ALRTA News – 24 May 2019

 

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ALRTA CONGRATULATES COALITION

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) congratulates Prime Minister Morrison and the Liberal-Nationals Coalition on their Federal Election victory.

ALRTA National President, Stephen Marley, said the result was largely determined by regional voters who supported the Coalition’s positive attitude towards regional businesses and communities.

“This was a crucial election for rural and regional trucking businesses”, said President Marley.

“Labor promised to resurrect the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, phase out live sheep exports, raise emissions targets, increase taxes and focus infrastructure spending in urban areas.”

“In contrast, the Coalition was offering a low-tax, low-red-tape environment supported by a record infrastructure spend in regional areas.”

“The choice was simple for rural and regional road transport businesses that could have been negatively affected by closure of export markets, new industrial laws to regulate owner drivers and new costs associated with meeting arbitrary emissions targets.”

“I congratulate the Liberal-National Coalition on their Federal Election victory and our association looks forward to working with the government over the next three years.”

“ALRTA also offers to work with the opposition to reshape their policy approach to regional businesses and communities.”

CENTRE ALLIANCE TO ADDRESS 2019 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

ALRTA and LRTASA are pleased to announce that Senator Rex Patrick (Centre Alliance) will deliver a keynote address on road safety at our combined state-national conference at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, 14-15 June 2019.

While the Morrison Coalition has secured a majority in the House of Representatives, the government will still need to rely on the support of four or five crossbench senators.  Following the half-Senate Federal Election, it appears that the number of crossbench senators will be reduced from ten to six.  The Centre Alliance Party comprises two Senators – Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff.

Our associations are privileged to have a relationship with Senator Patrick.  The conference is an excellent opportunity for our grass roots members to engage with Senator Patrick on the important topic of road safety.

The conference program kicks off on Friday 14 June with 9 holes of golf followed by our National Sponsors Cocktail Reception.  The official opening and formal conference sessions will begin on Saturday morning.

This year we will be focusing on:

  • Review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law: including access, fatigue, enforcement, technology, accreditation and the future of concessional schemes (Grain and Livestock).
  • Safety and Welfare: opportunities and challenges in SA, on road enforcement and animal welfare.
  • National Projects: focussing on how the ALRTA and LRTASA are working together on major projects to establish roadside effluent disposal facilities, develop a code of practice, trial user-pay unloading frames and establish an enforceable national ramp standard.
  • Implications of the 2019 Federal Election: Where to from here?

The conference will conclude on Saturday evening with a gala dinner and fundraising auction.

The first-rate program will also include a trade show, special announcements, roving street magician, juke box, lolly bar, food and drinks!

You can find registration information here.

NTC RELEASES FATIGUE ISSUES PAPER

The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released an issues paper seeking feedback on how to regulate fatigue management as part of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) review.

The paper seeks views on how fatigue is currently regulated and the issues relating to the existing law, to find options for effectively managing fatigue risk in a new law.

NTC Chief Executive Officer Gillian Miles said the existing fatigue management requirements are complex, highly prescriptive and therefore difficult to understand and comply with.

‘The existing law, despite its detailed prescriptive requirements, doesn’t adequately address the complexity of fatigue risks and causes, and how they relate to each other.

‘Our goal is to develop a new law with a harmonised approach to effective fatigue risk management that delivers safer outcomes’, Dr Miles said.

This is the second of eight issues papers in a rolling consultation to mid-2019. Consultation on this paper is open until 16 August 2019.

Following consultation on the eight issues papers, the NTC will develop a consultation Regulatory Impact Statement for comment before taking recommendations to ministers in November 2020.

For more information about our open and upcoming consultation phases, see the HVNL Review microsite.

ALRTA Executive Director, Mat Munro, attended an NTC workshop in Melbourne this week to discuss the fatigue issues paper as well as the previous issues paper concerning risk-based regulation.  The HVNL review will be discussed the ALRTA National Council meeting on 13 June, and then during a special session of the National Conference on 15 June 2019.

