Big Rigs 5 August 2022 by Prime Creative Media

FRIDAY, August 5, 2022

ONLINE www.bigrigs.com.au

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EMAIL info@bigrigs.com.au

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2 NEWS CONTACT US Address: 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205 Phone: 03 9690 8766 Email: editor@bigrigs.com.au Web: bigrigs.com.au Accounts: 03 9690 8766 Subscriptions: 03 9690 8766 Classifieds: 0403 626 353 Circulation and distribution queries: 03 9690 8766 info@bigrigs.com.au EDITOR James Graham: 0478 546 462 james.graham@primecreative.com.au REPORTER Danielle Gullaci danielle.gullaci@primecreative.com.au GENERAL MANAGER Peter Hockings: 0410 334 371 peter.hockings@primecreative.com.au CLIENT SUCCESS Katharine Causer: 0423 055 787 katharine.causer@primecreative. com.au CONTRIBUTORS Truckin in the Topics/Spy on the Road: Alf Wilson, 0408 009 301 Brent Davison; David Vile; David Meredith; Mike Williams; Jon Wallis Big Rigs National Road Transport Newspaper is published by Prime Creative Media. It is the largest circulated fortnightly truck publication in Australia with 26,023* copies per fortnight. *12 month average, publisher’s claim November 2018

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Heavy-handed enforcement is ‘tragic disgrace’: SARTA THE South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) has lashed out at SA Police (SAPol), slamming its safety/risk-based enforcement approach and labelling it “a tragic disgrace”. In a social media post, SARTA executive officer Steve Shearer said: “SARTA and all other responsible organisations and individuals who make up the vast majority of the trucking industry, absolutely support the need for trucks to be safe/roadworthy and be operated safely. “It is blindingly obvious however that too many police and some other enforcement officers are not focussed on safety and are not applying a reasonable approach to HV roadside inspections.” SARTA believes officers aren’t realising the impact they are causing to the economy by dishing out hundreds of millions in “unjustified and unwarranted costs to the road freight task; costs which end up on the shop shelves”. “It’s impossible to discuss this effectively with SAPol because they have their heads buried in the sand as they continue to adopt a mindless cops vs robbers approach in which SAPol no longer engages in effective mature dis-

Trucks are being issued defects, and in some cases being grounded, for something as small as faded printing on a button. Photo: SARTA

cussion with industry,” said Shearer. “Instead their approach is one of belligerence and bullying based on a model. “Mindless black and white literal enforcement of equipment specifications that are not properly understood by officers is adding hundreds of millions of utterly unjustified cost to the national road freight task and the economy without any safety gain,” he continued. “It is also a massive waste and miss-use of costly and limited policing resources. Proper roadworthiness enforcement by trained and well-informed officers who apply an appropriate safety-focussed and risk-based approach and who are ma-

ture enough to work with the industry, is what should be happening.” Though Shearer acknowledges that SARTA believes the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is headed in the right direction and taking a more pragmatic approach to such matters than SAPol. “[SAPol] are pulling in the opposite direction and that must stop,” he said. Shearer makes a case in point, regarding trucks being grounded for something as minor as faded printing on a button. “One prominent industry service/repair supplier told us this week that he replaces hundreds of these buttons following defects issued by

officers, almost always police, and in a recent case the officer grounded the truck just because of the worn printing on the buttons!” he said. Sharing photos of the “defective” buttons, he pondered, “In what universe is it even remotely sensible to defect and even ground a truck because the screen printing on the yellow and red buttons is worn?” Shearer also noted that the buttons are also different colours and different shapes. “That is plain stupidity and/ or belligerence by the police involved. “If anything either a warning or a self-clearing defect should have been issued, but evidently that would not

have satisfied the officer’s ego. “And no, the driver was not aggressive. “Since SAPol continues to refuse to engage maturely with industry, the sooner the HVNL is changed to limit the enforcement of roadworthiness standards to officers who are fully trained and skilled in that task and who adhere to NHVR directions re the application of a genuine safety-focussed and riskbased approach, the better. “Governments must act to fix this debacle and end the ineffective and counter-productive belligerent police practices. “SARTA is pushing hard to ensure ministers understand and that this happens.”

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BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

ATA ‘cautiously optimistic’ about HVNL progress Ken Kanofski.

AUSTRALIAN Trucking Association (ATA) CEO Michael Deegan is “cautiously optimistic” the industry will see some much-needed progress on the overhaul of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) this month. State, territory, and federal transport ministers were due to meet on August 5 – their first sitting since the Federal Election – with the HVNL review by former RMS CEO Ken Kanofski expected to be a hot topic of conversation. The National Transport Commission had yet to publicly release Kanofski’s findings at deadline for this issue, but Deegan gave Big Rigs an overview of what to expect.

Deegan stressed that he still thinks the ministers should throw out the long-winded HVNL and adopt the ATA’s simplified Road Transport Act instead, which among other things, calls for improved access for 53.5m combinations right across the road network. But if they are going to listen to Kanofski, Deegan said the ATA has countered with a series of specific productivity upgrades in each state and territory. In NSW, Deegan said the Sheahan Bridge northbound would be the “fundamental game-changer” for the Hume Highway. In Queensland it would be construction of the Inland Freight Route, ‘the second Bruce Highway’ from Charters Towers in North Queensland to Mungindi in the NSW border. Across the paddock it would be the Great Northern Highway upgrade to insure it against flooding, while in the NT it would be work on the Stuart Highway, also for weather-proofing reasons. In Tasmania it would be the duplication of the Bass Highway, along with upgrades

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ATA CEO Michael Deegan said the productivity improvements on the Sheahan Bridge northbound would be a “fundamental game-changer”.

Deegan said the ATA is pushing ministers to focus on productivity. He told Big Rigs that one of the biggest factors hampering progress of the HVNL to date has been the lack of policy and leadership in the government transport sector. “It’s been reduced to low and mid-level public servants who are focused on detail, not on the big picture. “We’re seeking to engage the heads of departments in taking the bigger picture look, looking over the horizon. “We think ministers are going to seriously have a serious think about where all this has gone off the rails, and try to recover at least part of it, so

we’re cautiously optimistic.” Big Rigs put a series of questions to the NTC about why the Kanofski review was commissioned, what the cost was to the taxpayer, why the review itself had dragged on for so long, and what the next steps would be. We got no response regarding the cost, but a did receive an emailed statement, attributable to an NTC spokesperson. “The reform process is complex and has involved deep consultation with experts, industry and government,” the spokesperson said. “We released an issues paper in 2020; and undertook comprehensive policy work

and small group consultation in 2021.” The spokesperson said Kanofski has been engaged since 2020 to “facilitate consultation with industry and jurisdictions” on the HVNL reform. “We’re now in the final phase of developing a simpler and more flexible new law, as well as providing advice to ministers on how the new law could be implemented. “As part of this final phase of developing the law, Mr Kanofski was asked to engage industry and governments. This has involved testing proposals from the NTC, Australian Trucking Association and others.”

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to Birralee Road to increase high-performance vehicle access, while in SA the ATA has lobbied for the completion of the Port Wakefield-Adelaide duplication. “The next thing that Kanofski says is that road managers are the “ultimate access decision makers”. “We don’t agree with that. We think they’re not entitled to their own opinions and views about what’s in the public interest,” added Deegan. “They should be guided by ministers, and those decisions should be subject to merits-based review.” Deegan, a former NTC chair and SA Transport Department boss, said the current permit system is “a joke” and should be scrapped. “We should move on and focus on productivity improvements. “A number of jurisdictions are picking up on the Tasmanian model for automated access, but Kanofski says ‘no, no, we should wait for the national stuff’. “We just don’t have time – we can’t wait for that.” Following the lead of the National Cabinet directive,

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4 NEWS

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Transport bosses and workers lobby for tribunal

TRANSPORT workers and industry groups are keeping the pressure on the Albanese government to follow through on a pre-election Labor pledge to form an independent road freight tribunal. A week of lobbying also included a series of truck convoys around the nation on Saturday, July 30, to further underline the urgent message that the industry needs the reinstatement of the road safety watchdog that was disbanded by the Coalition in 2016. Peter Anderson, national secretary of the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation, told a media conference in Canberra timed to coincide with the first parliament sitting of the new Albanese government that the road freight industry was in crisis. “We have a problem with the way our employees are treated by the platforms that are a third-party employer within our industry,” said Anderson, who is also the Victorian Transport Association CEO and a regular Big Rigs columnist. “Those sort of platforms are the ones that are creating the issues we have today, as well as the fact we have no structured

Peter Anderson, national secretary of the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation, addresses the media in Canberra. Photo: TWU/Facebook

organisation that will create minimum standards within our industry. “We want minimum standards that are enforceable and we want policies that are enforceable. “There is no body capable of doing that in our industry at the moment, and this is what we want the politicians in parliament to actually legislate for, and that is a change in our in-

dustry to protect the workers, and to ensure our employers can operate healthy businesses that are sustainable and safe within the community.” Speaking at the same media event, NSW Senator Tony Sheldon said Labor is committed to ensuring the gig economy is regulated. He also added that it was vital that the issues raised in the campaigning this week were

borne out in the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra from September 1-2. “To make sure we get the right sort of conditions for the Australian community, for road users in our community and for those working in our community,” said Sheldon. He said the campaigning this week by industry heads will be focused on ensuring there is a framework in place for an

independent tribunal to “turn around and deal with the issues that cut across the economic pressure that applies to truck drivers and trucking companies by big clients”. “That is an important piece of legislation that we need to be forward-thinking about preparing as soon as practical.” Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the regulation can’t wait. This year alone he said over 100 people have died in truck crashes, including 26 truckies. “This is urgent, people are dying,” said Kaine. “We are calling on all parliamentarians from right across the political spectrum to just look at what’s happened. “The gig economy is taking hold. It’s now infiltrated the major transport companies in our community and there’s a downward spiral that’s out of control. “This is not a question of optional action. This is action that needs to be taken and it needs to be taken as a matter of urgency.” Kaine’s comments come after a union warning that FedEx is proposing to strip newly

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engaged owner-drivers of rights like sick leave and superannuation, and pay gig-style piece rates at just $2.50. “Appallingly, FedEx is trying to weasel its way out of the job security commitments it made to workers last year who were forced to take days of protected industrial action to secure their jobs, pay and conditions. FedEx is now pulling the rug out from under their feet,” he said. “As if slashing pay and conditions is not enough, what FedEx is proposing strips workers of rights like collective bargaining, cost recovery, sick leave and superannuation and adds the deadly threat that if drivers don’t work fast enough, they could lose their job.” The need for an over-arching industry tribunal was one of 10 recommendations to come out of Glenn Sterle’s long-running senate inquiry into the road transport industry. The WA Senator, and former truckie, told Big Rigs at the recent National Road Freighters Association conference in Toowoomba that the tribunal’s formation remained Labor’s top priority for the industry now it was in government.

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BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

Newell upgrades include two rest areas for truckies

TRUCKIES will get two new rest areas as part of the $216 million upgrades to the Newell Highway between Narrabri and Moree – but they’ll have to wait a while yet to use them. Work began on the much-needed pavement work on Australia’s busiest freight network last month, but the first sods on the rest areas won’t be turned until mid-2023. When completed there will be an ‘informal’ rest area about 8km north of Narrabri that will include 10 nose-totail truck stopping spaces and rubbish bins. There will be another rest area 4km further north that will have northbound and southbound access, separate parking for heavy and light vehicles and will include toilets, lighting, picnic shelter, landscaping and rubbish bins. In a notice to industry, Transport for NSW said other benefits of the upgrade project include: • Improved road surface and road safety for road users • Increase travel reliability and reduce travel times between Narrabri and Moree • R educe vehicle operating and maintenance costs on

the Newell Highway • I mproved freight productivity and access to the Moree Special Activation Precinct and Narrabri In-land Port • I mproved flood immunity of the Newell Highway between Narrabri and Moree. Works will take place from Monday to Friday and alternate weekends, between 7am and 6pm (except for public holidays) for the duration of the project that’s due for completion in 2026. This project forms a major part of the joint Australian and NSW government $1.7 billion commitment to upgrading the Newell Highway. High-profile rest area advocate Rod Hannifey was part of a small industry group consulted about the design of the latest Newell rest areas. Hannifey said there are other locations where the money would have been better spent but is happy enough with the result that truckies have. “I did say I think that money would be better spent elsewhere but they said they were committed to these two and are going to be there because of the road realignment,” said Hannifey, who is also the pres-

ident of the National Road Freighters Association. Hannifey is satisfied with the modifications made, based on input from the industry consultants, but is still waiting to hear back about their suggestions for more shade at the rest areas. “I think we may have lost one space from what they initially had but the fact we already have parking at Narrabri and Tycannah Creek, I was happy to lose one space to get better amenities, usability and separation in those ones done as parallel,” he added. Hannifey said he’s still campaigning for a truck stop in Dubbo as part of a new ring road he’s also lobbying for. “Dubbo is at the crossroads of NSW and has no major truck stop, yet there is two in Gilgandra with a population of about 5000, and they are building two new ones in Tomingley so there are going to be three there with a population of about 400.” Hannifey said Dubbo will be on his hit list for the $80m promised for rest areas in Labor’s next budget which is due to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on October 25.

NRFA president Rod Hannifey is looking forward to consulting with truckies about where they need more rest areas.

“When the money is actually allocated, we will then start approaching drivers across the industry asking where they need sites, where they’ve been into sites and found it full with insufficient capacity. “Or, where they’ve driven somewhere for hours and

hours and there’s been nothing there.” Hannifey said he and the other truckies consulted for feedback are also looking at the use of stockpile sites and a rollout of more green reflectors to mark the informal truck bays.

Hannifey said getting the go-ahead for more trucks-only parking in industrial estates is something he also wants to put on the radar of local councils. “We believe we should be able to seek a change in the law to allow parking for trucks in industrial areas.”

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FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Infrastructure Australia to undergo review

LABOR has been quick to act on its pre-election pledge to overhaul Infrastructure Australia (IA). Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, has appointed Nicole Lockwood and Mike Mrdak to lead an independent review of the nation’s main infrastructure advisor. King said that in recent years the organisation has been allowed to drift with partisan board appointments and a lack of clear direction. “In Nicole Lockwood and Mike Mrdak, we have two of Australia’s pre-eminent infra-

structure experts who will conduct a thorough and independent review of Infrastructure Australia and make recommendations to get it back on track,” said King. “Our nation has big challenges ahead, whether that be in dealing with population growth, managing skills shortages, decarbonising the transport and infrastructure sector or dealing with the uptake of electric vehicles. “This review and the changes it proposes will be essential in ensuring that the Australian Government receives the expert and non-partisan advice it needs to build a better future.” A draft report is expected

within three months, and a final report shortly thereafter. The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) said the review should enhance the organisation’s ability to make the national road freight task safer and more efficient. “We’re optimistic that this review will produce a more focused IA that works in tandem with the states and territories,” said NatRoad CEO Warren Clark. “Infrastructure isn’t only about cutting ribbons on shiny new bridges, airports and rail lines. “We saw that just over a year ago when IA released its

new Priority List which we praised for its significant focus on road maintenance. “It’s absolutely vital that this continues and that IA helps clear the national backlog of road maintenance and upgrades.” Clark said there is a limited link between funding for road services and the actual use of roads, particularly given the deficiencies in the heavy vehicle charging model currently under scrutiny by the National Transport Commission. “As we said a year ago, there are significant funding challenges for ongoing maintenance, particularly where the capital expenditure of new

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NatRoad said the review should enhance the organisation’s ability to make the national road freight task safer and more efficient.

roads is funded but future maintenance is not. “This disconnect must end with whole-of-lifecycle considerations brought to bear in funding models.” The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) CEO Dr Hermione Parsons said the review was an opportunity to stream-

line engagement between various levels of government to identify and agree on priority infrastructure. “We must see investment in infrastructure continue and the development of projects that will deliver real efficiency gains and drive an uplift in productivity,” said Parsons.

