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Dananni Haulage’s Georgia Goss – the next generation industry leader
In a statement released in response to a condemning story by A Current Affair, WridgWays CEO Kobus Fourie confirmed that WridgWays had been placed into voluntary administration citing the current turn of events as sad and promising to support our people as best as possible through this time.
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“WridgWays has a long history of supporting the Australian consumer with relocating, and we remain committed to completing any in progress consumer deliveries, and will work to ensure all customers receive their belongings,” Mr Fourie said.
COVID-19 is apparently the key reason why this has happened with Mr Fourie saying, “As with many other iconic Australian businesses, WridgWays has been significantly impacted by Covid-19, particularly some substantial non-payments by international removalists.
“This has resulted in difficulties within the WridgWays supply chain with some customers experiencing delays in fulfilling their delivery.”
In February, two WridgWay subsidiaries were liquidated and recently freight provider Pacific National lodged a winding up application in a bid to recover a debt.
The Current Affair exposed several contractors, one who had worked for WridgWays for 30 years. He claimed he was chasing the company for a $62,500 debt.
Western Australian subcontractor Grant Milentis said the company owed him more than $200,000..
Future planning of Fremantle underway with Westport
The WA State Government is steaming ahead with the Westport project and has announced that the Western Australian Planning Commission will establish a Future of Fremantle Planning Committee for two years under the Planning and Development Act 2005.
With a new container port to be built at Kwinana, the committee will examine the future redevelopment of Fremantle's North Quay, and surrounding land, while continuing to develop a new vision for a Victoria Quay Waterfront Precinct.
The committee will be supported by Nicole Lockwood, the former chairperson of the Westport Taskforce, and a team within the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage.
The committee will include representatives from State Government agencies, Fremantle Ports, industry, local government and the Fremantle community.
The new container port project is now entering its next stage to further define design and total cost.
FUEL SECURITY WIN
Liquid and diesel fuel are critical to Australia’s economy, with 98 per cent of energy for the transport sector sourced from liquid fuel.
Despite this, Australia has dangerously low fuel stocks with only 20 days of consumption cover for diesel.
Parliament have passed two fuel security bills that will improve Australia’s fuel security and keep the trucking industry moving in times of emergency.
The bills will improve Australia’s stocks of transport fuels and support continued domestic fuel production by establishing a minimum stockholding obligation that will require fuel importers and refiners to maintain a minimum level of transport fuels, including diesel.
Combined with the Government’s $200 million program for building new diesel domestic storage, this represents a significant boost to fuel security.
The Government should now progress the expected review of the Liquid Fuel Emergency Guidelines 2008 and section 47 of the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984 to ensure trucking businesses cannot be sued for prioritising customers in line with government policy during a fuel security emergency.
Under current rules, trucking businesses would face legal uncertainty if expected by government to prioritise the delivery of particular goods, such as food, during a fuel disruption.
Delivery contracts in the trucking industry do not typically allow for the delay or nondelivery of a contracted job as a result of a fuel shortage or guidance from government to prioritise a particular type of delivery for the health, safety or welfare of the wider community.
