ALRTA News – 3 December 2021

THANK YOU TO ALRTA NATIONAL SPONSOR PACCAR & DEALER INDUSTRY FUND

Proudly manufacturing Kenworth trucks in Australia for 50 years.

No matter what type of livestock transport business you run, long or short haul, single or multiple trailers, Kenworth has the right truck for you.

Visit your local Kenworth Dealer or go to kenworth.com.au to see for yourself.

CHECK BEFORE YOU GO

Flooding
Members are reminded to check road conditions in advance of trips. You can find a useful resource here.

Earlier this week, the QLD Fire and Emergency Service was called out to rescue a heavy vehicle driver from floodwater off the Cunningham Highway, Goondiwindi.
 


COVID-19
Omicron is unfortunately causing Federal, State and Territory governments to revise border crossing rules and restrictions. You can check the latest requirements here.

THE ALRTA OFFICE IS ON THE MOVE

The ALRTA Canberra office is moving! But don’t worry, you’ll still know where to find us as we will still be on the same level in the same building – Level 3, 25 National Circuit, Forrest, ACT.
 
The new office will be a little smaller than our current digs, but will be a superior design with a wall sized window facing out to National Circuit, a larger meeting room and access to fresh air via a balcony.
 
Construction is underway and we expect to have migrated before the end of 2021.
 
We look forward to welcoming members and guests in 2022.

DISCUSSIONS ON CONCESSIONAL REGO

ALRTA Executive Director, Mat Munro, met with senior officials from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications this week to discuss problems with concessional registrations, specifically primary producer registration schemes.
 
As we have always said, misuse of primary producer registration schemes is rife in regional Australia with one state departmental surveillance program finding that up to 10 per cent of vehicles were misusing the scheme.   This has a fourfold impact:

  1. Primary producer vehicles compete unfairly with commercial carriers.
  2. Governments forgo revenue for infrastructure and regulatory purposes.
  3. Farm vehicles subject to less stringent safety checks travel longer distances on public roads.
  4. Persistent non-compliance risks discontinuation of such schemes which would disadvantage legitimate users in the agricultural sector.

Our associations are exploring several options at the federal and state level to assist in improving scheme consistency and integrity.

LIAISING WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS LOBBY

ALRTA Executive Director, Mat Munro, met with Alexi Boyd, CEO of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA). COSBOA has been steadily growing in membership and influence since establishment in 1977 and is now the peak body exclusively representing the interests of Australian small businesses.  ALRTA has maintained a membership of COSBOA for almost a decade.
 
Some of the primary areas of COSBOA interest include economic development, finance, industrial relations, digital economy, cyber security, mental health, COVID-19, climate change and environment.
 
Recent topics of mutual interest include driver apprenticeships, heavy vehicle charging and the lack of productivity growth in the heavy vehicle sector (along with the stalled review of the HVNL).
 
In the lead up to the 2022 Federal election, it is a good time to become reacquainted with important small business policies that may become decisive in the election result.

EMANUEL EXPORTS REGAINS LICENCE

Emanual Exports has regained a live export licence following a three-year suspension. Emanual was Australia’s largest sheep exporter prior to the death of 2,400 sheep abord the Awassi Express and subsequent investigation and licence suspension.
 
The incident has also left an ongoing legacy with the banning of live exports during the hottest parts of the northern hemisphere summer.
 
The Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment has commented that Emanual Exports had now “sufficiently rehabilitated itself so as to resume its status as a body corporate of integrity”.
 
New rules will require heat stress management plans, reduced stocking densities and automatic collection of on-deck temperature readings.
 
Emanual can resume exports from 3 December 2021.

NTC TO CONSULT ON HVNL REFORM

The National Transport Commission (NTC) will hold six intensive half-day consultation sessions on the HVNL review policies, processes and directions next week.
 
The sessions follow intense criticism of the NTC’s recent proposals to reform the general fatigue schedule (standard hours), including calls for an entirely new approach to the reform process.

REPRIEVE FOR MILLICENT SALEYARDS

This week Stock Journal reported that the Millicent saleyards are set to remain open.
 
Wattle Range Council had received five SafeWork notices related to saleyards aging infrastructure that no longer complies with Australian health and safety standards.
 
Following deputations from four groups, Wattle Range council members agreed at their meeting last Tuesday night to commit just under $1m in funding to address the SafeWork notices and fund the safety upgrades required to keep the yards operating. The work includes getting two elevated ramps and four fixed ramps up to specification, and fixing problems with the weighbridge office and truckwash, asbestos issues, and watertight issues in the on-site administration building.
 
Wattle Range Council chief executive officer Ben Gower said it was “fantastic” to have a clear pathway forward for the yards. He is set to meet with SafeWork to negotiate timelines for the works, before contractors are sourced for the design, fabrication, and installation of the upgrades.
 
Read the full Stock Journal article by Claire Harris for more details.

NHVR ENFORCEMENT OUTCOMES

The NHVR has accepted an enforceable undertaking (EU) from Lindsay Transport that will see approximately $750,000 contributed towards implementing safety training and chain of responsibility education across the Lindsay Transport group of companies. The EU stems from an NHVR investigation into Lindsay Transport’s safety policies and procedures, following the death of driver John Bolton on the Logan Motorway in Queensland in November 2018.
 
Separately, NHVR has prosecuted two Tasmanian operators for unsafe vehicles and fatigue-related offences, resulting in $27,000 in fines and court ordered Supervisory Intervention Orders.

FRIDAY FUNNY

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2022

LBRCA Conference – Wagga Wagga, NSW – 10-12 February 2022 – Registration
LRTAQ Conference – Sunshine Coast, QLD – 4-5 March 2022
LRTASA Conference – Adelaide, SA – 17-18 June 2022