Investigations continue after battery fire destroys truck JANUS Electric says it’s conducting a full internal investigation into the battery fire that destroyed its prototype Kenworth T403 truck at its Berkeley Vale base on the NSW Central Coast last month. The July 14 fire also superficially damaged the Janus Kenworth T610 Glider, but no injuries were

sustained, and the fire was controlled by the Tuggerah Rural Fire Brigade. “From our initial investigations, we suspect that the fire was a result of one of these engineering challenges that has since been engineered out of our current solution,” said Janus Electric general manager Lex Forsyth in an emailed

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battery system 2.5 years ago. But it used the original front-loading battery design and was due to be updated to the more practical sideload system at the end of August. New-design battery packs replace the diesel truck’s chassis-mounted side fuel tanks. “The technology used has been incrementally de-

veloped and since its inception has progressed exponentially,” added Forsyth. “Any issues encountered during construction of the prototype, have been engineered out and are not being utilised in our current conversions.” For an update on the investigation results, visit bigrigs.com.au.

The fire was quickly brought under control by the Tuggerah Fire Brigade. Photo: Facebook

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8 OPINION

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Truckies doing it tougher

EDITOR JAMES GRAHAM

COST-of-living cries from the general public at the moment pale in comparison to the woes besetting truckies. If soaring diesel prices weren’t tough enough, what about the senseless fines our drivers are clobbered with every day, just for doing their jobs. It’s no wonder so many of you are saying ‘enough-isenough’. I interviewed two vastly experienced former interstaters for stories along those lines for this issue (see pages 20-22). It was heartbreaking to hear how bullied they felt and vulnerable they were each time they pulled into a weighbridge. We know that the NHVR prides itself on taking an education first approach but why isn’t that message getting through to the other agencies? How hard can it be to get these government departments around the same table and agree on a better approach?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR ‘It’s bad behaviour and it’s got to stop’ THIS is happening on every highway in Australia: impatient drivers who think they can do anything with impunity. A shocking display of road rage was recorded and put up on Instagram by Blake Sheppeard clearly shot from the passenger seat of a utility. The two ute occupants commented on the events like ringside announcers in utter disbelief as they watched the whole performance where neither of these so-called truck drivers would give in and did eventually hit each other!

The behaviour was that much worse because it was going into roadworks on the uphill section of Hume Highway at Tiyces Lane just north of Goulburn NSW. We would like to think this is an isolated incident, but it appears that is not the case. The prevalence of this and other equally dangerous acts is on the increase. I’ve had several similar cases reported to me over the last few weeks. One, a 610 Kenworth towing a van on the Bruce Highway when he was inappropriately overtaking forcing a car off the road

and almost colliding with a caravan as well as the truck he was overtaking! Another on the Western Highway last week. I’ve also heard credible reports of similar dangerous overtaking manoeuvres on the Eyre Highway involving road trains. There seems to be a mentality creeping in where some drivers are happy to move out into the oncoming lane and force their way past taking monstrous risks in the process. It seems they rely on the vehicle being overtaken to give up and let them in.

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Once upon a time you would get a call on the UHF and ask for a hand to go by. In my experience no one minds if someone doing better gets going. It all works with a little communication. That’s not happening and we have to question why. In all cases I’ve recommended that the video be forwarded to the company that owns the truck if possible and to the police. This behaviour has to be stopped. I believe that we, the industry, have to do our bit to make it stop. We don’t need these fools on

Caught on camera as they made their way through roadworks on the uphill section of Hume Highway just north of Goulburn, NSW.

our roads and we definitely don’t want them in control of heavy vehicles.

Mike Williams Host of On the Road Podcast

ONLINE 9

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

HOT WEB TOPICS ‘It’s 214km of narrow hell’ OUR truckie profile on Gurpreet Dhalwal, which referenced his least favourite stretch of road, a bone-jarring one between Hughenden and Winton, received plenty of lively debate on our Facebook page. Said Colin Drayton: “Queensland, the narrower and rougher the roads get, the bigger, heavier and longer the trucks get. SE Queensland roads are beautiful though, world standard.” Added Grant Baines: “Anna won’t waste money on roads it gives her no recognition. She prefers sporting events, Olympics Commonwealth Games

etc as she gets better publicity and a chance to use the concrete on appearances.” Timothy Elms reckoned it was about time Brisbane stopped stealing all the coal revenue and recognise Queensland stretches beyond the Tropic of Capricorn. “Our roads should be paved in gold not painted dirt tracks that fall apart at the hint of rain,” he said. Klaus McFlame shared a similar sentiment: “Good luck getting any QLD Regional roads fixed that aren’t in the Golden South East Queensland Corner. The Queensland Labor

Gurpreet Dhalwal.

Government spending stops at Gympie however, all their income comes from Central Qld Coal Mining Royalties.

Fuel Tax Credit debate heats up ON-GOING lobbying by SARTA boss Steve Shearer for Labor to act now and reinstate the Fuel Tax Credit, before it’s too late for many operators, drew another wide-ranging response from readers. Said Neil Davey: “I still wonder why the big fellas, Fox , Toll, K&S etc, are not making any noise about the loss of fuel credits must be costing the top end of town a packet. But not a whimper. Rumour has it they made a deal with the government.” Steve Sayers also wasn’t impressed by the lack of ac-

tion. “Bit late, you fellas haven’t helped the industry in my eyes it’s why we have no longtime experienced drivers or operators because of the side deals behind closed doors still have LOGBOOKS and excessive fines ya’ like the TWU.” Darren Lebsanft argued that maybe the issue isn’t the fuel tax rebate. “Maybe it is operators big and small running too cheaply to start with...Just maybe.” Said Dave Murphy: “I’m not very smart… can someone explain to me like I’m a

FTC warnings go unheeded.

ten year old how adding 22c excise to get a 17v rebate is any advantage to us please?” Ross Simpson added that if the customer won’t pay, “then the freight stays on the ground, pretty simple.”

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO READER CORNER? EMAIL US AT EDITOR@BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Sidelined truckie wants change SIDELINED truckie Keven Mitchell’s story of support for tougher medical standards after he suffered his second heart attack in 12 years certainly touched a nerve for many. Wrote Shelley Mitchell: “Sadly, we had the vans with Transhelp Foundation which merged with Ozhelp but the THF volunteers are no longer involved and it’s averaging 3 van stops per month looking at their calendar they publish. Healthy heads in trucks and sheds still focus predominantly on the business/of-

fice- Kev’s right no one in the office truly gets it.” Scott Spencer said he had medical conditions flagged after renewing a dangerous goods licence: “The hardest thing is trying to find a doctor that even understands the rules and regulations. Simba Bass argued that if the job is too tough, there are other options. “If you being away affects your life, get a job in driving local busses. Hwy trucking isn’t for everyone, mile after mile, hour after hour and day in day out !!! Need I go on !!!

Keven Mitchell.

Tom Hinton shared how that at nearly 42, he’d been on the highway for 12 years and in the last seven months gone from 135kg, and a heart attack waiting to happen, to 105kg and fit enough to run 10km in under one hour.

Thumbs up for Walker

AFTER we ran the story of the dignitaries visiting the Gatton pads with campaigner Wes Walker, readers were again quick to lend their support to his long-running battle. Wrote Joy McGrath: “These operators live in their trucks away from home and family for days and weeks at a time. It’s a bloody disgrace that they are not better looked after.Showers,toilets and somewhere to get a decent feed isn’t too much to ask for a workforce keeping us fed and the country moving.” Kylie Harwood reminded authorities that before the pads

were constructed, there was a house on the same land with a septic system there, “so you cannot use toilets as a biohazard excuse. I think Mark Bailey should be reminded of this. And for the feeble excuse that the drivers can pull into the McDonald’s at College View?... it’s been closed for nearly 7 months and will be for many to come until completion of construction.” Added Mark Brown: Kudos to Senator Glenn Sterle, Assistant Transport Minister Carole Brown & Sal Patricio (NHVR) for making the effort to see the parking bay issues in person.

Labor Senators Glenn Sterle, far left, and Carol Brown are joined by NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto and Wes Walker at the Gatton pads.

A good positive start.” David AR pondered the question that if it was such a bio hazardous risk with rubbish and toilets then why was it build in the first place?

10 FEATURE

Courteous P-plater saves truckie’s day

BY JAMES GRAHAM

WHEN truckie Shannon Newton woke up in his Freightliner Century in Eastern Creek in Sydney he was greeted with what looked like his worst nightmare. A VW Golf with P-plates

had parked between his truck and the trailer that had been dropped off for him while he slept on Eastern Creek Drive before his return to Melbourne. “I’d told my changeover driver to drop the trailer there as close as possible because

The truckie’s worst nightmare came true when he woke to see a VW Golf parked between the prime mover and the trailer.

Luckily for truckie Shannon Newton, the car owner had enough manners to leave a note containing his mobile phone number. Photos: Shannon Newton

normally cars get in there and we’re screwed,” the owner-driver told Big Rigs. “Sure enough, the alarm went off, I’ve woken up [around 10am], lit a smoke, pulled the curtain back and just gone, ‘You’re f##k’n joking’. “I get out fuming, and I walk up and think, ‘What’s this on his dash?’ It’s a phone number so I rung it and it’s a kid, a young tradie on P-plates.” Without the number, Newton would have been off on a frantic door-to-door search for the owner, and if that wasn’t successful, facing another night in Sydney stuck on the side of the road. But the contrite VW owner answered the call immediately and appeared within minutes from the nearby construction site where he was working to save the day, much to Newton’s relief. “He was really good, really apologetic. Didn’t give me any lip on the phone. He came down and I’ve said to him, ‘Mate, look, just pop beside the trailer, I’ll back up, you can jump in front of me, re-park, and go back to work’. “It’s one of those stories where you’d have to be there to believe it. I’ve never even heard of this happening. It probably has happened, but you just don’t hear about it. “I’ve been caught out a couple of times before and you go door-knocking, and in that street you can’t really do that. You’ve got the construction site and about three other big buildings. “By the time you got through all of them the whole day would be gone.”

Interstate truckie Shannon Newton was full of praise for the considerate young tradie. Photo: Facebook

Newton said he wanted to share the story with Big Rigs to show “not all car drivers were stupid”. “There’s a young kid who’s a P-plater, and it’s a rarity that he has had enough brains to leave his mobile number and say sorry, and that’s what we need more of.” Newton said he’s seen some motorists park the bonnets of their cars under a trailer, just to get a parking spot. “I’ve actually said to guys, ‘Mate, I’m in that truck, I’ve got to hook up to that trailer in half an hour’s time. “If you move your car now, I’ll back under it, and he’s just gone, ‘No, no, I don’t have time for this and just walked off ’. “I’ve said, “Mate, you keep walking and I’m going to drag your car down to the highway at your expense’. “It’s almost like you have

to threaten to do damage to their cars in order for them to wake up.” In the latest incident in Eastern Creek, Newton said he had to park on the sidestreet, as many other truckies are forced to do, because the nearby BP is “jam-packed”. “There’s just no parking left, none at all,” he said. “And then you go to park down on the M7s, and you might get a knock on the door saying, “Look, this isn’t a rest area, it’s an emergency stopping bay for checking your loads and you’ve got to move on. “Unfortunately, local police don’t really understand transport, so they think they’re doing the right thing while we’re arguing the point and then cop an eight-hundred and something fine and have to go to court and fight it.”

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Reader reaction Ken Lowdon Great to see somebody so young did have the forethought to know what he was doing can affect the truck driver but ensured he gave contact number and moved the car asap. You assume there was no other parking but unlike many others these days seemingly, he at least showed the increasingly rare trait of having common sense to enable the problem to be solved.

Mike Hawkins I reckon that you p plater could be and should be a stand up advocate for the younger generation and teach them that common sense is not hard to use instead of being stupid and disrespectful,well done mate with that attitude your going a long way , bet his boss is happy to employ him bet wat ever he does he does 100% ... Tony Stephens Wow, a young person using some common sense, i didnt think that existed any more. However the planing department should take into consideration when building industrial estates that there will be a necessity for truck parking especialy around service stations, it seems planners think that the truck just disappears after dropping its load. Col Moore Full credit to the young bloke, he couldn’t get a park elsewhere due to parking being at a premium, SO he quite intelligently left his number on the dash so in the event that the heavy vehicle operator needed the car moved, it was as simple as a phone call and all was good.

NEWS 11

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

Hero truckie saves life in Bruce Hwy crash The quick-thinking truckie pulled the woman from this car, before both vehicles burst into flames.

A HEROIC truckie is being praised for his quick-thinking actions that saved the life of a 20-year-old woman who crashed into the back of his truck, before both vehicles burst into flames. The incident occurred on July 20, just before midnight on the Bruce Highway. Clayton’s Towing was at the scene and in a social media post said, “The truck driver felt a thud and pulled off the road. He found the 4wd into the rear of his trailer, and helped the 20-year-old female occupant to get clear.

“He then disconnected his prime mover before it all become engulfed in flames. Our crew responded with our excavator, skip bins, super tilt, clean machine and worked with emergency services in getting the scene cleaned up.” Witness Anthony Puleo told 7News, “He dragged her for at least 700m to 800m before pulling over, because he didn’t realise he had anything behind him,” adding that she is lucky to be alive. According to a police spokesman, the impact of the crash caused the fire, and the

truck’s load was completely destroyed. It took three Queensland Fire crews to extinguish the flames, which were still being damped down four hours after the initial crash. The truck driver was uninjured, however the woman was reportedly taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital with arm and leg injuries. A spokesperson for Coles said the truck was delivering chilled items and fresh produce for Coles, with the driver travelling from the Coles Parkinson Distribution Centre to the

The four-wheel drive was wedged underneath the back of the trailer. Photos: Clayton’s Towing/Facebook

Rockhampton and Yeppoon stores. “Nobody was seriously injured and police are currently investigating. We are extremely proud of the driver’s

quick-thinking actions in supporting others involved in the incident,” they said. The Bruce Highway was partially closed for several hours.

Miracle escape after chemical spill crash in Melbourne

Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) said it was a difficult rescue. Photo: ABC News

POLICE say the truckie driving the B-double that crashed through a barrier and careered down an embankment in Melbourne last month was lucky to walk away with only minor injuries. The 41-year-old Mernda man was taken to hospital for observation. Victoria Police acting senior sergeant Jason Connor said the man had only sustained minor injuries, reported the ABC. “It’s horrific. I’m surprised he’s

walked away.” More than 40 FRV firefighters responded to an incident in Tullamarine in the early hours of the morning on July 15, following multiple reports to Triple Zero (000) of a truck crash. Crews arrived at the Western Ring Road scene at 2.15am to find a large truck had crashed through the barrier and careered down an embankment at the Altona-bound exit ramp onto Melrose Drive, trapping the driver.

As the truck was carrying a chemical pesticide that spilled onto the road, firefighters escalated the response. Specialist FRV firefighters, including Hazmat crews responded. FRV Hazmat crews created an exclusion zone around the spill and worked to contain it. Meanwhile, firefighters worked carefully for two hours to extricate the driver before he was transported to hospital in the care of Ambulance Victoria paramedics.

“The truck had rolled over so it is a difficult rescue,” Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) assistant chief fire officer Craig Brownlie said. “Fire crews had to get access to the truck, to the cab, open the door and then, using some specialist equipment, to actually be able to remove him out of the vehicle.” A community warning was issued on the day of the incident, advising the public to avoid the area if possible.