HV FATALITIES DECREASING

According to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, heavy vehicle fatalities have decreased by 12 per cent in the past year to March 2019, at an average rate of 4.1 per cent decrease over the past three years.


At a glance:

  • During the 12 months to the end of March 2019, 163 people died from 147 fatal crashes involving heavy trucks. These included 93 deaths from 84 crashes involving articulated trucks, 77 deaths from 69 crashes involving heavy rigid trucks and 7 deaths from 6 crashes involving both a heavy rigid truck and an articulated truck.
  • Fatal crashes involving heavy trucks: decreased by 12.0 per cent compared with the corresponding period one year earlier (from 167 to 147 crashes) and decreased by an average of 4.1 per cent per year over the three years to March 2019.
  • Fatal crashes involving articulated trucks: decreased by 5.6 per cent compared with the corresponding period one year earlier (from 89 to 84 crashes) and decreased by an average of 5.7 per cent per year over the three years to March 2019.
  • Fatal crashes involving heavy rigid trucks: decreased by 20.7 per cent compared with the corresponding period one year earlier (from 87 to 69 crashes) and decreased by an average of 0.6 per cent per year over the three years to March 2019.
  • Fatal crashes involving buses: decreased by 25.9 per cent compared with the corresponding period one year earlier (from 27 to 20 crashes) and increased by an average of 1.2 per cent per year over the three years to March 2019.

2019 BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW

ALRTA was very pleased with the level of interest in our booth at last week’s Brisbane Truck Show.  We were visited by many of our grass roots members from all states of Australia and we spoke to dozens of potential members or partners about the great work we do.

We also distributed ramp guides, load restraint guides, Diesel Magazine, national-state association brochures, 500 bags of ALRTA branded jelly beans and raised money for Convoy for Kids!

Our thanks to the Heavy Vehicle Industry Association for the opportunity to attend.

THE SHEEP COLLECTIVE

ALRTA Executive Director, Mat Munro, was delighted to welcome Dr Holly Ludeman and Mr John Cunnington from The Sheep Collective to our offices in Canberra this week.

The Sheep Collective is a collaboration of exporters, importers, industry bodies (including LRTAWA) and producers. It’s about showing the care given to sheep in the live export process.

The care and consideration we have for our sheep doesn’t end when our sheep are sold. That is why The Sheep Collective is so important. We are a team, we are a conduit and we are all responsible for making each stage of The Sheep Collective the best it can be.

There are many reasons why we export our live animals to other countries. The Australian sheep industry has continued to grow since the first animals were exported more than 150 years ago.

The industry delivers an economic benefit to Australia and farming families averaging one billion dollars annually. Today, nationally, our sheep industry employs more than 10,000 people, who in turn live in and contribute to the health of our country towns and communities. Our own population simply is not large enough to sustain the sheep farming industry based solely on the local consumer market.
You can find out more about The Sheep Collective here.

ELECTION RESULTS: LRTAQ AGM

ALRTA congratulates the following office bearers elected at the LRTAQ AGM on 17 May 2019:

  • President: Ian Wild
  • Vice President: Gerard Johnson
  • Vice President: Mark Collins
  • Treasurer: Ron Pattel
  • Secretary: Gary Willoughby
  • Immediate Past President: David Scott

MEETING NOTICE: ALRTA NATIONAL COUNCIL

Members are reminded that the ALRTA National Council will next meet face-to-face in Adelaide on Thursday, 13 June 2019.  For more information please contact the ALRTA Secretariat on (02) 6247 5434 or office@ALRTA.org.au

LIVE AUCTION – KENWORTH T610SAR

LRTASA and ALRTA are extremely excited to announce that at this years National Combined Conference on 14-15 June 2019 we will be Auctioning off a KENWORTH  T610SAR during our Saturday night Gala Dinner.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Have you registered for the ALRTA/LRTASA Combined Conference yet?

Go to https://alrta.org.au/events/events/ to download the Registration Form.