ALRTA News – 7 May 2021

THANK YOU TO OUR NATIONAL SPONSOR
BYRNE TRAILERS

 
A proud family owned and operated business, Byrne Trailers is recognised as the leading manufacturer of specialised Livestock and Bulk Cargo Transport Equipment in Australia, visit their website.

DAY OUT IN WAGGA WAGGA

ALRTA National/Marketing Officer Colleen Mays ventured off to Wagga Wagga on Thursday at the invitation of our National Sponsor Byrne Trailers. Sarah Tolmie gave Colleen a tour of the trailer manufacturing facility. It takes approximately five weeks for a new trailer to be manufactured through the assembly line. Colleen got the opportunity to view various types of trailers in production and at various stages.


Sarah (Byrne Trailers) and Colleen (ALRTA) standing near a Rigid Crate ready for collection.

PARTNERSHIP DELIVERS SECOND LIVESTOCK EFFLUENT DISPOSAL POINT

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) is partnering with the District Council of Grant (Council) to establish a livestock effluent disposal pit at the Mount Gambier Saleyards.  Preliminary works on the facility commenced in March 2021.


Photo (L-R): ALRTA Driver and Animal Welfare Committee Member Pete Edmonds, Grant District Mayor Richard Sage, Grant District Council CEO Darryl Whicker, Elders Stock Agent David Creek and Saleyard Manager David Wallis. 

The project is funded under the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI), administered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
 
“The newly installed pit will provide an opportunity for transporters to dispose of accumulated livestock effluent either at the end of their journey to the saleyards, or on their way to deliver a consignment further afield,” said Saleyards Manager, David Wallis.
 
“Evidently there are too few locations for transporters to properly dispose of effluent along the road network. The ALRTA offered $50,000 (ex GST) in funding to support planning and construction of an effluent disposal bay. Council will deliver this project to effectively provide an opportunity for livestock transporters to dispose of effluent in eastern South Australia,” he said.
 
ALRTA President Scott McDonald, said “Managing effluent in transit is a significant challenge for our members. Effluent capture tanks installed on purpose-built livestock trailers do a reasonable job of containment however there is a consequential need for transporters to access suitable facilities for effluent disposal when tanks become full in transit and at ‘end of journey’ facilities.”
 
“Livestock effluent disposal facilities benefit the livestock supply chain and the community. They improve safety by ensuring cleaner roads and improved animal welfare outcomes and help to reduce the risk of non-compliance with biosecurity, environment and load restraint laws. That’s why the ALRTA is actively engaging with industry stakeholders and governments to develop a national network of effluent disposal points.”
 
“Our association greatly appreciates the support of the livestock transport industry demonstrated by District Council of Grant by building an effluent disposal pit on their site at Mount Gambier.” he said.
 
The Mount Gambier Saleyards disposal point is the second site funded via the HVSI, with a first site becoming operational in Horsham in July 2020.  ALRTA is working on additional sites to be announced in future.

NHVR TAKEOVER LOOMS IN NSW

A bill to transfer functions under the Heavy Vehicle National Law from Transport for NSW to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has passed the NSW Legislative Assembly. The Heavy Vehicle Legislation (National Regulator) Bill 2021 (NSW) will now go to the upper house for consideration.
 
If passed, NHVR will progressively assume frontline enforcement and strategy functions in NSW as has already occurred in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and ACT.

NATIONAL ROADWORTHINESS SURVEY

The National Heavy Vehicle Roadworthiness Survey 2021 is now underway. Roadside intercepts are random and may take up to 45min for inspections to be complete. 
 
ALRTA understands that loaded livestock trucks will not be inspected but may be intercepted and directed to unload and return for inspection when empty.  We ask all drivers and operators to be polite and cooperative if you are intercepted for this purpose.
 
If you experience any problems, please contact the ALRTA Secretariat or your state association for assistance.

OUR ASSOCIATIONS OUT AND ABOUT

ALRTA and our state associations are out and about at various events around the country this week and next. LRTAQ are promoting the work of rural transport associations this week at Beef 2021 held in Rockhampton 2-8 May.  A crowd of up to 100,000 is in attendance with a full program of speakers, special events a trade show.


The LRTAQ booth is visited by QLD Opposition Leader David Crisafulli MP and QLD Member for Callide Colin Boyce MP.

Photo (L-R):LRTAQ President Gerard Johnson, Athol Carter, Gary Mahon, QLD Minister for Agriculture the Hon Mark Furner MP and Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport, the Hon Scott Buchholz MP. 