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12 NEWS

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

IN BRIEF ATO receives 727 tip-offs The Australian Tax Office received 727 tip-offs about road freight operators allegedly dodging their tax or super obligations in the last financial year. That accounts for just 1.7 per cent, however, of the 43,000 calls it had across a raft of industries in 202122, with building and construction, hairdressing and beauty services, cafés and restaurants, and management advice and related consulting services also singled out for scrutiny. The ATO said it is using intelligence from tip-offs as part of its approach to dealing with the shadow economy (previously referred to as the black economy) which encompasses activities that take place outside of the tax and other regulatory systems. Call for scheme extension NatRoad is supporting an industry-wide approach to the federal government for 12-month extension of Temporary Full Expensing (TFE). TFE is currently available for assets first held, first used or installed ready for use before June 30, 2023. Trucking businesses are using TFE to upgrade their fleets to new trucks that are safer, have better emission controls and are more comfortable to drive. Due to the continuing disruption to global supply chains, however, truck suppliers face long lead times in delivering orders with blowouts from 8-12 weeks to 24 months in some cases. OSOM access in Queensland The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) in Queensland has formed a dedicated project team to develop a new Class 1 heavy vehicle access regime. The project team is identifying necessary changes and will work with industry to optimise the opportunities. Project goals include increased transparency and certainty about access. Industry is invited to attend a free webinar about the project on Tuesday, August 9, from 9am. Visit bigrigs.com. au for more details.

Truck fire prevention for truckies

THE new Preventing FiresTruck Inspection Manual by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) aims to give truckies the inspection skills to identify and correct faults that have the potential to cause heavy vehicle fires. EPA’s director of environmental solutions Karen Marler said the aim of the free manual was to help truck drivers and owners reduce the more than 200 truck fires Fire and Rescue NSW attend each year. “Truck fires are major incidents that can be extremely dangerous and result in smoke and water pollution, cargo loss, and extended road closures,” Marler said. Many trucks catch fire because of mechanical or electrical faults that a trained eye could have identified, she added. The EPA said the manual provides a user-friendly guide, developed with the help of in-

dustry experts, to show truck operators how to inspect their vehicles and identify problems before they result in a fire. It also goes beyond pre-journey checks, helping drivers identify faults – such as overheating brakes and electrical faults – while in transit and what to do if a problem develops on the open road that could cause the vehicle to catch fire. “No driver wants to experience a truck fire and the actions needed to avoid that outcome can be as simple as noticing chafing on high current cables, such as battery cables,” said Marler. Marler said that non-impact truck fires were the cause of eight percent of all heavy vehicle insurance claims. “When the cargo is dangerous goods, the consequence can be particularly high and carry significant risk to the safety of drivers and road users and the envi-

ronment,” she said. Marler said the manual should be in the hands of the maintenance manager of every fleet and every heavy vehicle mechanic as well as drivers. “The EPA would like to see the manual adopted as part of regular routine checks.” On the road tips from manual include: 1. D on’t ignore flickering lights or gauges. An electrical short-circuit on a main cable is probably occurring. Stop, investigate and report. 2. Don’t ignore the smell or sight of smoke. Wisps of smoke from a wheel-end are probably a sign of a hot tyre. If you stop, the tyre might catch fire because windage cooling has stopped, but driving on at speed could also result in fire. Therefore, the best strategy is to stop. If there is a known supply of water close by, drive slowly to it.

The manual aims to help truckies and fleet owners reduce the more than 200 truck fires Fire and Rescue NSW attend each year.

Use the water to cool the tyre. Call the fire brigade as soon as smoke is confirmed, even if the vehicle is still moving. 3. Loss of engine power may indicate turbocharger failure. Don’t drive on with a failed turbocharger. An internal oil fire will eventually occur.

4. D on’t ignore a fuel trail on the road from the vehicle in front. Leaking diesel fuel can eventually get onto a hot exhaust. Try to contact the driver using the radio. To download your free manual visit epa.nsw.gov.au and search for ‘preventing fires’.

Truck Friendly caravan road safety program in danger of folding unless funding found ONE of the most passionate advocates for a more harmonious relationship between caravanners and truckies is reconsidering his future as a road safety campaigner. Ken Wilson, manager of the popular Truck Friendly caravan movement, said that he and wife Jenny were reluctantly thinking of folding the program that has quickly amassed more than 18,000 Facebook followers. “Without any on-going funding, we are finding it very hard for us to continue in a meaningful manner,” said Ken, who has been cutting back on shifts at work so he can keep the program running. “This commitment has taken its toll on health, family budget and family life

Truck Friendly founder Ken Wilson is considering parking up his road safety program due to a lack of funding.

over the last few years. “We have had a few wonderful sponsors helping to fund our stickers and brochures, but it seems there

isn’t any further funding from local, state or federal government. “Even the larger road safety organisations are out

of the question, despite us persisting with various funding submissions where we get zero response even to say ‘thanks but no-thanks!’.” Wilson said Truck Friendly still receives numerous requests from caravan parks, caravan clubs, police, and councils for all areas of Australia for it to assist with information at workshops, club rallies and expos. “Unfortunately, without funding we cannot accept these requests.” Wilson’s frustration at the lack of support is only exacerbated when he compares Truck Friendly’s popularity with that of the federal government-backed RV Safe program RV Safe launched in

December 2019 – just four months after Truck Friendly – with $1.1 million of taxpayers money spread over four years. At the time of writing, RV Safe had just 541 followers on Facebook. Big Rigs has not heard from the project once in that time, yet is regularly sent truck-relevant information and releases by Wilson. The Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) also received funding under the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative to develop its co-exist.org.au website. Wilson has approached the CIAA and NHVR for funding and although he was told they would support the program, there is still no funding on the table.

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Rocky operator gets tick of approval for tribute truck

Airbrushed murals of Aussie music legend Jimmy Barnes aren’t something you’d expect to see travelling along Australia’s highways – until now.

Jeff Barrie (aka ‘Cyclone’) at Cyclone Airbrush and Graphics completed the new truck’s impressive artwork.

The new Legend is named Freight Train Heart, after Barnes’ third studio album, released in November 1987.

BY DANIELLE GULLACI

when I started to learn how to drive a truck – I learned in a Bedford, then moved onto an old Acco. I spent a lot of time with my dad in the truck. At school, I would always look out the window and watch the trucks as they were going past.” For a long time, Duggan had wanted to call a truck Freight Train Heart, which is the name of Barnes’ third studio album, released in Novem-

JOHN Duggan, 54, is a huge fan of Jimmy Barnes, so when he ordered his new Kenworth Legend SAR, he decided to do something a little different and go all out. He and his wife Karen operate Duggan Bulk Haulage out of Rockhampton, with their trucks running across the

country. Duggan has been in the driver’s seat for over 30 years. “I started driving trucks in 1985 and went on to road trains in 1988. Jimmy Barnes kept us awake at night when we were young fellas. He’s a good singer hey,” he said. His foray into trucking started from a very young age. “My father owned garbage trucks. I was only six or seven

John Duggan with Jimmy Barnes, and airbrush artist Jeff Barrie.

ber 1987. And now, Duggan has done exactly that. He was also lucky enough to meet his music idol in the process too. The new Legend SAR was purchased through Brown and Hurley Rockhampton and picked up in early July. Cyclone Airbrush and Graphics completed all of the artwork, before Duggan picked up his new ride at the Boondall Entertainment Centre, where

Barnes was on hand to personally sign it. Duggan started his business in 1993, with a single truck and a pair of grain tippers. But as he explained, it hasn’t always been an easy ride for him. “Things progressed from there and we got it to three trucks, working the pig business – then things turned bad. I went into bankruptcy and had to start all over again 18 months later, leasing a truck from a mate,” he recalled. Thankfully, things soon began to look up. These days, the transport operations are centred around grain, bulk and agricultural product, as well as ammonium nitrate. The company had tried its hand at cattle transport too at one stage,

but Duggan decided to move away from that. A large portion of the grain and bulk work is for Coleman Stock Feeds, a major supplier of general and custom mix stock feeds, located in Queensland. It’s a contract the company has held for almost 20 years. This is the second Kenworth Legend to join Duggan’s fleet – the first being a 2015 Legend 950, which he named Speechless; dedicated to his daughter Maddy. “Maddy is 14. She has autism, is non-verbal and has an intellectual impairment, so she communicates through her iPad,” said Duggan. Continued page 16

John Duggan’s 2015 Kenworth Legend 950 was named Speechless and is dedicated to his daughter, who has autism and is nonverbal. L-R: Jack, John, Maddy and Karen.

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FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

‘I like murals, something that tells a story’

The level of detail that’s gone into this truck is incredible.

From page 14 “THERE’S a fair bit involved when you have a child that can’t talk, so I wanted to help raise awareness for autism,” Duggan explained, adding that the truck also promotes Little Souls Taking Big Steps, an early intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorder, which has greatly assisted in getting Maddy to where she is today. The artwork for this truck was also designed by Cyclone Airbrush and Graphics. As Maddy is affectionately known as Mouse, a cartoon mouse was incorporated into the artwork, along with the autism awareness puzzle ribbon. A special message on the passenger side reads, “For Mouse, lots O luv, Dad and Mum + Jack.” Duggan Bulk Haulage owns five trucks all up. Joining the two Legends are a

Kenworth T650 and T950, along with a vintage 1976 International ACCO 3070, which is currently in the paint shop getting restored. The new Legend SAR will be driven by Duggan, predominantly to transport ammonium nitrate across Australia, pulling double and triple road trains. Duggan wanted to make this truck extra special so he spoke with Jeff Barrie (aka ‘Cyclone’) at Cyclone Airbrush and Graphics to come up with a plan. “People often paint stripes and we looked at doing that sort of stuff but that’s not me, I like murals, something that tells a story,” said Duggan. “I told Jeff that this will probably be the last truck I do up and that I wanted to do something with Jimmy Barnes. His plan was to have three different themes on the truck.”

On the passenger side, Jimmy Barnes stands in front of the Birdsville Hotel and a McIver’s Livestock Transport road train – as that’s where Duggan started his trucking career, employed as an offsider before working his way up to being a driver. The artwork on the driver’s side is an ode to Barnes’ 1988 hit ‘Driving Wheels’, featuring the rock singer with two trucks that were inspired by those that were in the song’s video clip. For the song, the trucks were filmed travelling through various parts of the Hume Highway, however Duggan wanted to change the background artwork to a local theme: the Castlemaine Perkins brewery in Milton and Brisbane’s Story Bridge. At the back of the cabin, there’s the McArthur River mine, with an explosion behind it. “That’s where we deliver the ammonium nitrate,”

said Duggan. It features the words ‘Australian Legends’ atop of the Kenworth logo. While the other two images of Barnes show him in his younger years, this artwork shows him today and also includes some lyrics from the ‘Driving Wheels’ track along with the autism awareness puzzle ribbon. Once the truck was complete, Cyclone Airbrush and Graphics contacted Barnes’ production manager to see if the singer would like to come and have a look – and he jumped at the opportunity. During the meet, Barnes signed his autograph on all three artworks. “I had never met Jimmy Barnes before, so it was great to meet him. You don’t get too many opportunities like that in life. And he loved the truck and how it had the old Jimmy and the young Jimmy – but he reckons the younger shots are better!”

“I told Jeff that this will probably be the last truck I do up,” said John Duggan.

The truck will certainly make for an interesting sight out on the highway.

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18 FEATURE

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

On the road with Hino from Cairns to Townsville

Our intrepid correspondent joins a convoy of the new 300, 500 and 700 series to see how the new features stack up.

The all-new Hino 700 Series offers an extensive suite of driver-assist technologies. After a few dozen kilometres in a 700-Series 6x2 FR for example, the rest of the range, all the way down to the 300 Series, pictured above, required little orientation.

BY DAVID MEREDITH WHEN you’ve been closeted up for a couple of years, and need to spread your wings again, what better way than to take most of your entire range on a road trip? Hino decided to hit the road running following the Covid lockdown era by gathering a dozen trucks in variants across its three series – 300, 500 and 700 – and heading around the country for dealer and customer road tests. It started with a media group in Cairns, then a promotional visit to the Townsville Supercars round, then an extended trek around the country so the trucks could be

used by the dealer network to re-engage owners and operators. With light, medium and heavy trucks included in the ‘convoy’ each leg of our media drive was concluded with a regrouping at a range of rest stops. Curiously, the hybrid trucks, that were such an emphasis of the executive presentations, were not on the drive. Featuring strongly in the one-on-one discussions with Hino executives was Hino Connect, a locally designed and engineered combination of hardware and software to exploit the torrent of data produced by Hino’s on-board electronic control modules, accessed through the CANbus port.

Each 500 and 700-series Hino is ready to roll with the system already hardwired and the software loaded. All it takes is for customers to connect with the Hino Portal where this message appears: “Your new Hino truck comes with on-board telematics technology. This provides you with complimentary access to a range of intelligent services, which will support you and your business.” From there it’s a simple process of entering your truck’s VIN number, personal and contact details and you’re underway. The system will take a great deal of orientation to fully utilise its features, but the fuel savings

All the driving data from the new Connect system is collected for analysing back at the depot.

potential of managing that data alone is worth the effort. Driving all the models around the Atherton Tablelands surrounding Cairns, and then running down the coast to Townsville was enlightening. Hino cabs share strong familial ties, and after a few dozen kilometres in a 700-Series 6x2 FR for example, the rest of the range, all the way down to the 300 Series required little orientation. As is usual with all Japanese trucks, driver controls are easy to reach and use, with the primary functions all fingertip operated on the steering wheel or column. At each stage, my fellow journos and I logged in to the Connect system with our mobile numbers, and all our data was collected on the Hino server. Later we got to review outputs such as idle time – engine that is – overspeed time, fuel burn, brake applications, hard acceleration and speeding. Naturally, with these parameters under the spotlight, we were all very careful to focus on our driving habits. But in the real world of 24/7 truck operations, this kind of awareness of performance pays big dividends. Rather than just a competition between mates, the hard numbers tell a story of professionalism and ability to maximise productivity. Whether an owner-operator, or an employed driver, the value of fuel consciousness is significant. The boss is happier, the driver is more valued, while the owner-driver sees the results with cash-in-hand. Experience with heavy-duty linehaul work helped me to optimise fuel usage on my

With light, medium and heavy trucks included in the ‘convoy’ each leg of the media drive was concluded with a regrouping at a range of rest stops.

drives, and the results were notable in the range of fuel economy across our group. Operators would be nuts not to invest the time to learn the system’s features and data. One blip was engine overspeed time. The data didn’t differentiate between overspeed under acceleration or under braking, so a very steep hill with the engine brake on that took rpms above 2100 needed further analysis. No less impressive was the data surrounding Hino’s hybrid technology and the effort that the company’s marketing and sales team signalled was being rolled out to increase the sales of this driveline. Although all manufacturers see hybrid drivelines as a stepping-stone to all-electric, Hino has recognised that we are a vast distance away from the crossover of whole-of-life costs between diesel-based

power and electric only. For example, the cost of getting enough power supply into a depot for recharging more than a handful of electric trucks is rarely identified, and until those barriers can be overcome, diesel will reign supreme. Noteworthy was another statistic touted by Hino’s Richard Emery. To deliver the same performance and range as Hino 300 series with Hino’s hybrid driveline carrying 80-litres of diesel, an all- electric 300 Series would require a battery pack weighing 3550kg – with existing technology. Makes you think. In short, although Emery made it clear that Hino isn’t focussed on snatching market leadership from Isuzu any time soon, the brand will steadily improve each of its offerings to stay in, or ahead of the technology game. Operators can only benefit.

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20 FEATURE

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Veteran truckies share why they’ve finally had enough

BY JAMES GRAHAM

RECORD diesel prices, heavy-handed fines for minor paperwork errors, deteriorating health, and being forced to spend hours away from your loves ones while trying to make ends meet. Any of those reasons – along with a fair few related to the pandemic – are conspiring to force drivers from the cabs in increasing numbers. Companies are desperately short of experienced truckies and many fleet owners are at their wits’ end about how they are going to get more bums on seats. At the time of writing, when we inputted the words ‘truck driver’ into the job search site Seek.com.au, there were 21,700 jobs available. Below we speak two of the drivers who have cried enough to find out more. We also ask

them what they think can be done to stem the tide.

