ALRTA News – 12 February 2021

THANK YOU TO OUR NATIONAL SPONSOR bp

Visit bp website to apply and use ALRTA code to redeem exclusive discount.

2021: YEAR OF THE METAL OX

Whether you believe in luck or not, we could all do with a little more of it in 2021.  Well, the omens are good. Today commences the ‘Year of the Metal Ox’ according to the Chinese zodiac.



The Ox symbolises diligence, honestly, reliability, stability, perseverance, power, stubbornness and excellence.  As well as the 12 Zodiac animals, there are five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The animal / element pairings only occur every 60 years.
 
There is a fair bit on metal in those trucks of ours and plenty of Ox (or bullock) on the road. If there is going to be a lucky year for the livestock transport sector, surely this has got to be it.

BORDER CONTROLS

Friday 12 February – Victoria Update
All of Victoria goes into lockdown from midnight tonight for 5 days. Essential freight workers are permitted to continue entering Vic for essential work requirements. Border Permits are required and current testing requirements if coming from an interstate hot spot will continue.
 
Masks will be mandatory if working outside in public and the freight protocol must be adhered to. 
 
For more information click here.
 
Friday 12 February – Northern Territory Update
The NT has declared greater Melbourne, including the Melbourne airport area a hotspot. Essential freight workers arriving in the NT from these areas will still be allowed entry but must have a G2G pass, practice social distancing and keep a record of close contacts. A rolling 7 day testing requirement – or evidence of a negative test – will be required.
 
Please go here for a border pass.
 
Thursday 11 February – Queensland Update
At 1 am Saturday 13th Feb Queensland will implement a border pass requirement for all essential travellers arriving from Victoria. Border passes are also still required for arrival from WA.
 
Apply for an F pass here.
 
The QLD Freight Protocol applies to freight and logistics operators entering Queensland from a declared hotspot. The local government areas (LGAs) in the Metropolitan Perth and Peel regions of Western Australia are currently the only Queensland declared hotspots and will remain until 1am AEST 14 February 2021, pending further updates.

At this stage, the protocol does not apply to freight and logistics operators entering Queensland from Victoria because there are currently no declared hotspots in Victoria. It is recommended that all essential freight workers arriving from Victoria still adhere to the national freight protocol.
As we know, the situation can change quickly so please continue to follow Queensland Health advice:

  • Maintain physical distancing of 1.5m where possible;
  • Wear a mask when distancing is not possible;
  • Maintain good hand hygiene; and

Stay home and get tested if you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild.

Please see full details here.

Thursday 11 February – South Australia Update
Commencing 11 February 2021, anyone who has been in Greater Melbourne on or after 4 February 2021, will be prohibited from entering South Australia unless they are an Essential Traveller.

Essential travellers will be required to undergo testing on a 7 day basis or provide evidence of a negative test if requested from an authorised officer. A border permit is required and the health protocols in place must be adhered to – keep records of close contacts, practice social distancing and have evidence from your employer. Essential workers are not required to quarantine.

These requirements apply to all essential travellers arriving in SA from:

  • NSW – Greater Sydney, Central Coast and Wollongong
  • Vic – Greater Melbourne
  • WA – Perth, Peel, South West Region

The link for border pass applications is here.
 
For details on SA entry click here.
 
More Information
For the latest summary of border rules and testing sites click here.

DRIVER COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

The ATA Skills and Workforce Committee met with consultants heading up the Austroads ‘Review of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework’.  The project aims to develop an exemplar licensing framework for national implementation which will establish, for each class of heavy vehicle licence, the standard of safe driving and vehicle management skills, assessment criteria and enhancements to the NHVDCF required to:

  • provide a uniform, national standard of heavy vehicle driver competence, training and assessment;
  • improve road safety outcomes;
  • improve public perception of the safety of heavy vehicle operations; and
  • meet heavy vehicle industry needs for well-trained safe heavy vehicle drivers.

This is an exciting project with potential to deliver significant benefits to our industry – provided that state regulators can reach agreement on a national framework (something that should not be taken for granted).
 
ALRTA expects to be involved in further consultations soon.  The review is scheduled to complete by August 2022.

GRANT PROGRAM UNDER REVIEW

ALRTA has participated in a review of the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).  The HVSI has been available for six rounds with this year worth $5.55m.
 
ALRTA has previously been successful in acquiring grant funding for:

  • Construction of effluent disposal infrastructure;
  • A trial of a user-pay unloading frame;
  • Development of an effluent code of practice; and
  • Promotion of the code of practice.

ALRTA has this week submitted a new application to promote the national ramp standard. We believe that the HVSI is a highly valuable program that continues to deliver tangible safety improvements.

FEDERAL BUDGET MUST DELIVER

The ATA has called for investment in safer roads, rest areas and bridges, this week releasing its 2021-22 pre-budget submission.

“While we welcome the Australian Government’s existing $110 billion infrastructure pipeline, it should be strengthened with further investment in truck rest areas, freight routes, regional roads and bridge upgrades,” ATA Chair David Smith said.

Mr Smith said upgrading the road network would have enormous benefits for safety and productivity.  

“Infrastructure investment should target projects that will improve road access for High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFVs). This would reduce the number of truck movements, reduce congestion, lower freight costs, and use trucks that are safer, quieter, and greener,” he said. 

The ATA has also called for:

  • investing in improved capability and resourcing of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, and Infrastructure Australia
  • Government to support industry and remove barriers to reducing emissions from transport
  • national reform agendas for removing stamp duty and payroll tax
  • cancelling the mandatory super increase, and
  • investment in extending safety-focused crash investigations for heavy vehicles.

