Truck fatalities down

Discount to encourage more classic cars onto the roads

Western Australians may soon see more classic cars on our roads, with the State Government introducing a new scheme to encourage car enthusiasts to hit the road in their hot rods more often.

Owners of street rods and vehicles manufactured before 1990 will soon have access to a scheme designed to encourage and enable car enthusiasts to license and use their 'occasional-use vehicles'.

The new Concessions for Classics scheme will reduce licensing costs for eligible vehicles and allow 90 days of road use per annum.

Under the new scheme, participants will receive a 75 per cent reduction in their motor vehicle licence fee, provided the owner of the eligible vehicle is also a financial member of a Department of Transport (DoT) approved motoring club or the vehicle is owned by a DoT approved motoring club.

DoT approved motoring clubs will be required to maintain a record of vehicle use by their members for auditing and compliance with the scheme.

The requirement to be a financial member of a DoT approved motoring club is a fundamental feature of all classic vehicle permit and conditional licensing schemes across Australia.

It encourages club members and DoT of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) has shown a significant reduction in heavy vehicle crash fatalities over the 12 months to June 2020.

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said that the data was encouraging but that there was never room for complacency.

“Over the past financial year there were 157 fatalities recorded, down 17.8 per cent on last financial year,” Mr Petroccitto said.

“This includes a 30.4 per cent reduction approved motoring clubs to comply with their obligations under the relevant scheme and promotes community engagement and participation.

Additionally, the Veteran/Vintage (404) scheme for owners of unmodified vehicles will be modernised mirroring the vehicle use restrictions and motoring club responsibilities of the Concessions for Classics scheme. Concession entitlements and vehicle conditions for vehicles licensed under the Veteran/Vintage scheme will remain the same.

Following discussions with key stakeholders, the McGowan Government plans to extend the proposal to 90 days per annum of road use - 60 days for participation in club sanctioned events and 30 days for personal use, testing, maintenance, or repair.

The Government expects to be able to implement the scheme early next year.

WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said, "We want to cut red tape and see more classic cars out of the garage and on our roads. Growing up I saw how passionate my own family was about their Monaros and Toranas. "The scheme is intended to reduce the financial burden on classic vehicle owners and to encourage club membership while stimulating spending in the automotive

Truck fatalities down

Recently released data from the Bureau

industries. in fatalities involving heavy rigid vehicles and a 7.8 per cent reduction in fatalities involving articulated vehicles.

“Of course, any death in a crash is one too many and we are always focused on what we can do to make our roads safer for all users.

“We are continuing to remind drivers that we need space to keep you safe – targeting drivers of light vehicles, who are most often at fault in crashes involving trucks.”

ALRTA proposes effluent sites as priority infrastructure

ALRTA has lodged a formal submission to Infrastructure Australia outlining the case for roadside effluent disposal infrastructure to be recognised in Australia’s Infrastructure Priority List.

Infrastructure Australia is an independent advisory body that evaluates and prioritises infrastructure proposals to identify the most important infrastructure investments Australia needs over the next 15 years. When Infrastructure Australia positively evaluates a proposal, it is added to the Infrastructure Priority List. The list guides decision-makers on the most needed investments to secure Australia’s continued prosperity.

ALRTA President Stephen Marley said that it was past time for Australian Governments to prioritise and plan for a network of roadside effluent disposal sites.

“The red meat sector is a growing industry that supports 405,000 jobs with a total value of more than $20 billion – mostly supporting our regions. Most livestock is transported by road on at least one occasion during the production process,” said President Marley.

“In 2018, there were more than one million semi-trailer equivalent livestock movements across Australia with a transport value exceeding $1 billion. One of the realities of livestock transport is that animals can lose up to 5% of their weight as effluent during transit.

“Livestock trailers must be designed to provide ventilation for livestock and so cannot be sealed. Effluent capture tanks can reduce the incidence of major spills, but do not have sufficient capacity to capture all effluent and must be supported by a network of legal effluent disposal sites.

“In New Zealand, National and Regional Governments are jointly funding, building and operating purpose-built livestock effluent disposal facilities on public roads.

“This common-sense approach is exactly what is needed for the Australian rural livestock supply chain to coexist and grow alongside expanding urban populations where livestock sale and processing facilities are typically concentrated.

The ALRTA proposal will be considered for inclusion in the 2021 Infrastructure Priority List.