‘It feels like workplace bullying’: Adam Bollinger Adam Bollinger, 51, had never had a logbook fine in more than 25 years of driving all over Australia before he was pulled over at Marulan, NSW, recently. The experienced fuel tanker driver’s not denying he went over his 24 hours by 1.5 hours, the result he said of his boss at the time changing plans at short notice. But despite his clean driving record, there was no quarter given by the Transport for NSW compliance officer. “It’s a fairly major breach, and I understand that, but I said to the guy, ‘Can’t you cut me some slack?’. ‘He just said, ‘Na, I’ve got to fine you for it’, so I was a bit disappointed after 25 years with a pretty good

Truckie Adam Bollinger.

An unpleasant experience at Marulan, NSW, was the beginning of the end for Bollinger.

track record,” said Bollinger. The final straw for Bollinger came soon after that $1151 fine (along with three demerits), when he was snapped following too closely

behind another truck at Tomingley, resulting in a $1471 fine and four more demerit points. “To get $3000 in fines in a fortnight, that was enough for me to say, ‘Yes, it’s time to leave the industry’,” said Bollinger. “It feels like workplace bullying and harassment sometimes. I understand that these guys have a job to do, but when you drive into a weigh bridge, you feel guilty until you prove yourself innocent, whereas everywhere else in society it’s the other way around.” Bollinger, who is now based in Mudgee, NSW, hasn’t stepped away from driving completely, having taken up a role as an aero refueller, gassing up helicopters for the fire season. But he can’t see himself going back to his old routine any time soon. Bollinger said he’s never seen compliance being enforced the way it is this year,

The truckie understands officers have a job to do, but called for more compromise.

and in such numbers. He cites the example of pulling into the Pine Creek RMS inspection station near Coff ’s Harbour a couple of months ago. Bollinger was asked to hand over his logbook, licence and BFM certificate, but that was all. “They didn’t even want to walk around the truck. They’re just hammering guys for logbook infringements and that needs to be addressed.” Bollinger also believes that the chain of responsibility laws are failing drivers because of what he sees as systemic ‘loopholes’ that allow some parties to sidestep their legal obligations. “There’s still only person who signs anything at the end of the day, and that’s the driver,” he said. “Unless has filled out a journey management plan and signed it saying they’ve ensured you’ve got adequate time to legally do the job in

THE GUYS WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY FOR 50 YEARS, AND ASK PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE HOLDING THE STEERING WHEEL ABOUT THE BEST WAY TO REGULATE THE INDUSTRY.” ADAM BOLLINGER

the legal timeframe with the adequate rest breaks, you’ve got no leg to stand on in court but your own.” Bollinger said regulators also need to sit “at the table” with more organisations, “not Lindsay Fox”, and get feedback from more owner-drivers. “The guys who have been in the industry for 50 years, and ask people with experience holding the steering wheel about the best way to regulate the industry.” Continued page 22

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22 FEATURE

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

‘They treat you like a criminal’: Steve Brazier

From page 20 A disillusioned Steve Brazier only stepped away from the industry about a month ago after 35 years working as either a mechanic or truckie to now run his own motorcycle repair shop in Gloucester, NSW. Brazier started out as a mechanic but reckons he’s spent just as much time behind the wheel as he has on the spanners, fast-tracking his experience as an interstate truckie working for his parents’ Newcastle-based freight company. He stepped back from interstate about three-and-a-half years ago because of all the logbook “bullshit”, that included his own run-in with authorities for an “accidental” mistake while carting army bridges to Kyogle. The magistrate let him off, but Brazier said the experience left him with a sour taste he just couldn’t shake. “They got me for driving 15.5 hours in a 24-hour period, but the way they carried on, it was like they treated you like a criminal,” said Brazier.

Truckie Steve Brazier reluctantly called it quits after 35 years.

Brazier doesn’t know any other job in the world that demands so much scrutiny by authorities.

“They got me out of truck [at the weighbridge], walked me over to the office and it was like they were going to call the highway patrol to come and arrest me the way they were carrying on. “Don’t get me wrong, I had a massive passion for the trans-

wheels turning. “It burnt me out, there’s no two ways about that, but that’s just part and parcel of being in the transport industry,” he said. “I think it’s more taxing now just because of the sheer concentration you have to have

port industry, but just lost interest in it.” Brazier said running his own truck repair shop also took its toll, chasing slow payers and working 24/7 up to 20 yours a day at times because he knew how important it was for his customers to keep the

driving the truck now. “You have to make sure your logbook is right, and you’re always worried about whether the weighbridge is open. “You know how you feel like a criminal when you get pulled up for speeding by the cops? Every time you get pulled into a weighbridge, that’s exactly how you feel. “You feel like you’re going to get stitched whether you’re doing the right thing or not.” Brazier said he doesn’t know any other job in the world in which you have to worry so much about doing the right thing. With spiralling fuel costs factored in, he said he despairs for the future of the industry now unless the government steps in and starts looking after drivers more. He knows of many owner-drivers who have a gutful but are only still going because they feel like they have no other option, other than to drive for one of the bigger companies. “But who wants to do that when you’re constantly watched on camera and there are GPS trackers in the trucks? “We used to have the freedom to do what you wanted while you were doing our job.

Brazier said he was made to feel like a criminal every time he pulled into a weighbridge.

YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE GOING TO GET STITCHED WHETHER YOU’RE DOING THE RIGHT THING OR NOT.” STEVE BRAZIER

As long as you were doing our job, everyone was happy.” Brazier fears now that the only way forward is if big companies, like Toll and Linfox, stand up to the government and say, “Enough is enough, if you don’t change then we’re going to stop running. “They have all the grocery stores and fuel sewn up and that’s where they’re going to hit everyone and that’s where they need to do it. “It seems like the normal owner-driver doesn’t have that option anymore. No one wants to listen to the owner-driver. “But it’s going to come to the point where it has to change, there’s no ifs, buts or maybes about it. “It’s just an industry that’s constantly pounded by bullshit from the government. It has been for years and years, but it’s just worse now than it ever was.”

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FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Most fuel-efficient truck in the fleet

A TRUCKING fleet hauling in and out of Australia’s ‘food bowl’ has bought two new Freightliner Cascadias. The Goulburn Valley produces more than 25 per cent of Victoria’s food output, including vast amounts of fruit, vegetables, meat and milk, and much of it is exported. This huge demand is one of the reasons that Kreskas Bros Transport is the largest road carrier of shipping containers between the Port of Melbourne and regional Victoria. Kreskas Bros has a mixed fleet of trucks that includes Kenworth K-series trucks, Mercedes-Benz Actros and some recently arrived Freightliner Cascadias. Its first experience with the Cascadia came about when the late John McCarroll, an industry icon and longtime friend of the Kreskas Bros team, took on a central role in the Australian test program for the new Freightliner. ‘Johnno’ drove a Cascadia test unit B-Double five days a week for 18 months and

stored it overnight and the Kreskas Bros yard. A Cascadia 126 in Kreskas Bros colours joined the fleet just months after the Cascadia was officially launched in Australia in late 2019 and soon impressed the team running as an A-Double between Shepparton and Melbourne. One of the first things that stood out was the comfort of the advanced bonneted truck that has a spacious 48-inch sleeper cap and the latest ergonomic interior design. “Anyone who drives it will tell you how comfortable they are to drive,” said Kreskas Brothers Transport fleet manager, Keith Mutton. “Keeping our drivers comfortable is very important to us, they spend a lot of time in the truck, so that is a really big positive,” he adds. Another thing to standout early was the excellent fuel consumption. “It’s clear that this is a very efficient truck,” Mutton said. “After 290,000km we can say the Cascadia is clearly the most fuel-efficient truck in

The Cascadia has also proved reliable in meeting deadlines.

Kreskas Bros Transport is the largest road carrier of shipping containers between the Port of Melbourne and regional Victoria.

our fleet,” he adds. Kreskas Bros Transport also values the safety features that standard on the Cascadia, including a radar and camera-based Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) that can automatically detect, and fully brake for, moving pedestrians in addition to vehicles. Also standard is a radar-based adaptive cruise control system and a lane departure warning system in addition to Electronic Stability Program and a driver airbag. General Manager, Adam Katsoutas, explains why these integrated active safety systems are important. “Safety is paramount for our team at Kreskas Bros Transport, so the kind of safety features in the Cascadias are very welcome,” he says. “This is a simple way that

we can best protect our drivers and the wider community,” he adds. The Cascadia has also proved reliable, which is especially important in the container haulage business where deadlines are rock solid. “It hasn’t missed a beat,” Mutton says. The Kreskas Brothers Transport trucks are kept in tip-top condition through a Daimler Truck service contract program. Service contracts ensure the trucks are maintained properly by a Daimler Truck dealership by factory-trained technicians using genuine parts. Just like the first Cascadia to join the fleet, the two new units are 126 48-inch sleeper models running the advanced 16-litre Detroit DD16 that pumps out 600hp and 2050lb/ft.

The Cascadia has impressed with its fuel efficiency.

The brawny engine meets the strict US GHG17 emission standard, which is even stricter than the Euro 6 standard that is years away from being mandated in Australia. The Kreskas Bros Cascadias use Detroit 12-speed fully automated manual (AMT) transmissions that

are able to predict the terrain it is travelling over to save fuel. They use GPS and topographical data to determine when it can best change gear or even select neutral and even coast to make the most of the terrain and save as much fuel as possible.

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26 FEATURE

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Tringali’s tuned up Transtar During the working week this father and son duo runs eight trucks on local work, but in the weekend they put the pedal to the metal.

BY DAVID VILE “IT is the fastest International in Australia and we’ve got it crackin’!” A bold statement perhaps but it would be difficult to argue the point with Frank Tringali as he sits in the pit complex at the Winton Motor Raceway next to his International Transtar race truck. Along with his son Anthony, the Tringali Racing team is one of the participants in the Australian Supertruck Nationals which was holding the second round of the 2022 Championship at the rural Victorian circuit. During the week Frank runs eight trucks on local work around Melbourne but come race weekend it is a different matter with the Silver-92 Detroit powered Transtar taking to the track all in the name of fun, with the purchase of the truck some year back ticking one of Frank’s life goals. “My life’s ambition was to buy an 8-92 manual race truck and I bought it,” recalled Frank. “Anthony came along at the right age, I said do you want to have a shot and now I can’t get back into it because I can’t get him out of it!” After building it up from a highway unit into a race

Hold her flat! The Tringali Transtar powers out of turn one on the Winton short track.

Anthony and Frank Tringali with the #92 Transtar in the Winton pit area.

truck when Frank purchased it from Don Hodge, the team has since done a considerable amount of work to the engine and most recently the driveline, with the manual gearbox being swapped out in favour of an auto. “It had a blown motor when we got it, so we took it to Victorian Diesel Services,

brain tumour when he was 5 and a half, so we are really passionate about brain cancer research in children. “We will do truck shows and so forth to raise as much money as we can to pass on to the charity as it’s a really good cause.” The International will soon have a stablemate with a Kenworth T909 currently being built from the ground up into a race unit. Needless to say, it will also be sporting the Detroit badge when it takes to the race circuits in 2023 if all goes to plan, said Frank. “The Kenworth will be purpose-built for racing. There will be no road-truck stuff on it. It will have a Series 60. I would like to put another 8-92 in it, but the Series 60 is more reliable, and you can tweak them a bit better. “Anthony will take it on as our ‘serious’ race truck and I will keep this on for our ‘fun’ truck. The Inter was a steal, I bought it for $6000. We were contemplating selling it because we are building up the new one and had a couple of bites, but we are going to keep it. I just love the sound of that motor!” With the Tringali outfit taking to the track all in the name of having a good time, Frank’s instructions to Anthony in terms of race strategy are pretty simple: [We have a] “Hold her flat race strategy. Just make sure it sounds great when it goes past! I told him want to see smoke coming off those tyres at the end of the race!” The relaxed nature of the racing and the camaraderie and co-operation amongst the competitors is quite a contrast to other forms of motorsport such as Supercars and Formula One, and Frank wouldn’t have it any

The Detroit pushes plenty of smoke and sound out the dual pipes.

Anthony Tringali heads the swarming pack from a rolling race start.

and Marcus (Prillwitz, a fellow SuperTruck competitor) rebuilt the motor for nothing,” Frank continued. “We have done a lot of work to it since then including putting disc brakes on the front end, fitting parabolic springs, and putting a Watts Link suspension in the rear. We have been playing around

with the injectors, we put our original injectors back in it and it is just screaming its head off.” Frank reckons the estimated output from the Detroit is somewhere north of 1000hp and needless to say the Transtar generates a healthy note out the exhaust pipes when on the track. The installation this year of the auto box has also brought its challenges for both Frank and Anthony in both driving and pulling up the Transtar. “It’s a learning curve for Anthony with the auto in as it’s completely different to the manual. I was coming down the back straight yesterday and because we shifted the pedals over, I got them mixed up and it was quite intimidating,” recalled Frank with a smile. With its purple and blue paintwork and distinctive ‘92’ race number on the doors the Transtar also carries signage for the Isabella and Marcus Foundation, which raises money and awareness of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPGbrain cancer) in children. “It is a cause very close to our hearts. Anthony had a

THIS IS A SPORT LIKE NO OTHER. EVERYONE WILL HELP EACH OTHER OUT TO MAKE SURE THEY GET THE JOB DONE. EVERYONE HERE IN THE SERIES IS GREAT AND IF YOU’RE IN TROUBLE IT’S JUST A MATTER OF ASKING AND SOMEONE WILL HELP YOU OUT.” FRANK TRINGALI

other way. “This is a sport like no other. Everyone will help each other out to make sure they get the job done. Everyone here in the series is great and if you’re in trouble it’s just a matter of asking and someone will help you out.” For the Tringalis, trucks are both their business and their hobby, and Frank reckons both he and Anthony will be pounding around the racetracks as part of the Australian Supertruck Series for a few more years yet. “We love it. We have our motorhome, and we sleep at the track - we have a ball. Some people like horses, some people like fishing or golf - we love trucks! “I never keep any receipts: I don’t want to know, and I don’t care. For all the money we spend on the truck we might get a $50 trophy, but we are here for the fun. “If it stops being fun, we will stop - but I can’t see that happening yet!” • The Australian Supertruck Nationals return to Winton for round 3 of the Championship on September 17-18. For further information on DIPG or to donate to the Isabella and Marcus Foundation go to https://www.isabellaandmarcusfoundation.org/

Evolved, refined, technologically advanced, the new K220 takes the driver experience to the Next Level. KENWORTH.COM.AU/K220

28 READER RIGS

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Reader Rigs proudly supported by

#PicOfThe Month

Congratulations to Shaun Wood, who has won a $500 Shell Coles Express Gift Card for this great aerial shot, taken north of White Cliffs, while travelling through outback NSW.

Share your truck pics to win with Shell Rimula

SHELL Rimula has partnered with Big Rigs in a big way – so now there’s even more reasons to send in your best truck shots. Each month, the Big Rigs team will choose a #PicOfTheMonth, with the lucky winner receiving a $500 Shell Coles Express Gift Card. Keep an eye out for our regular posts on the Big Rigs National Road Transport Newspaper Facebook page, calling

for your best truck photos and add yours in the comments, or email them to editor@bigrigs. com.au. Don’t forget to include a brief note about the truck and where the photo was taken. We’ll feature some of the best photos in each edition of Big Rigs Newspaper, with one winner announced each month. Keep those amazing truck pics coming!

Kevin Bemrose had a play with the drone during a quick tyre check at sunset, while north of Pardoo, WA.

A great shot of this Kenworth and Western Star duo from Matthew Brown, taken on the Old Hume, near Wangaratta, Victoria.

Andrew Rowen had this green machine all clean and ready to build some roads in Tibooburra, NSW.

Luke Moylan shared this great shot of the Kenworth T659 he drives for Frasers, loaded with a top quality load of Wagyu cattle from a Central Highlands feedlot in Queensland.

Russell Oppermann snapped this great shot while delivering part of a drill rig somewhere out near the SA/Qld border, east of Innamincka.

Angus McGillivery spotted this Mibus Bros’ Kenworth with an oversize load, travelling through Garvoc, Victoria.

READER RIGS 29

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

When the going gets tough, truckies keep everyone going

Wayne Agius looks for the gravel turn-around hidden in the canola so he can get out before the rains.