TRUCK CHARGES SURVEY

The ATA is looking for your insights about truck charges, the costs you can pass on to your customers and how easy or hard it is to change your freight rates.

It’s part of the work we are doing to prepare the industry’s response to the National Transport Commission’s heavy vehicle charges consultation report. The report looks at—

  • reducing the fuel tax credits you can claim by 0.6 cents per litre and
  • increasing the national roads component of truck and trailer registration charges by 2.5 per cent, in the states that apply the national charges.

The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Your feedback will be anonymous, and you could win a $50 gift card.
 
Click here to take the survey.

PROUDLY SUPPORTING LIVE EXPORT

Participants in the livestock export supply chain are proud of being part of the industry and largely confident to talk about their role, according to a recent survey carried out by the industry’s research body, LiveCorp.
 
It’s positive news, as LiveCorp’s work to understand the sentiment of the broader Australian community shows there’s a real lack of understanding of the industry in many quarters.
 
Part of the solution is a willingness for those involved in the supply chain to have more conversations with friends and strangers alike about what they do, and LiveCorp is in the process of putting together some information to help raise confidence even further.
 
If you’re interested in signing up to be a part of the next industry survey, click here

WARNING OVER USE OF SUZI COILS

The NHVR has released a safety bulletin to highlight the dangers of inappropriately using suzi coils for air supply to the brake system on self-supporting trailers (A-type) trailers.

The NHVR is aware of a number of decoupling incidents where suzi coils have been used as air supply lines to trailers with ‘A’ type coupling systems.

In some extreme cases, the combination of the design of the trailer, and the use of suzi coils has resulted in these trailers drifting into other lanes with a total lack of emergency brake application due to the extent the suzi coils have stretched.

To ensure trailers that have unintentionally disconnected can stop within the shortest possible distance, the NHVR strongly recommends that trailers, other than semitrailers, are not fitted with suzi coils and instead use traditional rubber hoses.
 
Read the safety bulletin

MINOR CHANGES TO SAFETY STANDARDS

To ensure that the Heavy Vehicle National Law (the Law), and the Heavy Vehicle (Vehicle Standards) National Regulation (the Regulation) are kept current, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) regularly undertakes reviews and makes changes when needed.
 
Following a recent review, some minor changes will be made to vehicle safety standards requirements, commencing 22 February 2021.
 
Changes will be made to the technical requirements of the vehicle safety standards, set out in the Regulation, including:

  • indirect vision devices
  • blind spot information systems
  • tyres with cleats and other gripping devices
  • classes of retroreflective materials

ATA – ENROL TO VOTE

Help create change in the Australian trucking industry.



Enrol to vote and elect your owner driver and small fleet representative.

Find out more: www.truck.net.au/elections

2021 LRTAQ YOUNG PERSON IN TRANSPORT AWARD

DO YOU KNOW AN OUTSTANDING YOUNG PERSON WORKING IN THE LIVESTOCK OR RURAL TRANSPORT INDUSTRY?

Nominate them today for the inaugural 2021 LRTAQ Young Person in Transport Award.

Employers and associates are encouraged to nominate outstanding individuals aged 35 and under for this award to recognise excellence in their workplace. We are seeking nominations of individuals who display pride and professionalism in their career, have a passion for our industry and have a strong desire to advance within it.

All roles within the livestock and rural transport industry are eligible to be nominated (for example drivers, mechanics, schedulers, administration officers, shed hands, managers – are all eligible for nomination).

This award will be presented at the LRTAQ 2021 Annual Conference in Roma from 9 – 11 April.

For the conditions of entry and to nominate an outstanding employee, visit www.lrtaq.com.au/ypita

DRIVING DIVERSITY CHANGE – WE WANT YOU

APOLOGIES the links to the fact sheetprospectus and nomination form were missing from last weeks ALRTA Newsletter. 

Members of ALRTA State Associations have the chance to be part of an initiative that will celebrate industry diversity, develop diversity champions, and improve industry image.
 
The ATA’s Teletrac Navman Driving Change Diversity Program will showcase diversity champions to the trucking industry and wider community, promoting positive perception of industry and encouraging new entrants into the workforce.
 
Last year’s ALRTA representative was Sarah Woodruff, employed by LTAT member, Tate’s Transport.  Sarah proudly participated in filming program participant stories in their workplace, an industry marketing and promotional campaign and diversity training workshops and participation at Trucking Australia 2020 (Next event is scheduled for October 2021).
 
To ensure sufficient time for ALRTA to decide a candidate, please submit your nomination package to your state association by 5 March 2021.

FRIDAY FUNNY

There was an elderly couple who in their old age noticed that they were getting a lot more forgetful, so they decided to go to the doctor. The doctor told them that they should start writing things down so they don’t forget.

They went home and the old lady told her husband to get her a bowl of ice cream. “You might want to write it down,” she said. The husband said, “No, I can remember that you want a bowl of ice cream.”

She then told her husband she wanted a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream. “Write it down,” she told him, and again he said, “No, no, I can remember: you want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream.”

Then the old lady said she wants a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top. “Write it down,” she told her husband and again he said, “No, I got it. You want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top.”

So he goes to get the ice cream and spends an unusually long time in the kitchen, over 30 minutes. He comes out to his wife and hands her a plate of eggs and bacon.

The old wife stares at the plate for a moment, then looks at her husband and asks, “Where’s the toast?”

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2021

LRTAQ Conference – Roma QLD – 9-11 April 2021  – Registration Information
LRTASA Conference – Adelaide SA – 18-19 June 2021
LRTAV Conference – Bendigo VIC – 20-21 August 2021