ALRTA News – 14 October 2022

THANK YOU TO OUR NATIONAL PARTNER
CUMMINS

For more information visit Cummins.com

CUMMINS is proud to be an ALRTA National Partner.

MEDIA RELEASE – PUBLIC FEEDBACK SOUGHT ON DRAFT EFFLUENT CODE  

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA), together with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), is inviting public feedback on the draft Industry Code of Practice – Managing Effluent in the Livestock Supply Chain (the Effluent Code). Feedback should be provided by Friday 4 November 2022.
 
ALRTA National President, Scott McDonald, said that this Industry Code of Practice is funded by the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, supported by the Federal Government.
 
“The Effluent Code is a practical guide that assists livestock transporters and parties in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) to comply with their primary duty and other obligations under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) relevant to managing livestock effluent during road transport.”
 
“The project to create an Industry Code of Practice has been a collaborative effort by the ALRTA and NHVR, with significant input from a wide range of livestock transport industry stakeholders including livestock producers, transport operators and drivers, vehicle manufacturers, agents, saleyards, feedlot managers, processors, regulators, animal welfare advocates, government agencies and the community. Many of these stakeholder groups supported the development of the Effluent Code through participation in a code working group.”

“This working group, chaired by ALRTA member John Beer, has contributed expertise to the risks and controls for managing livestock effluent in transit, as well as fact checking and providing real world examples,” he said.

Graeme Hoare, Chair of ALRTA’s Driver and Animal Welfare Sub-Committee, said that the process of consulting with supply chain parties and transporters represented a significant and positive opportunity for collaboration.

“Managing livestock effluent at every stage of a heavy vehicle transport journey, from preparing livestock for transit, to unloading livestock at the destination requires a cooperative approach across all responsible parties.”

“ALRTA members hope that the practical guidance outlined in the Effluent Code, will help to improve animal welfare outcomes, mitigate biosecurity threats, contribute towards sustainability, support livestock transporters and make the roads safer for all road users,” he said.

Further information, including a copy of the draft Effluent Code and the feedback form, is available from the NHVR website

ALRTA RESPONDS TO CHARGING OPTIONS

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) has responded to the NTC’s consultation paper on Options for setting heavy vehicle charges for 2023-24 and beyond.   ALRTA has recommended moderate charging increases of 2.75 per cent in each of the next three years commencing 2023-24.
 
ALRTA National President Scott McDonald said that it was important for any charging increases to be moderate and predictable.
 
“ALRTA has long supported fair cost recovery via an agreed economic model,” said President McDonald.
 
“When revised PAYGO modelling in 2013 demonstrated that industry was being over charged, our insistence on fair cost recovery principles triggered a government charging freeze for seven years. It is a powerful argument and a principle we cannot afford to abandon.
 
“However, governments have delayed a return to regular and moderate charging increases for too long. The situation has now reversed with a 38.7 per cent gap between expenditure and revenue.
 
“While we understand that charges need to go up, our industry is facing challenging economic circumstances with the very real prospect of a global recession within the NTC’s forecast window. A 2.75% increase in each of the next three years strikes the right balance between cost recovery and risk mitigation.  The multi-year price path will give certainty to industry and governments in an uncertain economic environment.
 
“The current imbalance under the PAYGO model remains highly concerning. It is difficult to imagine a scenario under which it could return to balance without either significantly reduced infrastructure investment, which would be counter-productive in a broader economic sense, or charging increases of a scale that would threaten the viability of road transport businesses.
 
“For this reason, ALRTA is calling governments to the table for a frank conversation about a pragmatic approach to achieving balance in the medium term.  This is likely to involve a one-off intervention to fix the imbalance under PAYGO or a transition to an entirely new model involving a ‘reset’ such that it could be launched on a cost-neutral basis.
 
“We are well-aware that governments are working on a new charging system, but at this point in time many elements remain unresolved and not yet agreed. Three years of moderate increases under PAYGO would provide the breathing space necessary to agree a new approach,” he said.