Ian Miller stops for a load check at the top of Greenmount Hill, before heading down to Perth.

Russell Hitchcock enjoys a cracking sunrise while unloading IBC tanks in the Hunter Valley.

Glen Phonix takes the outback route along Dig Tree Road, while heading towards Tibooburra.

Filip Schubert shared this snap taken at Reef Hill rest stop on his way back from a changeover.

Tom Charlton took a quick break under the sunrise while out near Gin Gin, Queensland.

Kyle Wright captured this great shot while waiting to load chickpeas out near Merah in northern NSW.

30 NEWS

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

80-tonne electric log truck hits the road in world-first

Hans Djurberg is head of sustainability at SCA.

THE world’s first electric log truck with a capacity of 80 tonnes has been delivered and is set to undergo on-road testing over coming months. The electric Scania will be put to the test by Swedish paper mill SCA Obbola over

the summer, with research institute Skogforsk collecting relevant data to form the basis for comparisons with conventional diesel-powered timber transportation. Following the testing period, the plan is for the electric

Scania to be incorporated into SCA’s regular operations. According to SCA, its industrial processes are already 96 per cent fossil fuel-free. “We are very pleased that we together with Scania can break new ground to make the heaviest transports fossil-free,” said Hans Djurberg, head of sustainability at SCA. By running just one electric truck between Gimonäs and Obbola (30km round trip), SCA says it can reduce its carbon emissions by about 55,000kg a year. Fredrik Allard, head of e-mobility at Scania, says the 80-tonne battery-powered log truck shows that even heavier transport can be electrified. “Shipping of timber has been talked about as something that might never be possible to electrify. The development in recent years and what we are now presenting together with SCA shows how fast the development is taking place both in terms of vehicles and batteries,” Allard explained. Plans are for the electric truck to transport timber on

the stretch between SCA’s timber terminal in Gimonäs and the paper mill in Obbola outside Umeå. It can be driven with a total weight of 64 tonnes on public roads and 80 tonnes on private roads. “This is a first concrete step towards electric propulsion in the most difficult part of the land borne transport chain, which is extremely

important. This is a global challenge that many have wrestled with and now we are showing together with an innovative partner, Scania, that Swedish industry can drive sustainability development,” says Djurberg added. “Our forests and forest products have created enormous climate benefits for a long period of time and our

industries are very climate-efficient, which is why it is also obvious with high climate ambitions for our transports.” The upcoming on-road testing will compare energy consumption, productivity and costs against existing vehicles and map out what would be required for a broad implementation of electric timber trucks.

The electric Scania will be trialled by Swedish paper mill SCA Obbola.

Volvo launches all-electric range in medium-duty sector VOLVO Trucks Australia has brought a new all-electric medium duty truck range to market down under, capable of achieving ranges of up to 300 kilometres, depending on the battery configuration and application. The new zero emissions Volvo FL and FE Electric are suited to GVM applications ranging from 16,000 to 26,000kg. Wheelbases range from 3800mm to 5000mm for the FL as a 4x2 only, while the FE offers wheelbases from 3900mm to 6100mm in both 4x2 and 6x2 tag axle guise. Battery packs are also able to be configured to suit varying applications with a choice of three or four battery packs.

The new all-electric Volvos can achieve ranges of up to 300 kilometres.

The FL Electric utilises a single motor driveline that provides power to the ground via a two-speed automated

transmission and develops 135kW of continuous power with 425Nm of torque available from standstill.

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The FE Electric, while sharing the same battery configuration as the lighter capacity FL utilises a 225-kW/850Nm

dual-motor driveline and is also backed by a two-speed automated transmission. Charge times for both vehicles vary from nine hours (AC) to two hours (DC) via a Type 2 or CCS2 charge port. The first trial units of the Volvo FL Electric arrived in Australia during 2021 for customer testing – where they proved efficient, effective and reliable in urban distribution roles. “When we delivered our first two electric trucks to customers for trials last year, we said this that this was just the start of our Australian electro-mobility journey,” said Paul Illmer, vice president emerging technology, Volvo Group Australia.

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32 SPONSORED CONTENT ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND ELECTRICS

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Lowering emissions and saving money

IN ORDER TO MEET THIS TARGET, HEAVY DIESEL-USING COMPANIES – SUCH AS TRANSPORT OPERATORS – WILL NEED TO ACHIEVE AN EMISSION REDUCTION OF 60 PER CENT OVER THE NEXT 28 YEARS, OR AN AVERAGE 2 PER CENT REDUCTION EVERY YEAR.”

The revolutionary dynaCERT hydrogen injection system can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy duty diesel engines.

dynaCERT has invested a total of $90 million and spent 15 years in developing a patented hydrogen-on-demand technology.

IF the cost of operating heavy diesel engines and reducing your carbon emissions are becoming a concern for your business, then why not consider hydrogen as an immediate cost-saving solution. Following the change in the Federal Government and an increased commitment to Net Zero by 2050, the pressure on firms to formulate carbon reduction plans of action is growing stronger and stronger by the day. In order to meet this target, heavy diesel-using companies – such as transport operators – will need to achieve an emission reduction of 60 per cent over the next 28 years, or an average 2 per cent reduction every year. Within the Australian Government Plan, all transport will shift to hydrogen or electrification by 2050, however it is acknowledged that much of the technology to replace

heavy diesel use is still under development and it will therefore take many years before it and all of the supporting infrastructure it needs is widely available and affordable enough for Australian businesses to adopt. As a result of this, it means diesel will continue to be the dominant energy source for trucks, heavy equipment and generators throughout the next decade. This is where dynaCERT has stepped in and developed a solution that can lower diesel use, save money and reduce emissions – not just in the future, but today. dynaCERT has invested a total of $90 million and spent 15 years in developing a patented hydrogen-on-demand technology that is designed to make diesel greener while at the same time also reducing fuel costs today for trucking companies, mining companies, among many other in-

dustries running diesel engines – and thereby speeding up the transition to net zero by 2050. The revolutionary dynaCERT hydrogen injection system can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy duty diesel engines immediately and provide a quick

financial payback through lower diesel consumption. The benefits of this additive have been investigated by several researchers in the scientific community, with dynaCERT reporting that findings include: • The flame speed of hydrogen

is nine times faster than the flame speed of diesel. Burning diesel in the presence of hydrogen will result in overall faster and more complete combustion. This will result in higher peak pressure closer to the top dead centre (TDC) and therefore, will produce a higher effective pressure to do work. • Even a small amount of hydrogen and oxygen injected into the air intake to enhance diesel combustion decreases the brake specific fuel consumption, regardless of the level of load. • The increase in the air-fuel ratio improves the combus-

Interstate freight trials showed a reduction in diesel related fuel costs of 12.1 per cent.

tion resulting in lower fuel consumption and better efficiency. Due to the absence of carbon in hydrogen fuel, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide are reduced. This is aided by the better combustion of diesel fuel with the aid of hydrogen, which has a higher flame speed. Australian dealer – H2Zero is taking bookings now for installation in the fourth quarter of this year – to commence your own road to zero, reserve your place today. This follows extensive trial work in interstate freight transport, which has proven a reduction in diesel related fuel costs of 12.1 per cent and an annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for each truck of 16.4 tonne per 100,000 kilometres.

SPONSORED CONTENT 37

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38 DRIVER PROFILES

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Truckin’ In The Outback

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY WHERE TRANSPORT DOES BUSINESS

All in a week’s work

Fresh off trialling the first Freightliner Cascadia to tow road trains over 100 tonne, an expat Kiwi couple chat about life on the road.

BY DANIELLE GULLACI ORIGINALLY from New Zealand, Sarah and Berin Diprose made Australia their permanent home five years ago. “This is our home now, there are amazing opportunities here that we couldn’t get in New Zealand, so we’re pretty fortunate to have that,” said Sarah. The pair relocated to Darwin almost a year ago to take up a job with Neil Mansell Transport. “We had been living in Port Hedland, driving quads over there and that was a pretty insane experience too, but we came to Darwin because it gave us a balance with the sort of lifestyle we both wanted.” Sarah, 53, and Berin, 52, do the 6600 kilometre round trip between Darwin and Toowoomba each week, carting refrigerated goods on the express run. “This is our first job doing two-up together.

We’ve worked for a number of the same companies, but in the past we had a truck each and were following each other,” Sarah added. The truck runs the entire time and they work on about 43 hours each way. “We’re fairly new to two-up but we’re really enjoying it. I love the fact that we’re together – and I’ve got Berin there. He’s great with his knowledge of how to get us out of situations with his mechanical know-how.” When asked what it’s like to be in the truck together 24/7, Sarah said, “You need to sort things out pretty quickly. You can’t worry too much about the road behind you because you have to deal with what’s coming up.” Berin added, “We only stop to fuel up and do driver changes. We don’t really stop otherwise. You have your moments obviously, but they are generally of the lower percentage. I

The pair’s knowledge and experience led to them being chosen by Neil Mansell, owner of Neil Mansell Transport, to trial the New Generation Freightliner Cascadia 126.

think we make it work – it’s a long walk home otherwise!” The two have known each other for over 30 years and have been married for the past seven. Add in the truck and Sarah says it’s like a marriage

of three. “You’re married to the job too, the truck never goes away. When we get back home our time is very limited. Our 48-hour break comes around and we’re away again. It’s a lifestyle that’s not for everybody.

But this works for us, it’s part of our marriage and part of our relationship. Berin is good with the paperwork and I’m good with cleaning the outside of the truck so I’ve banned him from cleaning the truck be-

cause he gets covered in grease! “We think the grass is pretty green where we are at the moment. We’re very grateful that we had the opportunity to do the trial with the Cascadia and to work for such a great company.” A third-generation truckie, Berin started driving trucks when he was 17. “My father and grandfather were both truckies, so I was born into it. My father owned a transport business as well,” he said. “I’ve been backwards and forwards between Australia and New Zealand for many years but have probably spent most of my working life in Australia. The first time I came here was in 1989. I’ve also driven in the US and Europe too. I did interstate in the US and got to do a short six-week stretch on the ice roads in Alaska too. “The ice roads were exhilarating and scary at the same time. That was certainly an ex-

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DRIVER PROFILES 39

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

Truckin’ In The Outback perience never to be forgotten. There was always the fear of the unknown but I had a great time doing it.” Sarah’s foray into truck driving came a little later. “I grew up on a sheep and cattle station in New Zealand, so you learn how to drive tractors and the hay truck from quite a young age. Then I always had horses so I got my truck licence so I could drive the horse truck. Then I did the school bus driving when the kids were younger; and when my boys got older, I wanted to get into truck driving a bit more. I got an opportunity to drive a log truck about 18 years ago. That was my first job as a professional driver.” Fast forward to now and the couple are loving every

minute of their role at Neil Mansell Transport. The pair’s knowledge and experience led to them being chosen by Neil Mansell, owner of Neil Mansell Transport, to trial the New Generation Freightliner Cascadia 126 – just two months into the role. That truck made its debut at the Brisbane Truck Show in May 2021. Featuring a 60inch raised roof sleeper cab, Freightliner has described it as “the burger with the lot”. The engine is a 16-litre Detroit with 600hp and 2050lt-lb, and it’s linked to a DT12 12-speed automated manual (AMT) transmission. It’s also rated to a GCM of 145 tonnes. “This was the first road train trial of the Freightliner Casca-

They do the 6600 kilometre round trip between Darwin and Toowoomba each week, carting refrigerated goods.

dia that we had in Australia – it was long awaited. That truck worked extremely well. They absolutely loved it,” said Steve Martin, fleet sales business development manager at Daimler Trucks. The trial went so well in fact that Neil Mansell has ordered four Cascadias to the exact same spec, due for delivery in the next couple of months. And Sarah and Berin are first on the list to get their hands on one when they arrive. “That truck was specifically fitted out for two-up and it was the first truck in Australia to have done the running that we’ve done with it. It’s a beautiful truck and the fuel efficiency, comfort and technology at the wheel is unbelievable. It certainly wakes you up when go from that back to an older truck,” said Sarah. Though it was initially supposed to only be a three-month trial, it went so well that the couple were able to keep it for six months instead – having to reluctantly hand the keys back over to Daimler at the conclusion. The Cascadia ran with a triple road train – usually pulling over 100 tonne, and sometimes up to 130 tonne. “We did 175,000 kilometres in that truck, and in that time, it averaged 1.39km/l. There’s nothing else that’s close to it at the moment. The truck we’re in

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now is doing about 1.1km/l,” explained Berin. “The truck we had before that was running at 1.25km/l which was considered reasonably good – until the Cascadia came along. Everyone who is running the Cascadias is reporting the same thing, it has unbelievable fuel efficiency.” With the fuel efficiency gains noted on the truck’s maiden journey, it took just one month for Neil Mansell to be convinced of the truck’s worth before ordering four of his own. Martin added that Sarah and Berin were very meticulous throughout the trial. “They provided written evaluations about the truck throughout the trial. You couldn’t ask for better people to evaluate your product. Neil hand-picked them because he knew he’d get some constructive criticism, but the vehicle performance was above and beyond their expectations,” he said. “The choice of that 16-litre engine with the DT12 transmission is what the trucks prefer because it’s our own proprietary transmission talking to our own proprietary engine. And that’s why we’re seeing this sort of fuel efficiency. These trucks were designed for fuel efficiency and with the numbers they’ve been getting, you can save up to $25,000-30,000 a year per truck.”

Sarah and Berin Diprose relocated to Darwin almost a year ago to take up the job with Neil Mansell Transport.

With the new Cascadias almost ready for delivery, Sarah and Berin are eagerly awaiting the chance to call it their own. “The thing at Neil Mansell Transport is that once you get assigned a truck, it’s your truck. For us, we like to keep the rig well maintained and clean – it’s our home and our office. These new trucks are an amazing piece of investment for the company but we get entrusted to run it like our own truck,” said Sarah.

Berin added, “Here if we have a week off, the truck is parked up. We’re lucky with Mansell Group that most of the drivers here do take a lot of pride in their gear. The trucks are kept really clean. We’ve both worked for other companies where morale is really low and people don’t care about the gear, so it’s nice to be somewhere where everybody gives a shit – everyone has that same sort of focus, from the office to the workshop to the drivers.”

40 DRIVER PROFILES

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Truckin’ In The Tropics Jake Towns

Jake Towns drives a Kenworth T909 for Dearden Contractors.

IT was just before dark on a cool afternoon in mid July when I came across Jake Towns who could best be described as a genuine hard working Aussie truckie. Towns drives a Kenworth T909 for Dearden Contractors based at Roma and was tending to a trailer far away

off the Townsville Port Access Road. The temperature was about 15 degrees and forecasters predicted it would drop later in the night. “I have picked up a load of stocklick from the other side of town and am heading back to Mitchell with it to-

morrow,” he said. The 36-year-old has been with the company for the past five years and said they are great to work for. So what does this loyal employee enjoy most about his job as a truck driver? “It would have to be the freedom I experience when on the highway,” he said. Mind you, Towns loves being back home and enjoying time with his family. “My sons play rugby league football in the under 8 and under 10 years competitions for the Carnarvon Cubs in the Roma Junior Rugby League. I love watching them,” he said. Towns has the build and fitness to still be playing football himself however he leaves that to others. “But I do barrack for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and they are going well this year. A big improvement on last season” he said. The first truck Towns drove was an R600 Mack. Towns says he rates the road between Surat and Tara as his least favourite to travel on. “It is very rough in places but I do get to use lots of other bad ones,” he said. One was the road between

with Alf Wilson

Torrens Creek and Aramac in north Queensland along which he saw a grey nomad in a caravan. The van man asked Towns if this was the shortest route to his destination of Winton. “He was through most of his trip so I didn’t tell him it was the longest as his wife was with him,” Towns said. He feels there are enough rest areas for truckies in Queensland. When he does get extended time off Towns enjoys camping and fishing at various places. “I catch some fish from time to time including yellow belly but they aren’t that good eating,” he said. Unlike many truckies who travel the highways and byways, Towns said he isn’t into social media. “I don’t get into things like Facebook.” When he finished his work on the trailers, Towns said he was heading to the Bohle Tavern just north of Townsville for a meal. “They serve up good food and other truck drivers go there,” he said. A genuine down to earth ocker Aussie is my best way to describe Towns and I really enjoyed my short yarn with him.