LTAT representatives are exhibiting at AGFEST 2021, including the ATA’s SAFET360 ground-breaking safety truck.

Meanwhile, ALRTA’s Marketing Officer, Colleen Mays, is joining Byrne Trailers at the Wagga Gold Cup Carnival.  Look out for the ALRTA exhibition booth at the Brisbane Truck Show next week!

FIX FATIGUE ENFORCEMENT TO IMPROVE SAFETY

The NHVR should change its approach to fatigue enforcement as a key part of its next safety strategy, ATA CEO Andrew McKellar said.

Releasing the ATA submission to the NHVR on its draft 2021-2025 heavy vehicle safety strategy this week, Mr McKellar said the ATA was very pleased to see that the draft emphasises the need to build a positive safety culture in the industry, but the key to doing it was fairness.

“People are not going to report safety issues if they feel they will be unfairly blamed or issued with an infringement notice. That’s why the NHVR should press governments to reduce fines for minor paperwork offences and change its enforcement approach,” Mr McKellar said.

“The national truck driver work diary includes 27 pages of instructions. Obsessing over missing signatures and minor errors does not make the roads safer. 

“The approach we are recommending is common sense. It is also supported by safety research across industries as varied as offshore oil production, aerospace and medicine. Safety scientists even have a term for what we need. It’s called a ‘just culture.’ 

“The NHVR has previously committed to this just culture approach. It should now advocate for amendments to the HVNL and make changes to its policies to reinforce it,” he said. 

AX TOOLS FOR ROAD TRANSPORT



To manage your tax affairs on the go, download the ATO app which provides information and tools all in one place. This includes myDeductions, a useful way to keep track of your records throughout the year, download the app at ato.gov.au/app.
 
For more information about what you can and can’t claim during tax time, go to ato.gov.au/occupation21.

CLASS 3 LIVESTOCK VEHICLE PERMITS

Farmers are starting to reap the benefits of the removal of the requirement for Class 3 livestock mass exemption permits to include registration numbers, which took effect in December last year.
 
NHVR Network Access Policy Manager Jose Arredondo said, while transporters, operators or farmers could apply for a permit, farmers who have Class 3 permits often use a third-party operator to carry their livestock.
 
“Under recent changes, farmers applying for a Class 3 livestock mass exemption permits for a third- party operator now only need to include the type of vehicle, not the specific registration,” Mr Arredondo said.
 
“As long as the configuration is correct and the conditions of the permit are met, it doesn’t matter which trailer is used.
 
“So, if the intended trailer is unavailable for some reason, it can be swapped with another one, reducing delays to the transport task, and enabling livestock to be moved in a safe, timely manner.
 
“This enables farmers to better respond to the highly dynamic livestock market, as decisions to buy or sell livestock can be made at short notice to take advantage of favourable market conditions.”
 
Click here for more information.

FORESTRY CODE OPEN FOR COMMENT

The NHVR has opened consultation on the Draft Forestry Log Haulage Industry Code of Practice.
 
The draft code identifies the risks associated with loading and transporting logs, and describes equipment, procedures, training, and other methods to eliminate or minimise those risks. It includes recommendations for the minimum restraint requirements for different types of logs in different loading scenarios.
 
Submissions are now open and will close on Friday 28 May 2021. Click here for more information.
 
ALRTA is particularly interested in this process because it can inform the development of our Livestock Effluent Code of Practice.

BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW – SOUTH BANK FESTIVAL

The Brisbane Truck Show is described as the place where the industry gathers. Now however, the whole community is invited to come together for a full week of celebrations showcasing Australia’s heavy vehicle industry.

Following its hugely successful launch in 2019, Australian Heavy Vehicle Industry Week once again serves as the umbrella capturing all of the events and activities going on across Brisbane alongside the Brisbane Truck Show.

Through a series of external activations by Brisbane Truck Show exhibitors and the exciting activations at South Bank Parklands, that aspiration will once again to life in 2021.

Check out What’s On

FRIDAY FUNNY

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2021

Brisbane Truck Show 13-16 May 2021 – Visit ALRTA at booth 008 in the foyer
LRTASA Conference – Adelaide SA – 18-19 June 2021 – Register Here
LRTAQ Conference – Roma QLD – 16-17 July 2021 – Register Here
LRTAV Conference – Bendigo VIC – 20-21 August 2021
LTAT/National Combined Conference – Hobart TAS – 22-23 October 2021