY OPERATORS GROUP

The Livestock Industry Operations Group (IOG) met with NHVR Executives in Brisbane this week.  The industry group comprises the Presidents of all ALRTA member states and meets twice annually.

The topics of discussion included:

  • Personal use of a heavy vehicle;
  • EWDs;
  • HVNL review;
  • Effluent; and
  • Local government liaison.

The Livestock IOG also met jointly with the Agricultural IOG to discuss primary producer registration, chain of responsibility and livestock loading schemes.

EFFLUENT UPDATE

While we were in Brisbane, our representatives met with NHVR enforcement personnel to explore options for better dealing with effluent within the regulator’s enforcement guidance material and how this might link with our effluent code of practice that is currently under development.

ALRTA staff also held a teleconference with NHVR staff earlier in the week to discuss progress with the code.  ALRTA Project Officer, Sue Davies, is preparing a consultation draft based on member feedback collected at our six conference workshops held during 2018 and has spoken to ALRTA Executive members this week to identify key external stakeholders.

On top of that, we met with a commercial entity that is interested in partnering with our association to construct and manage an effluent facility on the Warrego Highway.  This avenue is very promising and well worth exploring further. Stay tuned!

LIVESTOCK LOADING REVIEW CONFIRMED

NHVR has confirmed that a review of livestock loading schemes will be undertaken during 2019.

The review of state-based notice schemes is a logical progression for NHVR now that new national notices for B-doubles, road trains and agricultural machinery are in the final stages of delivery.

It will not be possible to achieve full harmonisation of livestock loading schemes while also preserving all local productivity allowances – so both the regulator and industry understand that the review will be challenging to say the least.  We have received assurances that ALRTA, our states, member operators and customers will be fully involved in the review process.

We will have more to bring you on this significant issue in coming months.

ATA COUNCIL MEETS

The ATA Council met in Canberra this week. Our representatives in attendance included David Smith (LRTASA President & ATA Vice Chair), John Beer (LRTAV VP and ALRTA VP), Lynley Miners (LBRCA President), Andy Divall (LBRCA member) and Mathew Munro (ALRTA Executive Director).

Major issues discussed included: membership, mandatory minimum rates, HVNL review, accreditation and remote areas.

The next meeting will be held at Trucking Australia 3-5 April 2019, Perth WA.

RSRT APPROACH AGREED

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) General Council has unanimously agreed on the industry’s approach to the possible re-establishment of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT).

The ATA represents the 50,000 businesses and 211,500 people in the Australian trucking industry and has a diverse General Council, which includes associations representing thousands of small businesses, elected owner-driver and small fleet representatives, and major logistics companies.

“This unified decision highlights the power of our council,” ATA CEO Ben Maguire said today.

“Through robust and respectful discussion, we reached a unanimous agreement on the ATA’s position and role on this important issue,” he said.

The meeting outcome reaffirmed the council’s opposition to government-imposed price fixing, with concerns raised about Labor’s new national policy of enforcing fixed prices on all parties in the supply chain.

“Our council agrees that everyone in the industry should be paid sustainably and promptly. We particularly support practical measures that would assist owner-drivers and small fleet operators, including mandatory 30-day payment terms,” Mr Maguire said.

“The ATA is keen to work with the Labor Party to make sure its policy approach would improve safety and working conditions for everyone, without creating a fixed pricing regime based on spreadsheets in a Fair Work Commission office rather than real world costs and practices,” he said.

The ATA General Council unanimously agreed on the need for practical safety measures including:

  • Mandating Autonomous Emergency Braking for all new trucks
  • Increasing the quality and quantity of driver rest areas, with more support for Rod Hannifey’s pioneering work on marking informal rest areas
  • Enabling the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to provide independent, no-blame safety investigations for road crashes involving heavy vehicles, and
  • Reviewing the prescriptive work and rest hours, including work and rest hour tolerances for electronic work diaries.