He was carrying a load of stocklick, bound for Mitchell, when he stopped for a chat.

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DRIVER PROFILES 41

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Truckin’ In The Tropics

with Alf Wilson

Dave Ardouin

BJ Muir

Dave Ardouin drives a T909 for Lawrence Transport.

YOUNG driver Dave Ardouin, 33, had come from Sydney to Townsville carrying general freight when Big Rigs saw him just on dusk at the Townsville BP Cluden recently. Ardouin drives a Kenworth T909 for Lawrence Transport and was ready to haul general down south as a backload. “I have been a truckie since I was about 20 and the first

BJ Muir says he loves the freedom of the job.

one I drove was a Kenworth 401,” he said. Overall Ardouin feels there could be more rest areas for truckies but he did nominate one which had been good for him. “I had a good sleep the other night at the Jugiong rest area in NSW,” he said. His favourite food and fuel stop is Roadhouse 31 in NSW and the worst road he

travels on is many parts of the Bruce Highway. When he gets time off Ardouin enjoys four-wheel driving, camping and fishing but wasn’t about to give away any secret spots. “I’d like to think I catch lots of fish but I don’t,” he said. His favourite meal is rump steak cooked medium rare, with chips and salad.

IT was a genuine pleasure to yarn to truckie BJ Muir when he was parked up in Townsville after bringing general freight from the south. Muir drives a Kenworth T909 for Toft Trucking and loves the freedom on the road and the general lifestyle of the job. “The mateship is good with the drivers you know,” he said. As testimony to that,

Muir was having a deep yarn with another driver and they shared some conversation and laughs. Like many other drivers, Muir likes stopping at the Shell Gilgandra Roadhouse and his favourite meal is chicken parmigiana. He nominated the worst road as being between Goondiwindi and Warwick. In the NRL, he barracks

for the Auckland Warriors. “I am a New Zealander and came to Australia in 2009,” he said. As for Covid, Muir said he had been tested more than 200 times in his travels through Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. “Truck drivers have had to work harder through all this Covid because of all the regulations,” he said.

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FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Historic Tassie trucks with stories to tell SPY ON THE ROAD WITH ALF WILSON

Nasty surprises in the mail Some truck drivers can expect a nasty surprise in the mail after being snapped on camera using their mobile phone whilst driving. That’s what Spy has been told by some people who live beside a road which has one of those new cameras installed. They sit on their front verandah and look at the traffic passing and have seen hundreds of drivers, including some in trucks, on their phones. The cameras point downwards from the poles they

are attached to but are clearly seen from a distance. Police check the footage from the cameras and anybody who looks to have been guilty is sent a notice of a fine in the mail. A couple of drivers Spy knows who have been breached for such an offence intend pleading not guilty in court to test all the legalities surrounding the controversial cameras.

Skills in difficult situation I was very impressed with the driving skills of a middle-aged truckie who unexpectedly came across a weight restricted bridge which was being upgraded. The approach road was narrow and traffic was traveling in both directions when he saw a sign advising his truck was over the weight limit required to still be able to use it. So he placed his hazard

lights on and reversed across the road and managed to do a U-turn before travelling back to find an alternative route. The holdup for traffic was less than 10 minutes and the truckie showed great skills to manoeuvre the B-double.

Phone tower welcome More than three years after it was first announced, the Archer River Roadhouse has a mobile phone tower. The announcement was made in early 2019 that Archer River was getting a phone tower under the federal government’s blackspot program. However, it was revealed that the funding was for an Optus tower and Telstra customers wouldn’t have access. Those plans were scrapped and a new announcement was made in May last year for Telstra to construct a tower at the Ar-

The truck and wind turbines at Trinity Wharf in Cairns.

cher River Roadhouse. This month Big Rigs was told it had been installed which is good news because the roadhouse is one of the biggest on the way up to Cape York. Nearby is the monument to the late female truckie Toots Holzheimer who was a legend. Bull rider and the cowboy Jason Chester watched nervously from the grandstand as his son Tom was about to make his NRL debut for the North Queensland Cowboys against the Cronulla Sharks at Townsville. The venue was Queensland Country Bank Stadium on July 16 and Tom is one of the rising stars of north Queensland rugby league. Proud dad Jason is one of the real characters in the region and is a former truckie who appeared in Big Rigs back in 2004. It had often been a case of mistaken identity when Jason and his identical twin Mark done their many runs between Cooktown in the Far North and Townsville in a trusty Hino. Now aged 51, the twins had done more than 500 runs between Cooktown

Flashback to when Albert John Reid had trucks in the 1930s, outside the Burgess Bros Business in Hobart.

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past Cairns and Townsville. They co-owned a six tonne Hino and carted furniture for a second-hand store they had in Cooktown. “We used to buy furniture in Townsville at garage sales, from ads in papers and wherever else we could get it,” Jason said. The twin’s late father used to own the Cooktown second-hand store. He died of cancer some years ago and the twins kept the shop supplied with goods, courtesy of the Hino. Mark still drives a truck with his business ‘Advantage Signs”. Wind turbines There is a NSW truckie who is also a keen photographer and one of his hobbies is snapping pics of parts of those huge wind turbines being transported around the country. His latest offerings were snapped at Trinity Wharf in the busy Port of Cairns in the far north. Some years ago he photographed massive turbines on the backs of trailers near the SA and Victoria borders. He sent his latest pics to Big Rigs. You can see one example of his photography skills at the top of this page.

On the right track If you are in the historic town of Coolgardie in WA and want to see some old trucks, then head down to the old railway station. Because you will be on the right track, as a couple of visiting truckies discovered. One sent Spy a pic of a rusty old Chev there, which is a real attraction. Coolgardie Railway Station was opened on March 23, 1896 and traffic in the early period included a train each way, each day, to and from Perth, and was one of the busiest stations in the state. The last passenger train to pass through Coolgardie was the evening express from Kalgoorlie to Perth on November 28, 1971 and it was farewelled by local citizens. Pears and apples A grand old 1972 model International which is parked outside a Nubeena property in Tasmania during the fruit off-season is put back in service carting apples and pears when the fruit is moving. It is owned by one of the true gentlemen of the industry in Tasmania, Scott Hansen, who spoke to Big Rigs about it by phone. “I bought it in the eighties but it has been in the ex-

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The old International at Nubeena, Tasmania.

tended family since before that and in the fruit season it carts apples and pears,” he said. Originally it was powered by an International V8 motor but these days has a six cylinder Perkins,” he said. Hansen added that when it was parked up, the trailer was used to display an advertising sign. He is also looking for somebody to paint the International. Nubeena is a small scenic village on the Tasman Peninsula. First Lyell Highway truck Some historical pictures

have found their way to Spy which are believed to be of the first truck to travel Tasmania’s Lyell Highway after it was first opened for use in 1932. It was built from the late 1920s through to late 1932, and had been called the West Coast Road. Officially the Lyell Highway was constructed in the late 1960s and is the most direct route between Hobart and Queenstown, running through two mountain ranges. The pictures include Albert John Reid who came home from World War I and

The memorial for the three truckies who tragically lost their lives when their trucks were engulfed by fire.

went to Tasmania’s Queenstown where he later inherited his uncle’s cordial factory and carting business. Historical pictures show him outside the Burgess Bros Business in Hobart. The weight of the load was “2 ton 11 cwt” which is written on the back of a postcard in his handwriting. Another picture is of the shop Albert and his wife used to have in Queenstown. At a later time they moved from Queenstown to Sheffield (now the town of murals) and ran a guest house and milk bar where many truckies enjoyed a

milkshake. I spoke to Albert’s daughter Petah Ragg who was delighted Big Rigs showed interest in the subject. “I don’t know much about the truck, just have the pictures. The original cartage business changed with the introduction of motor vehicles,” she said. Memorial for burnt truckies Many people, including truck drivers, often stop off at a memorial beside a WA highway to pay their respects to three truckies who died when their vehicles were

burnt out. It occurred on December 31, 2007 at around 10.35pm. Three men died and another was injured when an inferno engulfed a truck convoy in the West Australian Goldfields after drivers were told it was safe to drive through a bushfire. Police found their bodies in two burnt-out trucks amongst a one-kilometre stretch of blackened trailers, melted aluminium and twisted metal on the Great Eastern Highway between Southern Cross and Coolgardie at about midnight (WDT). They were among 15 trucks allowed through a roadblock at 8pm on the Sunday even though a potentially dangerous weather change was expected at 9pm. Some drivers made it to Southern Cross, where one man is believed to have been treated for burns. But when the fire struck the rest, 75km east of Southern Cross, they were trapped. Three died but the rest managed to unhook their trailers and flee back to Coolgardie in their prime movers. A truck driver snapped some pics and sent them onto Spy. World Chocolate Day During July, Spy did a tour of roadhouses and rest ar-

eas in his region and found more than an average number of truckies eating chocolate. Do these champions have a sweet tooth? Or perhaps one of the supermarket chains had a half price special on chocs. Anyway curiosity got the better of Spy who asked one of the lads, who was munching into a Cadbury Hazelnut chocolate, the reason why. “It is World Chocolate Day,” was the explanation. Trip down tuckshop lane A Victorian truck driver couldn’t believe his eyes recently when he came across an elderly man who used to deliver supplies to the school he had attended back in 1966. As a 12-year-old, he lived in Queensland and the man drove a light rig delivering food to the school tuck shop, and milk. Back then the government paid for primary school students to be supplied with free small bottes of milk and this was delivered just before first break with ice around it. “When I seen this now old fellow at a supermarket where we were shopping I recognised him straight away. He had a distinctive face and is now aged in his eighties. We had a yarn and it was great to see him after 56 years,” he said.

The old Chev at Coolgardie in WA.

Are you happy with current roads and rest areas? Have you ever made a call to a road authority? The NRFA is truckies working for truckies. Will you join us? You can’t just complain rudely, you must detail the problem and location and it’s link to your safety on the road. If just one truckie complains, they might ignore it, but if a number of drivers suggest it is dangerous, we could actually get some roads improved.

Join us and we will give you a logbook divider with all the state contact numbers

RT ERTON

AT THE WHEEL DAVID MEREDITH contributors@bigrigs.com.au

44 COLUMN

TRUCKIN’ ON THE BORDER DAVID VILE contributors@bigrigs.com.au

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Government can provide a fairer transport industry EDITOR JAMES GRAHAM

james.graham@bigrigs.com.au

TWU NEWS

TWU NEWS RICHARDOLSEN OLSEN RICHARD TWU NSW State Secretary TWU NSW/QLD State Secretary

THE Transport Workers Union (TWU) ran a Convoy to Canberra last month and hundreds of truck drivers drove in convoys around Australia’s capital cities, because things are tough in transport. Truck drivers, bus drivers and aviation workers showed up in solidarity with their families calling for the federal government to urgently implement Senate recommendations to make Australia’s deadliest industry safer and protect against the Amazon effect The TWU is holding the Albanese government accountable for a better industry and is seeking the implementation of the 10 recommendations from Senator Glenn Sterle’s inquiry into road transport and safety. We need to make the deadliest industry in the

TASSIE TRUCKIN’ JON WALLIS contributors@bigrigs.com.au

LEGISLATING AND ENFORCING THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN LEGAL EAGLE REPORT WILL THE STERLE ROWAN KING Principal RK Law MAKELawyer SURE ACCIDENTS LIKE THESE ARE COUNTED AS WORKPLACE INCIDENTS.” RICHARD OLSEN

country safer. A recommendation in the Sterle Report focuses on expanding the powers of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to carry out independent, no-blame safety investigations of road crashes involving commercial heavy vehicles; ensuring all commercial vehicle crashes are recognised, treated and investigated as workplace accidents. The TWU has been seeking an improvement like this for some time. In 2020, four police officers died when a sleep-deprived and drug-affected truck driver crashed into them on the side of the road.

Hundreds of truck drivers drove in convoys around Australia’s capital cities, because things are tough in transport.

It came to light that he was allegedly directed by three senior managers and his boss to work even after the fact that he had informed the company he was not in a fit state to drive safely. Legislating and enforcing the recommendations in the Sterle report will make sure accidents like these are counted as workplace incidents. The industry will become

safer as the enforcement framework will ensure compliance with higher standards and industry practises. A new wave of change is desperately needed as the industry is struggling with fuel and toll road costs with the NSW Government and Transurban ripping off drivers every day, making it nearly impossible to sustainably run a business. The industry

is struggling to survive. The federal government has committed to establishing a standard-setting body to create a safety net for all transport workers. The TWU is calling for urgent action on that pledge. Transport workers and industry groups in Canberra have met with politicians to call for immediate support for an independent body to

set minimum standards and end the Amazon Effect of cost-cutting and unfair competition smashing transport supply chains. The TWU needs a guarantee that industry jobs will be there into the future, and that drivers will be able to make a decent living. That’s why we need the federal government to create a fair system for all drivers.

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Something has to give as industry feels price pinch VTA COMMENT PETER ANDERSON CEO, Victorian Transport Association

Australians are facing their biggest economic challenge since the 2007 Global Financial Crisis – and there’s seemingly no end in sight for the near future. From the petrol bowser to the supermarket checkout, ballooning inflation and supply chain disruptions mean everyday Australians are paying more for essential items. And while the government continue to introduce measures to ease these pressures and support businesses through these turbulent times, the transport industry has been overlooked. As a sector used to operating on very thin margins at the best of times, unless there is urgent and prudent action to lower our operational costs, Australians will start to feel the pinch more than they already are.

In a recent Big Rigs column (June 24 issue) I called for an amendment to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 in order to end the competition exemption that shipping liners receive. This followed research carried out the Victorian Transport Association that found shippers have been achieving record profits all while transporting less cargo, highlighting the unfair burden being placed on the transport industry who are left footing the bill. And exponentially increasing shipping fees are just one of many issues our industry is grappling with. The rising cost of fuel was a major talking point for both parties at the recent election, with the Morrison government halving the fuel excise in its federal budget, released weeks before Australians went to the polls. But not only was this saving not passed on to the transport industry, we essentially funded it through the removal of the Fuel Tax Credit. Operators were instead offered a paltry fuel saving that works out to around 4.3 cents per litre. Car drivers can get a bigger discount just by hanging on to

their shopping receipt. Throw in increasing prices for labour, maintenance and parts and it’s clear that something has to give. While our industry has limited capacity to pass these costs onto customers, rising prices will eventually make their way down the supply chain to consumers, thereby offsetting the savings the cuts to the fuel excise were intended to create. For some smaller businesses, there’s a real risk that they’ll be unable to turn a profit under such gruelling fiscal conditions and will be forced to close. The impact of that would be far worse than a bigger grocery bill, as these small operators play an integral role in our interconnected supply chains and closures could potentially create a domino effect that would result in massive disruptions and gaps on shelves. The transport industry does not operate in a vacuum. We are the mechanism that gets produce into supermarkets, vaccines into clinics, clothing into retailers, whitegoods into kitchens and so much more. Anything that hurts transport operators

VTA research highlighted the unfair burden being placed on the transport industry who are left footing the bill.

in turn hurts the Australian public. This is something that many still haven’t realised – but they need to before it’s too late. The VTA is advocating for, and engaging with government on, a more equitable solution so that the industry can benefit from the savings that others in the community have experienced and not be forced to increase prices or shut up shop. Unfortunately, these recent

price pressures are just the latest in a long line of challenges for the transport industry which includes driver shortages and issues around safety and licencing. But having worked in transport for a long time, I know just how resilient and innovative our great industry is. Already we are seeing progress, with the Victorian government embracing the VTA’s Driver Delivery Program in order to create a pathway for

skilled young drivers to enter our industry. We’re also seeing manufacturers embrace alternative fuel technologies to move towards a cleaner and more sustainable future – a topic that will be explored at the VTA’s upcoming Alternative Fuel Summit. But these transitions take time. Until then, we need to reduce the cost of fuel for transport operators, the lifeblood that keep this country moving.