ALRTA HITS THE MARK ON FMD PREPAREDNESS

ALRTA has presented evidence to a Federal Senate Committee Inquiry into Australia’s preparedness for an FMD outbreak. ALRTA had previously lodged a comprehensive formal submission containing 14 recommendations.
 
Appearing before the Committee in Rockhampton, Queensland, ALRTA Executive Member, Athol Carter, and Executive Director, Mat Munro, explained why more effort is needed to establish a national permit system, improve NVDs, review livestock standstill rules, identify emergency holding yards and build truck washes and roadside effluent disposal infrastructure.
 
The Committee commended the ALRTA’s formal submission several times and also referred to it when asking questions of other witnesses. There was clear bipartisan interest in addressing the preparedness gaps identified by ALRTA.
 
We are currently seeking follow up information from our state member associations about priority sites for roadside effluent disposal facilities in each jurisdiction so this information can be supplied to the Committee, along with costings and technical designs.


Mat Munro, Senator Glenn Sterle and Athol Carter.

2022 SKILLS PRIORITY LIST

After much lobbying effort, ALRTA is pleased to advise members that truck drivers have been added to the National Skills Commission’s skills shortage list. 

The Skills Priority List (SPL) provides a detailed view of occupations in shortage, nationally and broken down by state and territory, it also includes the future demand for occupations in Australia.

Including truck drivers on the official shortage list will assist in our related efforts to improve funding, training and skilled migration options.

READ THE REPORT 

SAY GOODBYE TO PAPER NVD PROBLEMS 

To enhance digital capacity, the red meat industry is transitioning to a digital system of livestock consignments involving the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) electronic National Vendor Declaration (eNVD).
 
As a part of this, a new eNVD Phone App will be launched in the coming months to enable a completely mobile, offline solution for livestock consignments.
 
The eNVD App creates the opportunity for eNVD to be adopted along the entire supply chain journey: from producer, to transporter, saleyard, feedlot and to the processor; saving time and preventing errors.
 
The benefits for transporters to use digital consignments include: 

  • No damaged or lost paperwork to deal with
  • Receive consignments ahead of time
  • Receive consignments direct to your mobile or tablet
  • Handover documentation without the need for internet service.

As a transporter you may already have customers using eNVD. Find out how to access digital consignments and what information is available to assist in making the transition here.

OCTOBER IS NATIONAL SAFE WORK MONTH

Individuals, their families and the broader community are all impacted by work-related injury and illness. Last year in Australia, Safe Work Australia preliminary data shows that around 163 people died while doing their job. Around 120,300 people made a workers’ compensation claim for serious injury or illness in 2019-20.

There is more that we can do, and together we can make a difference

This is why, during October each year, Safe Work Australia asks businesses, employers and workers across Australia to join National Safe Work Month and commit to building safe and healthy workplaces for all Australians.

To keep updated about National Safe Work Month, follow Safe Work Australia on social media and subscribe to their mailing list. When subscribing, be sure to check ‘National Safe Work Month’.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON LIVE EXPORTS

The live export industry wants to know what you think of it!

LiveCorp is conducting a survey of supply chain participants to gauge confidence in the industry from those involved. It’s just a few questions – click here (even if you filled in the first survey in 2020).

It’s part of wider research into community sentiment about live exports, which you can read about here.
 

For more information, contact livecorp@livecorp.com.au

WORK DIARY AND OPTUS DATA BREACH

Please be aware if you need to change your licence number due to the Optus data breach, NHVR have advised that you do not need to replace your work diary.

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On your next daily page, simply write your new licence number and add a notation on the page, so that in the event you are intercepted, the Authorised Officer has context for this change. Please reach out to your state transport department for any licencing issues.

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2023

LBRCA – 9-11 March 2023 – TAMWORTH NSW
LRTAQ – 16-17 March 2023 – TOWNSVILLE QLD