“The industry’s safety record is continuing to improve, including since the abolition of the RSRT, although we recognise that we still have much to do,” Mr Maguire said.

“The most recent data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics shows fatal crashes involving articulated trucks decreased 16 per cent in the 12 months ended September 2018 compared to the year ended September 2017.

“In NSW alone, we have seen a 28 per cent decrease of heavy vehicle fatal crashes in the 12 months to February 2019, he said.

CRITICAL NOTICES RENEWED

NHVR has confirmed renewal of more than 80 critical notices due to expire on 9 February 2019.

For more information click here.

FUEL TAX CREDITS CHANGES

Fuel tax credit rates increased for fuel acquired from 4 February 2019 in line with fuel excise duty rate changes. The new rates are available on the ATO website now.

Don’t forget, you can use the ATO’s simplified methods to make it easier to calculate your claims.

Apportioning fuel used in vehicles with auxiliary equipment 
When you use the simplified method to apportion fuel you’ve used in vehicles with auxiliary equipment (such as tipping equipment for loading and unloading), you’ll use a percentage to calculate your fuel tax credit for each of your vehicles (for example, 30% for a concrete truck).

This percentage covers fuel used for:

  • powering the auxiliary equipment, as well as
  • idling or propelling of the vehicle off a public road.

This means you don’t need to do a separate fuel tax credit calculation for these uses.

Visit the ATO website for more information on the simplified methods for calculating claims.

TRANSPORT WOMEN CELEBRATE 20YRS

Transport Women Australia Limited will celebrate their 20 year anniversary with a gala dinner in Melbourne on 16 November 2019.  Click here for more details.

ALRTA HOSTS NATIONAL PARTNERS

ALRTA was pleased to welcome national partners BP and PACCAR & Dealer Industry Fund to our office this week.

BP are currently undergoing a broad internal restructure.  Brooke Bainbridge, Business Development Manager, will take over the reins managing industry association partnerships from Vanda Power who has accepted a new role in the corporation.  It was great to welcome Brooke and to have an opportunity to farewell Vanda who has been a close friend of ALRTA for many years.

Luke Taggart, Chair of the PACCAR & Dealer Industry Fund, popped in for a chat and tour of our office on the sidelines of the ATA Council meeting.  ALRTA is very pleased to announce that PACCAR & Dealer Industry Fund will continue to support our family of associations during 2019.

NATIONAL TRUCKING AWARDS

The ATA has opened nominations for the 2019 National Trucking Industry Awards.

Acknowledging individuals and organisations, the prestigious awards recognise those who have gone above and beyond to improve their workplace and contribute to the trucking industry.

“Trucking plays an important role in the lives of all Australians and our economy, so it’s important we recognise those who go the extra mile and inspire others,” ATA Chair Geoff Crouch said today.

Nominations are now open in the following categories:

  • Outstanding Contribution to the Trucking Industry
  • National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year
  • National Professional Driver of the Year
  • National Training Excellence Award

The award winners will be announced at the ATA’s Trucking Australia 2019 conference, held 3-5 April in Perth during the Foundation Sponsors Gala Awards Dinner. The Don Watson Memorial Award and TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial Award will also be presented on the evening.

“By acknowledging our industry’s high achievers, we are recognising an investment in quality, a commitment to serve, and the business awareness required to operate in this environment,” Mr Crouch said.

“I invite all in the industry to nominate someone great and join us in Perth as we celebrate industry excellence,” he said.

The ATA thanks Foundation Sponsors BP, NTI and Volvo trucks, and award sponsors Cummins South Pacific, Sutton Road Training Centre TISC and AEI Transport Insurance Brokers.

Nominations close 8 March 2019 

View award criteria and nominate someone great

Register for Trucking Australia 2019

MEETING NOTICE: ALRTA NATIONAL COUNCIL

Members are advised that the ALRTA National Council will meet in Canberra on Friday, 29 March 2019.   For more information please contact the ALRTA Secretariat at office@alrta.org.au.