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FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

We must fix problems at home first

BY THE BORED NEUROTIC HOUSEWIVES

MANY trucking families have suffered through the good and bad of the heavy vehicle industry. As ‘Bored Neurotic Housewives’ we’ve travelled the high and low roads with our driver, trying hard to keep it all together. Now we have the pundits telling the government and media we have a major driver shortage. If you take a line through the number of job ads, it’s glaringly obviously there are more jobs than drivers. One hypocritical act is calling for changes to visa applications to include professional drivers. Why? Why not fix the problems at home first? We have to. What problems? Easy: renumeration, regulations and the level of enforcement. It’s not about a Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), it’s about a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work for the driver, the small businesses and owner-drivers. It’s about fair and equitable contracts. Like our kids’ squabbles, ev-

eryone still squabbles both sides of the now defunct RSRT. Our opinion is that it was a great business plan for big business with little or no thought to people at the end of the supply chain – drivers, especially owner-drivers. Big business, which have the monopoly with their bums on the seats of boards and advisory groups, have lost focus. Maybe they need a tutor like the kids when they lose focus at school. Any rate increase to the customer is most certainly not filtered down to the owner-driver, small business or driver. Proof of that would be the fuel tax levy. We have been made aware that some bigger businesses are billing their customers but just aren’t passing it on in full, or part, to their subcontractors. It really is telling of who the pundits think will win this game of monopoly. B-triples, multiple cameras, accreditation, apprenticeships, traffic cameras, imported drivers, 90km/h speed limits and more regulations will improve productivity, but without any appropriate remuneration? Appropriate rest areas, ap-

propriate remuneration, appropriate HVNL, appropriate changes to the rules of this game. The drivers are being asked to perform more tricks, be more productive, tow bigger trailers, be more robotic to maximise their allowable driving time, being forced to wait longer because the pick-up or delivery location isn’t ready for them – all for an extra couple of bucks a week? Have you seen the new pay rates awarded by Fair Work? How the hell does a family survive? Why would you bust your arse daily for that level of remuneration? When we look at the wages of a casual adult barista, they make around $27.15 per hour for normal Monday to Friday hours, $29.52 after 10pm or $30.70 between midnight anmd 6am; $54.30/hr on a public holiday. There are many examples of wage hypocrisy and they’re not hard to find. This, in itself, shows the short-sightedness of people like Fair Work. More examples: Tipper drivers, paid by the load, they rush and/or are

FUEL

The incessant waiting for others when having to load/unload puts unnecessary pressure on truckies.

pushed daily to ensure a profit margin or at least pay themselves. The other side of the coin, hourly hire, they have to work as many hours as they can for the award rate just to meet costs and survive. Our driver, with all those luxuries that come with living in a truck and away from their family so much, is lucky to get $35.72/hr IF they are paid by the hour. If they are paid at a kilometre rate, that can go down to as little as a few dollars an hour as the wages normally fails to take into account all the delays, shift work, mandatory

rest breaks, the incessant waiting for others when having to load/unload, potential fines for non-safety related offences, lack of adequate parking facilities for quality sleep/showers/ toilets/decent feeds. Let’s not forget holiday pay, and how many companies pay the basic 38-hour weekly base rate without the loading. No wonder drivers don’t take leave or simply buy their annual leave throughout the year. At the end of the day, when this game of Heavy Vehicle Monopoly is declared, it will only be big business on the game board.

There will no longer be the calibre of drivers we have had in days gone by, and are fortunate enough to still have a small portion of. About the authors: The BNHs are a collective of wives/partners of truck drivers who manage to speak to each other regularly about their partners, industry reports, Facebook posts and life in general: “Twenty years ago they were seen and not heard, now the wives and partners are a part of who the driver is on the road today, supporting each other.”

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Promoting our members in a positive way

COST CUTTER CHET CLINE

AT THE WHEEL DAVID MEREDITH

TRUCKIN’ ON THE BORDER DAVID VILE

JUST when I think we are making progress in the world, people come along and burst my bubble. With so much negativity in the world, I am not sure how

we have managed to survive. Yet, we are surrounded by so much to be positive about. Transport Women Australia Limited has been discussing what members we can nomEDITOR inate forGRAHAM awards, and we are JAMES james.graham@bigrigs.com.au spoiled for choice as we have so many amazing role models in our industry and when you start writing their story, you are humbled by what they have achieved. Transport Women Australia Limited is proud to have nom-

inated these TWAL members for the Women in Industry Awards: True Sawrey – Rising Star of the Year; Annastasia Denigan – Safety Advocacy Award; Sally Tipping – IndusTASSIE TRUCKIN’ try Advocacy JON WALLIS Award; and Francontributors@bigrigs.com.au ces Ross – Excellence in Transport Award. We highlight our members each month in our member spotlight, and we need more members to come forward and share their story. We are always looking for

THE OZ TRUCKER MIKE WILLIAMS

TWU NEWS RICHARD OLSEN

LEGAL EAGLE ROWAN KING

AIR CTI founder/owner

contributors@bigrigs.com.au

WOMEN IN TRANSPORT TRANSPORT WOMEN IN JACQUELENE BROTHERTON JACQUELENE BROTHERTON Chair of Transport WomenWomen Australia Chair of Transport

contributors@bigrigs.com.au

Australia

TWU NSW State Secretary

contributors@bigrigs.com.au

ways to promote our members and our industry in a positive way to encourage others to follow us. TWAL has also been having meetings with its partners to expand its current initiatives and we will be bringing a Learning Initiatives Breakfast your way real soon. TWAL will also be taking its breakfasts to regional areas to bring up to date industry information from our sponsors. These breakfasts have been

Principal Lawyer RK Law

LOBBYIST STEVE SHEARER

SA Road Transport Association Executive Director

Rising Star of the Year nominee True Sawrey.

Industry Advocate Award nominee Sally Tipping.

popular wherever they have been held so far and we want to continue them throughout the remainder of the year. Our website, which I have been promising for so long is finally making real progress. Our YouTube channel is growing as we try to upload more videos, but it is definitely a work in progress. We have been having many discussions about the need for a better licensing regime and the movement seems to be getting some traction at last, with industry bodies and other interested parties joining together to continue the conversation. We have been having TV and radio interviews with the ABC about the driver shortage and the perceived barriers of entry for women into the industry. Women and youth will not solve the driver shortage, so we need to look at other worker streams. We also need to change the way we recruit, offer compromises in shifts, hours, and work really hard to improve the industry image to attract all members of society to take up opportunities within the transport and logistics industry.

WE HIGHLIGHT OUR MEMBERS EACH MONTH IN OUR MEMBER SPOTLIGHT, AND WE NEED MORE MEMBERS TO COME FORWARD AND SHARE THEIR STORY. ”

JACQUELENE BROTHERTON

For all Transport Women Australia Limited enquiries, please contact chair@transportwomen.com.au or phone 0417 422 319. We are about to begin shooting the new season of the Talking Transport Show on Import Export TV. If you would like to be a guest on the show, have your company featured, or become a sponsor – please contact me at jacquelene@importexporttv. com. We will be talking about all things transport, taking the opportunity to show our industry in a positive light, feature our role models and showcase the future technologies in trucks and equipment. If you have a story to tell, please get in touch.

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Speakers impress at QTA women’s breakfast

QTA CEO Gary Mahon, four-time Olympian Tanya Harding, 2021 QTA Trucking Woman of the Year Annastasia Denigan and Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey MP.

A SOLD-OUT crowd gathered on Wednesday July 20 for the Queensland Trucking Association’s 11th annual International Women’s Day (IWD) Breakfast, hearing inspirational stories from a four time Olympian and the QTA Trucking Woman of the Year. Held at Hillstone, St Lucia Golf Links, the QTA says the event is Australia’s longest running IWD breakfast acknowledging women in transport and logistics. Four time Olympian and medallist, Tanya Hard-

ing, who is now leading the emergency response team at Transurban, shared her raw and authentic experiences as an elite athlete and being a mum. She spoke of the tough realisation that being a success in one part of your career can mean you have to work twice as hard to achieve success in the next. Harding is one of only three softballers to have played in every Australian Olympic Team from 1996 to 2008, and she came home with a medal each time.

HSEQ manager at Qube Bulk, Annastasia Denigan, was named 2021 QTA Trucking Woman of the Year.

The sold-out event raised over $5500 for the charity Serving Our People.

Her experience as an elite athlete provided the foundational skills required to exceed in a male dominated industry. While she has had great success in her post-retirement career, the journey wasn’t always been easy but Harding overcame significant challenges to get where she is today. Also taking to the stage was Annastasia Denigan, HSEQ manager at Qube Bulk and 2021 QTA Trucking Woman of the Year. Denigan has received numerous industry awards and acknowledgements during her

The sold-out event raised over $5500 for Serving Our People, a charity established during the Covid pandemic in March 2020 to serve and support those in need – by delivering anything to anyone in need. Representatives from the charity were on hand during the breakfast to receive the much-needed funds. This also provided an opportunity for Serving Our People to connect with transport operators who can support the cause. Also in attendance was Minister for Transport and

career. As a health, safety and compliance specialist, she has faced her fair share of challenges and bias throughout her time in the industry and shared personal anecdotes and learnings about how she has come to where she is today. “Our speakers Annastasia Denigan and Tanya Harding impressed on so many levels with their raw, honest and authentic accounts of their lives and career journeys. So fortunate to have such depth of rich talent in our transport and logistics industry,” said the QTA.

Main Roads, Mark Bailey and Shadow Minister for Transport Main Roads Steve Minnikin. “We are extremely proud to hold this event and attract tremendous support from our sponsors and industry at another sold out event this year,” said QTA CEO Gary Mahon. “The 2022 theme ‘Break the Bias’ can be related to many industry issues from gender diversity, through to the biased views that the public have on who and what job role make up this great industry.”

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HEALTH NEWS 49

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

Delivering better health for remote communities

WHEN Heart of Australia launched its latest mobile clinic, HEART 5, the goal was simple, to deliver better health for rural and remote Australia. Thanks to its world-first battery-powered CT scanner from Philips and the support of I-MED Radiology and Resources Safety and Health

Queensland, HEART 5 has been doing just that. Since its launch five months ago, the mobile respiratory clinic pulled by a DAF XF 530 from PACCAR Australia, has seen over 1000 patients and travelled over 20,000km. The HEART 5 is the fifth

truck in the Heart of Australia fleet. Heart of Australia’s head of operations and business development, Ewan Wylie, believes without HEART 5 coming to these rural outposts, current, former and retired mine and quarry workers may not receive the treatment they need.

The DAF XF 530 used for the newest purpose-built mobile medical clinic is powered by a 530 horsepower Euro 6 PACCAR MX-13 engine.

The HEART 5 is the fifth truck in the Heart of Australia fleet.

“When we come out to these rural towns, the people coming forward for testing typically haven’t had routine medical checks, and often struggle just to get into their GP for a basic check-up, let alone access the scans that we can deliver,” he said. “But, there’s a real camaraderie here with the retired miners, still looking after each other and encouraging each

other to come forward in Collinsville. We want to see that spread across all of our other regions” “HEART 5 means that Australians living in tiny towns of less than a 1000 people suddenly have access to the same type of services that we expect in any of our major metropolitan hospitals.” PACCAR Australia has supported Heart of Aus-

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tralia since its inception in 2014, providing two Kenworth K200 prime movers for HEART 1 and HEART 2; and two DAF XF 530s for HEART 4 and HEART 5. Since 2014, Heart of Australia’s medical specialists have seen more than 12,000 patients and saved over 500 lives. The fleet, including the latest truck, has travelled more than 500,000 kilometres so far.

50 WHAT’S ON

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Save the dates: Upcoming industry events to diary

NOVEMBER Brisbane Convoy For Kids November 5, 2022 Brisbane, Queensland brisbaneconvoyforkids.com. au This truck convoy runs Larapinta to Redcliffe, followed by a fun-filled family day, which will include truck awards, live entertainment and a spectacular fireworks display, all to raise money for a very worthy cause.

The Brisbane Convoy will see trucks travelling from Larapinta to the Redcliffe Showgrounds.

HERE’S a look at some of the trucking events to add to your calendar in the coming months. AUGUST Alternative Fuel Summit 2022 August 23 CMV Truck and Bus, Derrimut vta.com.au/events/alternative-fuel-summit-2022 The VTA, in partnership with Viva Energy Australia and CMV Truck and Bus, will

host the inaugural Alternative Fuels Summit – with a list of key speakers confirmed including Victorian Minister for Energy and Environment Lily D’Ambrosio. Megatrans August 24-26, 2022 Melbourne Exhibition Centre megatrans.com.au MEGATRANS is an integrated trade exhibition and conference showcasing the full freight and logistics supply

chain, spanning warehousing and logistics, through to multimodal freight and final mile delivery. SEPTEMBER LRTA Industry Day September 3, 2022 Perth, WA lrtawa.org.au/conference The Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA (Inc)’s annual conference will be held at Burswood on Swan, bringing those from the industry together. Australian Freight Industry Awards September 3, 2022 Palladium at Crown, Melbourne vta.com.au/all-events The Australian Freight Industry Awards recognise fantastic achievements across a range of categories and sectors. The awards will be presented during a special gala event featuring live entertainment.

The Lights on the Hill Memorial Convoy will snake its way through Toowoomba and Brisbane to converge on the Gatton Showgrounds in memory of drivers who have passed away. Photos: Facebook

SARTA Conference and dinner September 3, 2022

The Illawarra Convoy promises to be a fun-filled day, while raising money for a worthy cause.

Adelaide Convention Centre, SA sartaevents.com/2022-conference-and-dinner This one-day conference and dinner will cover various current industry issues including high productivity heavy vehicle access, fuel tax credits, equipment and component availability, AdBlue, driver training, safety technology misuse by enforcement agencies, and more. OCTOBER Lights on the Hill Convoy October 1-2, 2022 Gatton, Queensland lightsonthehill.com.au The annual memorial convoy offers drivers and their families an opportunity to get together with other truckies while celebrating the contribution truckies make to the country. The convoy will take place on the Saturday and the memorial service will be held on the Sunday at the Lake Apex Memorial wall.

Matty Hillcoat’s Truckies’ Day Out October 8, 2022 Gympie Showgrounds facebook.com/mattyhillcoatstruckiesdayout This fun day out for truckies and their families helps to raise money for River’s Gift and SIDS research. QTA Road Freight Industry Awards October 8, 2022 Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane qta.com.au/events/qta-roadfreight-industry-awardsbrisbane The Queensland Trucking Association’s annual awards aim to celebrate those in the state’s road freight industry who have displayed excellence, dedication and commitment to their roles. This year’s event will feature guest speaker Dr Craig Challen OAM, the Australian cave diver who was instrumental in saving a soccer team of 12 boys and their coach in the 2018 Thai Cave Rescue.

Convoy For Kids Goulburn November 19 Goulburn, NSW convoyforkidsgoulburn. com.au Convoy for Kids Goulburn provides support for local children with cancer, terminal illness and permanent disabilities, by providing financial assistance to the families of such children with special needs. For the first time in two years, the Convoy Carnival Day will be run in its entirety, with a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest parade of trucks, entertainment and plenty of kids activities. Illawarra Convoy November 20, 2022 Illawarra, NSW illawarraconvoy.com.au Touted as the largest truck and motorbike convoy in the Southern Hemisphere, the Illawarra Convoy raises funds for individuals and families affected by potentially life threatening medical conditions, together with charities that work with these people, and local hospitals. Have you got an event you’d like included in the next Save the Date? Email all the details to editor@bigrigs.com.au.

FEATURE 51

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

Contractor shares concrete evidence for Actros switch

Daniel Venditti and his new Actros 2663.

