ALRTA News – 8 July 2022

THANK YOU TO OUR NATIONAL PARTNER NTI




The “Expedition Truck” valued at $265,000 with all proceeds going directly to researching Motor Neurone Disease (MND). 

The vehicle is the fifth to be raffled by Australia’s largest transport and logistics specialist insurer, NTI,with the winner to be announced at Supercars NTI Townsville 500 this Sunday (10 July). 

This year NTI will have raised more than a million dollars for MND research over the past five years. NTI CEO Tony Clark said the 2022 prize was unique

Scan the code above or click HERE to get your tickets.

LRTAV/ALRTA COMBINED NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Have you registered for the LRTAV/ALRTA combined National Conference on 12-13 August 2022.

Five weeks to go!



Check out the Delegate book & program  and to click on Registration Form to register

INDUSTRY ON FMD ALERT

The Albanese Government has ramped up tough biosecurity measures at the Australian border, in response to confirmation that foot and mouth disease (FMD) has reached Bali.
 
Following official confirmation from Indonesian authorities yesterday that FMD had spread to Bali, new measures were immediately imposed to protect Australia’s livestock industry from this threat.



These new measures build on additional measures the Government had already put in place when the Indonesian outbreak first began. These existing strengthened measures include new targeted operations at major airports servicing travel from Indonesia to check a wider range of passengers who could be contaminated with FMD or be carrying contaminated goods and assessment of all passengers on flights from Indonesia, with high risk passengers identified for intervention.
 
New measures being taken or introduced include:

  • The location of biosecurity detector dogs in Darwin and Cairns Airports;
  • Additional signage and the distribution of flyers at major airports, informing travellers of FMD risk and precautions;
  • Expanded social media campaigns, informing travellers of their biosecurity responsibilities,
  • Additional training of airport biosecurity staff;
  • Enhancement of mail profiling and inspections; and
  • Additional measures, including boarding by biosecurity officers on arriving flights from Indonesia, will begin in coming days.

Australian biosecurity—and particularly the threat posed by FMD—is a top priority, and high level discussions have been occurring on an ongoing basis, between Australian and Indonesian authorities, as well as with local industry.
 
I have received regular briefings about this issue since becoming Minister and yesterday I sought and received another urgent briefing about the latest developments from Australian Director of Biosecurity Andrew Metcalfe AO, the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Schipp, and head of the National Animal Disease Taskforce at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Dr Chris Parker.
 
There are also well-established plans in place should FMD be detected in Australia, including an FMD vaccine bank.
 
Indonesia will have the support of the Albanese Government in responding to their FMD outbreak.
 
During his recent visit to Indonesia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed Australian support, including vaccines and technical expertise, to respond to the recent outbreak of FMD. Indonesia has accepted Australia’s offer and we are progressing that support as a matter of urgency.
 
Biosecurity is a shared responsibility, and it is crucial that every traveller returning to Australia from areas affected by FMD follows the biosecurity instructions we have in place at the border.
 
High risk materials cannot be brought into the country, including contaminated equipment or clothing, animals or animal products, such as meat products and cheese.
 
For more information on FMD visit: www.agriculture.gov.au/footandmouthdisease 

ADBLUE SECURE IN THE SHORT TERM

ALRTA has participated in an ATA webinar on AdBlue supply security.
 
In contrast to the crisis experienced in late 2021, DGL Group General Manager, Matthew Berry painted a rosy picture of the current state of supply. 
 
Australia now has several options for sourcing technical grade urea, with significant imports forecast to be landed, providing AdBlue manufacturers with capacity to increase stock inventories. The Australian Department of Industry is continuing to coordinate meetings of an Industry Supplier Working Group to monitor supply data and facilitate rapid decisions.  It is thought that any future threats can now be identified 4-6 months in advance.
 
At the height of the crisis, and after vigorous industry lobbying, the Australian Government provided almost $30m to Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) to ramp up AdBlue production at its Gibson Island plant. While production has since increased by more than 800%, helping to ease the crisis, IPL has announced that the facility will be closed at the end of 2022.
 
Industry is again lobbying government to support a longer-term solution that would ideally involve Australian-based production of significant quantities of technical grade urea.

EFFLUENT CODE PROGRESSING

ALRTA hosted a member forum this week to discuss the proposed status and content of a code of practice for managing effluent in the livestock supply chain.
 
With funding provided by the NHVR, ALRTA has been progressing development of the code in consultation with the entire livestock supply chain and other interested parties. We commenced with a scoping workshop attended by more than 40 stakeholders including transporters, farmers, feedlots, agents, saleyards, processors, regulators, police and welfare advocates.
 
From there, we formed a representative supply chain working party and redrafted the code several times in response to changes to the NHVR code development guidelines.  The proposed content is now being scrutinised by our State Member Associations.
 
We are aiming for the draft code to be released for public consultation within the next two months and registered under the Heavy Vehicle National Law in 2022. Once registered, the code will provide guidance for all chain of responsibility parties about what they can do to minimise the risk of effluent loss during transit.  This could include actions such a pre-transport curfews, communicating curfew information, using trailer effluent tanks when appropriate and provision of managed effluent disposal sites at livestock depots.
 
ALRTA will alert members when the public consultation process has commenced.

VICROADS PRIVATISED FOR $7.8B

The VicRoads licencing and registration function will be privatised for 40 years to raise $7.9b for the Victorian Government.  While the state government will retain ownership of the service, it will be run by a consortium of Aware Super, Australian Retirement Trust and Macquarie Asset Management.
 
Monies raised will go to the Victorian Future Fund to address pandemic debt.
 
The Victorian Treasurer, Tim Pallas, has said that the government will continue to control data, privacy provisions and essential fee prices.
 
However, the move is concerning given that profit is clearly the motivation of the purchasing group.

NHVR FLOOD ADVICE

The NHVR is urging all heavy vehicle operators to take steps to ensure safe travel when operating in and around areas affected by heavy rainfall and flooding.

Follow these simple steps when accessing flood-affected areas:

  1. Check the local road conditions through state road manager websites. A list of websites with the latest information about road conditions can be found here.
  2. If travelling in an affected area, check with local emergency services or recovery operations.
  3. Ensure your vehicle is able to travel on the existing network. If you’re travelling outside of these networks, you may need to obtain a permit through the NHVR Portal or call 13 NHVR (13 64 87) for assistance. Avoid using back tracks or off-network roads to get around road closures.

For more information visit www.nhvr.gov.au/news/flooding

EXPANSION OF NATIONAL ROAD TRAIN NOTICE

Conditional access for Type 2 road trains along the Burke Development Road, Mungana and Ootann Road, Almaden has now been now included in the National Class 2 Road Train Authorisation Notice 2022 (No.2)

If you’re travelling this route under this Notice, you must comply with the Queensland special conditions in the ‘Network and Mapping’ section of the National Class 2 Road Train Authorisation Notice 2022 Operator’s Guide.

These conditions include specific requirements relating to warning lights, call point contact systems, dedusting, speed limits and separation distances.

The Queensland Class 2 Road Train (Burke Development Road) Authorisation Notice 2017 (No. 1) has expired and will not be reviewed.

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2022

ALRTA/LRTAV National Combined Conference -12-13 August 2022 – All Seasons Bendigo VIC – Delegate Book & Registration Form
LRTAWA (WA) – 3 September 2022 – Industry Day – Burswood on Swan – Perth WA