WA assistance notice extended to 30 June

The NHVR will be extending the National Class 3 Supplementary Access (Western Australia Assistance) Exemption Notice until 30 June 2023.

The extension of the Notice is an important step in supporting the ongoing recovery efforts in the floodaffected regions in the north of Western Australia, by authorising the continued access of Class 3 heavy vehicles that are road trains up to 53.5m in length to a specified network from Western Australia to South Australia.

Drivers of these vehicles are asked to please remember that the roads on this route are not designed for these longer vehicles, and to exercise particular caution and drive carefully when travelling to and from the affected regions.

The current version of the notice will expire on 28 February, and the new notice which can be found at www.legislation. gov.au/Details/C2023G00264 will be valid from 1 March.

For more information, please read the accompanying information sheet to the notice and the special access notices page.

drivers can take opportunities with medium and small transport businesses as well.

It is obvious that there were ‘many’ factors attributing to the demise however, if you look at ‘what they were doing’… being ‘Australia’s only truly dedicated national temperature-controlled supply chain network’ that gives a clue to some of the extra financial impacts their business model had – especially if the fleet was ageing and costing more to maintain.

In July 2020, they announced the addition of six new Kenworth T610 prime movers to their fleet, complementing another four new Kenworth K200 prime movers that had already been brought into service.

“This represents an exciting phase in the expansion of our fleet to improve safety and the impact on the environment. These latest models are more fuel efficient and feature the latest in truck safety technology, including autonomous braking, lane departure warning and blind spot indicators to assist our drivers and provide a greater level of safety to all road users,” as stated on their social media at this time.

It is a sad situation for everyone involved in the transport industry and brings to full light how Australia’s grocery retail sector is controlled by Coles and Woolworths (65% of market) and Aldi with another 10%. With a 75% monopoly you have to question if anyone in the food supply chain is at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating contracts.

So how did Coles and Aldi respond to the collapse of Scott's Refrigerated Logistics?

“Our focus remains on continued availability of refrigerated products in stores and online for our customers," a Coles spokesperson told 9News.com.au

"Coles is no longer relying on Scott's Refrigerated Logistics for our deliveries and we have transferred services to our other transport partners.

Aldi, whilst voicing some sympathy for the situation told news.com.au, “We worked with our existing logistics partners to ensure the three per cent of Scott's business managed for Aldi transitioned to other logistics partners.

Administrator McGrathNicol estimated