Thank you to Byrne Trailers
A Proud ALRTA National Partner
Byrne Full Stainless Steel B-Double Cattle Trailers
Over 100 times more resistant to rust than Carbon Steel Trailers, which gives Operators much greater longevity, less maintenance costs over the life of the Trailers and higher resale values then any other Livestock Trailers in the Livestock Transport Industry market place.
Just makes sense
Visit the Byrne Trailers website.
ALRTA Executive Director Update
Welcome to another weekly update.
Last week I was fortunate to be invited by GrainGrowers Ltd to be a panellist at the launch of the National Grain Freight Strategy at Doltone House in Sydney. The Strategy is practical road map for government to help drive Australia’s global competitiveness. 🚚 The strategy is designed to increase the productivity and efficiency of the supply chain, driving down costs and delivering savings for Australian growers.
Explore the Strategy ➡ https://lnkd.in/grX_BxxU
Launching the strategy, GrainGrowers Chair Rhys Turton said a unified and considered approach was vital to address a complex and multi-faceted issue.
The launch was supported by a panel discussion facilitated by Zachary Whale featuring participants across the supply chain discussing some of the challenges and opportunities facing the grain supply chain.
Panel participants included Victorian grower and Grains100 Ryan Milgate; GrainCorp General Manager, Commercial, Sean Barker; and Australasian Railway Association (ARA) General Manager, Freight and Haul, Georgia Nicholls.
It was a great event and heartening to see the supply chain come together to acknowledge the importance of interoperability, government investment and commitment to innovation.
I also had the opportunity to speak with Steve Smith from NVHR on ALRTA’s existing HVSI funding grants and the requirements for drivers seeking a NHVR Medical Certificate, a key issue brought up at National Council. ALRTA and NHVR will continue to work together to bring about favourable outcomes for industry whilst upholding high driver safety standards.
ALRTA also participated in the first of a series of many targeted stakeholder workshops on renewing the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy. It was noted by participants the work that is being proactively undertaken to maintain and improve Australia’s world leading animal welfare standards by meat supply chain participants. ALRTA noted work on Livestock Ramp Standard, Animal Welfare Accreditation Schemes currently underway, MLA Transport Hub and Animal Welfare and Handling Training under development. Please note the survey below to complete. I will alert the membership of next round of consultation as this was a preliminary workshop identifying to consultation steps.
Tara Edgar, Bec Coleman and I met to continue planning the LBRCA ALRTA Combined National Conference next year. There’s lots of great ideas and concepts floating about and we are all very excited to deliver a fantastic event, particularly as it will be ALRTA’s 40th anniversary! So watch this space as an conference prospectus and session details will be released in coming weeks.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the #KeeptheSheep campaign which now has over 50,000 signatures. If you have not yet signed the petition, please do so here. ALRTA will be providing a submission to the enquiry and hopes to be invited to provide testimony at the Inquiry. You can also follow the campaign and share the message on social media:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/keepthesheepwa/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/keepthesheepWA
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/keepthesheep/
X (formerly known as Twitter) – https://x.com/keepthesheepwa
As always please reach out if I can be of any help to the membership and until next week.
Rach
Renewal of Australian Animal Welfare Strategy
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is undertaking public consultation on the renewal of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS) through a Have Your Say survey and submissions process. Consultation has been extended to Sunday 30 June 2024 4:00PM AEST.
To have your say complete the survey or upload a submission, visit the DAFF Have Your Say website www.agriculture.gov.au/haveyoursay/aaws
NHVR publish a Livestock Regulatory Advice
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has released new Regulatory Advice to enhance safety across Australia’s livestock transport sector.
In their media release NHVR said “The livestock industry is one of Australia’s most valuable industries, and the NHVR is committed to ensuring all stakeholders understand their role in maintaining a safe, efficient, and sustainable industry.”
“The NHVR’s Regulatory Advice aims to improve safety and simplify and demystify the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) primary duty and Chain of Responsibility (CoR).”
NHVR Chief Safety and Productivity Officer David Hourigan said, “With our new Regulatory Advice, we’re looking to … ensure all parties, from primary producers to transport operators to facility owners to stock agents, understand their responsibilities.”
Read the NHVR media release here. And to access the guide and additional educational material, visit Regulatory Advice – Livestock.
Avian influenza confirmed in Victoria
Tests have confirmed the H7N3 strain of bird flu on poultry farms near Meredith in Victoria. This strain of avian influenza can cause severe clinical signs and potentially high death rates among poultry.
Avian influenza is a viral disease of birds found globally, many species of wild birds, including waterfowl and seabirds can carry the virus but usually show no signs of disease.
All affected properties are quarantined. Agriculture Victoria is continuing comprehensive surveillance activities within the Restricted and Control Areas and the Victorian Government is working with affected livestock industries to manage the outbreaks with the aim of containing and eradicating the disease as quickly as possible.
Movement controls are in place for areas near Meredith and Terang where permits are required for the movement of birds, poultry products, feed and equipment on or off properties. To keep up to date with Control and Restricted Areas and to apply for a permit visit Agriculture Victoria.
All bird owners are urged to report any unexplained bird deaths to the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226.
NRSPP Toolbox Talk on preventing falls
This month the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) released a Toolbox Talk (TBT) for heavy vehicle drivers called ‘3 points of contact’.
Falls from trucks can result in fatal or serious trauma.
A major triggering factor for falling from heights is the wrong footing (ie slip, trip, mis-step), accounting for 27% of these types of falls. Descending from the cab has been identified to be particularly problematic.
It’s important to understand the risk and always use 3 points of contact.
You can download the resources for this and many other Toolbox Talks from the NRSPP website for free. See the ‘3 points of contact’ TBT here.
SURVEY – Austroads is seeking input on managing overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers
Austroads is seeking to understand whether changes should be made to the management of overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers, and we invite you to undertake a short survey to share your insights and experience.
The survey will take a few minutes to complete, is anonymous and will provide Austroads with valuable information about community and industry views to inform policy review and decision making.
Complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/osdrivers by the end of Friday 12 July 2024.
Read the news item to learn more at https://austroads.com.au/latest-news/austroads-seeks-input-on-managing-overseas-licensed-heavy-vehicle-drivers
Save the dates for 2024
- LRTAWA – 3 August 2024 – PERTH WA
- LRTAV – 16-17 August 2024 – SHEPPARTON VIC
- LTAT – 18-19 October 2024 – DEVONPORT TAS
Save the dates for 2025
- LBRCA/ALRTA National Combined Conference – 4 – 5 April 2025 – CANBERRA ACT
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