VETERAN Vic Mix contractor Daniel Venditti has upgraded to a new Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663 after a stellar run with a 2658 model. The Victorian owner-operator had always driven American-style bonneted trucks before two contacts at Mercedes-Benz Trucks convinced him to give the Actros a go. It was a decision he did not regret and when it came to replace the first Actros, Venditti picked out the range-topping

2663 model to haul sand and stone. One of the biggest benefits that Venditti found from switching from a traditional conventional truck to an Actros was the fuel saving, with driver comfort coming in a close second. “The fuel numbers came as a real surprise,” Venditti said. “I saved so much money compared to my other trucks and it just kept adding up.” The new Actros, which

boasts the more powerful 630hp version of the 16-litre OM473 Euro 6 engine, is also easy on the fuel. “Running at 63-tonne on a run up to Bairnsdale, it will do 2.4km per litre, which is really great,” Venditti said. “Even around town, it is getting 2.0km per litre which is way better than anything else I’ve driven.” When Venditti first switched to the Actros, he was surprised by how much

The Actros turns plenty of heads with its distinctive colour scheme in support of breast cancer awareness.

more comfortable it was than the American-style bonneted truck with a non-synchro manual transmission he had been driving. “I used to get home after a long day really tired driving the other trucks, but it was so

much less tiring in the Actros,” Venditti said. “There was a big difference and I would never go back.” The smooth fully automated 12-speed AMT, which features a clever crawler mode, impressed Venditti. “I was sick of driving a manual, especially when you are doing a lot of stop-start and the AMT is so good that I’m happy to let it do its thing,” he said. Venditti is also pleased with the additional performance that came with stepping up to the most powerful engine in the Mercedes-Benz Truck stable, which delivers a hefty 3000Nm of torque. “You can certainly feel the difference with the 630hp over the 580. It’s noticeable when you are hauling up out of the tunnels in Melbourne and it gets up there really nicely with 630hp,” he said. Vic Mix, which now sports several Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks in its own fleet, runs a distinctive pink paint scheme that not only stands out but also raises awareness for Breast Cancer Australia, an organisation the company supports. Venditti, who sourced his Actros through Mitchell Hynd at Whitehorse Truck Centre,

made it even more eye-catching with a black bulbar with integrated LEDs, black tanks and polished chrome wheels all around. To cap it all off, he engaged the services of sign-writer Grant Fowler from Trafalgar to work his magic with some old school scrollwork done with an actual paintbrush instead of cut vinyl. The 2663’s tipper body and trailer were built by BTE, which has impressed Venditti with its quality and durability in the past Like all Actros trucks, the 2663 features two large high-resolution tablet screens that are normally only seen in luxury cars. “I was surprised to see the screens in a truck. You normally expect to see this kind of thing in luxury cars like Mercedes-Benz AMGs,” said Venditti. The Actros features standard safety systems include the fifth generation radar/camera Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS), which can now automatically perform full emergency braking for vehicles and pedestrians, as well as Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) and Attention Assist (AA).

Venditti has been rapt with the Actros fuel savings and comfort levels.

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COLUMNS 87

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Sad day for all in transport 52 PUZZLES

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 3

8 9 10 11 12

Fill the grid so every column, every row and 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

SUDOKU

THIS article is the ending of an 13era for the 14 transport15industry with the demise of this magazine under the restruc19 ture and rationalisation of News Corp. It is a sad day for all of us in the industry as Big Rigs maga22 zine has been a part of our lives for almost 30 years. For some, their entire careers so far. 24 It will leave huge gap as the editors and staff have supported the industry, provided fair and rational debate and given everyone a fair say in industry doings to all, as well as stories, pictures and news of our peoEASY ple, our trucks and our unsung heroes. Our lives will be the poorer for its demise; being a columnist for Big Rigs for the past year and half has allowed me to fulfil yet another childhood dream, to write, and it has given me great pleasure and I hope it has at least been enjoyed by some. While so many are focused on the negatives of the industry, I have tried to focus on the

positives aspects or those issues about which I am most passionate and have a chance of making a contribution to change. I began writing column when I was returned as Transport Women Australia Limited chair in November 2017. In the interim, TWAL has had many16 successes and 17 18 achievements. It has 20 expanded the relationship with Girl Guides Australia 21 and been involved with several successful projects with them, the Victorian Snoozefest in April 2018, the “Great Bag Migration” for the Interna23 tional Jamboree in Sydney in October 2018 and other interactions that are expanding the knowledge of the transport industry.25 We launched the Women Driving Transport Careers initiative with our partners Wodonga TAFE and Volvo Group at the 2018 TWAL Creating Connections conference. This initiative has been in hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic but all partners are excited to move forward to expand the program as soon as possible. We held a well attended and exciting conference in May 2018 and we have plans in place with the date saved and venue booked for our Driving the Difference 2021 conference

any yarn (7) 14 What is an array of many bright colours (7) 15 To slide unsteadily along a surface, is to do what (7) 17 What do we call a disciple sent forth to preach the gospel (7) 18 Name a renowned English novelist, Rudyard ... (7) 20 Name the capital of Greece (6)

Down 2 Name a brilliantly coloured parrot (7) 3 What is a knightly or heroic champion (7) 4 To embrace in affection, is to do what (6) 5 Name an English orchestral conductor, Sir Thomas ... (7) 6 When one separates into parts, one does what (7) 7 What are female donkeys (7) 13 Name a fabric woven with an elaborate design from

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Across: 1 Tropic, 8 Appetite, 9 Ostler, 10 Election, 11 Glades, 12 Suva, 13 Barns, 16 Masks, 19 Lira, 21 Troops, 22 Cenotaph, 23 Entail, 24 Diocesan, 25 Sledge.

1 What is either of two corresponding parallels of latitude on the terrestrial globe (6) 8 What is a desire for food or drink (8) 9 Who takes care of the horses at an inn (6) 10 Name another term for a poll (8) 11 What are open spaces in forests (6) 12 Name the capital of Fiji (4) 13 What are buildings for storing hay, grain, etc (5) 16 What are coverings for faces (5) 19 Name the former monetary unit of Italy (4) 21 What are groups of Scouts called (6) 22 What is a national memorial to those killed in war (8) 23 To impose as a burden, is to do what (6) 24 Which term implies a relationship to a bishop’s territory (8) 25 Which vehicle is used for conveying loads over snow (6)

Down: 2 Rosella, 3 Paladin, 4 Caress, 5 Beecham, 6 Divides, 7 Jennies, 13 Brocade, 14 Rainbow, 15 Slither, 17 Apostle, 18 Kipling, 20 Athens.

Across

CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS: Jacquelene Brotherton (far right) enjoys a night of celebration at a Transport Women Limited event with (from left) Rachel Hesse, Paul Fleiszig and Coralie Chapman. Picture: Contributed

in Melbourne. 1 2 3 In November 2019 we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the organisation (TWAL) with 7 gala dinner at The a fabulous Windsor Melbourne where we also presented our first four winners of 9 the Driving the Difference scholarships with our amazing sponsor, Daimler Truck and Bus Asia Pacific. 13 We also presented the inaugural Trish Pickering Mem-

be announced later orial Award, sponsored by the 4 will 5 6 this year at an event still to be dewonderful Wes Pickering. This was awarded for long- termined. We have also launched our term outstanding contribution 8 trans- Learning Initiatives Breakfast by a female to the road port industry, the inaugural Series with several partners so winner was Pam McMillan the far, including NTI, MOVE longest 10 serving 11 director and12 BANK and rt health. In early 2020 the Creating chair of Transport Women Connections Mentoring proAustralia Limited. This is an annual award and gram was finally ready to com14 the recipient of the 2020 Trish mence with both mentors and Pickering Memorial Award mentees signing up to the pro-

Across

gram. 1 Muslims’ pilgrim I would like to thank the destination fantastic team at Big Rigs 4 Festivity newspaper for their incredible 7 Tool support and wish them on8 success. Sweet potato going 9 I hope Drink that I get the opportunity to continue to work with 12 Silent some 13 of Liftthem and so work towards makingletter the trucking in15 Greek dustry a better appreciated, 16 Great gladness and a safer place for our peo18 Strange ple.

19 Tree 21 Delighted 24 Part of the foot 26 Raised platform 27 Extinct bird 28 Enemy reminder to all Big 29A final Repose Rigs now is the time to 30 readers: Use money

Fighting to end the inequality: Big Rigs19 and TWU played their parts 20 18 HARD

F E A M M U E J M A S T A F P E

O R E G O N

D E E D

T E L T E G Y

HARD

M E C C A A X E Y C I D E R E L E V A T E E T A E L O D D T P L E S H E E L M O A E R E S T S

EASY

policy that should be keeping safe one of the most dangerous industries in Australia. To quote one truck driver turned Australian senator, Glenn Sterle, 24 “a death at work 25 or on the road should not be the price of doing business”. The TWU puts it to govern27 ments that we must stop the inequality that exists between truck drivers and clients. 29must be paid proper Drivers rates, owner-drivers must be able to trust they will be paid properly for the work they do and on time. Families depend on this. Many of the ongoing problems that occur are down to the big clients squeezing our

21 26

30 industry as dry as they can. They want operators to meet their unrealistic deadlines and take on more freight for less or they face the risk of

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losing their contracts and the ability to support their 22 23 families. It appears the government does not care. There are unsafe vehicles, dodgy licences, poor payment times, wage and superannuation28 theft – just a few of the many things we have called for to be stopped. A reminder to governments and the transport industry clients: the industry that has kept Australia moving during the pandemic is facing an uphill battle. Employer groups should be standing alongside transport workers to unite for a safer and fairer industry.

QUICK CROSSWORD Across: 1 Mecca, 4 Fete, 7 Axe, 8 Yam, 9 Cider, 12 Mute, 13 Elevate, 15 Eta, 16 Joy, 18 Odd, 19 Elm, 21 Pleased, 24 Heel, 26 Stage, 27 Moa, 28 Foe, 29 Rest, 30 Spend. Down: 1 Mace, 2 Exiled, 3 Cede, 4 Fame, 5 Emu, 6 Elegy, 10 Eve, 11 Ratel, 14 Tales, 17 Oregon, 18 Other, 20 Mat, 21 Plot, 22 Safe, 23 Deed, 25 Ems.

THIS is the end of an era, the last TWU column in the trusted transport industry publication Big Rigs. Over the years the TWU and Big Rigs have played their parts in the role of keeping the top end of town accountable and doing our bit to look out for the rights of the little guy. It’s still about the voice that speaks out for the truck driver,

the owner and the employee. It’s been the voice that calls out for fair pay for the work you do, for safety in the drivers’ cab and on the road, the voice that seeks to relieve the pressure on the driver pushed by clients’ incessant cries for increased productivity for the same rates and conditions. It is obvious we still have a long way to go – we have been through countless road, freight and transport ministers and nothing changes. Truck drivers are still dying at work. It’s a pretty safe bet to say this is due to the lack of strong government policy in place,

unite, now is the time to ensure equality in this industry. Down Together we can stand on 1 Symbol of office common ground working to 2 Banished ensure the government contin3 to Yield ues support transport work4 and Reputation ers the industry they 5 Flightless bird support. TWU will 6 TheFuneral songcontinue to voice the before needs of transport 10 Day workers to the carnivore employers, 11 Badger-like their industry bodies and the 14 Stories clients. 17 American State Better standards mean job 18 Second of two a safer security and ultimately 20 Floorcovering and fairer industry for all. 21WeScheme can lift the standards we 22 together Secure – our lives deneed 23 on Exploit pend it.

25 Printers’ measures

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CAREERS AND TRAINING 53

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022

Bapcor Graduate Program launches industry careers

BAPCOR Limited has established a graduate vocational program that has introduced 10 young people to a professional career in the automotive aftermarket industry. Bapcor is Asia Pacific’s largest automotive aftermarket specialised company, which owns various automotive aftermarket trade and retail brands. The two-year Bapcor Graduate Program aims to attract, support and develop new talent across all of its business divisions. Each of the 10 candidates receives hands-on experience across four business division rotations, providing broad company exposure and experience. This also seeks to build on their university training with real-life industry experience, coupled with senior management guidance and support. University graduates who are selected to join Bapcor have come from a variety of degree specialisations including design, finance, engineering, digital media, human resources and psychology, bringing a diverse level of skill sets to each of their Bapcor business division placements. The Bapcor 2022 Graduate

Program cohort of ten candidates is made up of six female and four male graduates. Bapcor talent and capability manager, Glenn McDermott, is responsible for the successful introduction and actioning of this inaugural Bapcor Graduate Program. He says it’s generated a strong level of interest from national university graduates. “The Bapcor Graduate Program is an opportunity for us to give back to the Australian automotive aftermarket industry, while also building our company’s skills and talent pool,” said McDermott. “This program also provides long-term career opportunities for talented and driven young people with a company that has outstanding career ascension opportunities given our size and constant business growth. “We are very fluid and adaptive in our approach to our graduate program, ensuring that our candidates are working within their fields of business interest, which has proven to be very successful.” According to the graduates, the program has been exceeding expectations, even for those who weren’t aware of the au-

2022 Bapcor Graduate Program participants with Bapcor chief executive officer Noel Meehan (right).

tomotive aftermarket industry as a potential long term career path. “My first design job placement was with a tyre dealer, so I was aware of the industry more from a performance accessories perspective as opposed to general automotive parts. The thing about this program is that you are not just doing a job, you are experiencing per-

sonal and professional growth,” explained Cindy. “This is my first professional job and I am learning more about myself as well as developing my skills as it progresses. The program structure has made the transition from university to fulltime work relatively easy because we are supported by so many peers.” In Will’s experience with the

program, he said, “I worked at an Opposite Lock store, so I was able to go from the retail side of the Bapcor business while pursuing my university degree, to now find myself working with the people who run the company. This enables me to bring my automotive aftermarket shop floor experience and university training to Bapcor managerial

and support roles.” While James added, “The scale of the Bapcor business just floored me, I started my rotations with Burson Auto Parts in Purchasing and the volume of parts we were buying was just extraordinary. Even after half a year I am still in awe of the size and efficiency of the business. Now when friends ask about the company I work with, I list the companies that make up Bapcor and this always surprises them.” McDermott explained that the relatively small number of people in the program compared to the size of the company ensures Bapcor can provide a strong level of personal and emotional support that graduates may need along the journey “This links in strongly with the core Bapcor Value of ‘We give a Damn…’ which of course includes caring for our people. We aspire to ensure that each graduate feels valued and supported in each of their roles,” he said. The Bapcor Graduate Program is currently recruiting new graduates to join its graduate program in February 2023. To find out more, please visit bapcor.com.au/graduates.

Fuel Driver Opportunities NATIONALLY The Role Toll Group have full time permanent opportunities for experienced MC/ HC drivers and new drivers wanting to expand their career path for our Fuels Business operating nationally.

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If you are interested in any of these roles, please contact John Markham via email at john.markham @tollgroup.com or phone 0402 965 715 to discuss further.

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Toll embraces and celebrates a variety of cultures. We continue to build a business that reflects the values of equality, built on the knowledge and understanding that everyone is welcome including the First Nations Peoples, and those of all ages, genders, and abilities. Women are actively encouraged to apply. All applicants must be entitled to work in Australia and be prepared to undergo a criminal history check, pre-employment medical and/ or drug & alcohol testing as required.

54 SPONSORED CONTENT

FRIDAY AUGUST 05 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

What it’s like working as a trainer at Armstrongs

THEY say a change is as good as a holiday, right? Have you recently considered changing careers? Long hours on the road, often in isolation, has some truck and heavy vehicle drivers considering how a career change might have a positive impact on their wellbeing. Two people who have made the move from a career in heavy vehicle driving to training drivers are Liz and Tom, who are both valued members of Armstrongs Driver Education’s team of trainers. After 27 years driving buses, Liz decided to look for something a bit more fulfilling. After seeing an ad for Armstrongs, she made enquiries and after a series of interviews, successfully landed a role in training with the business. “I had never driven a truck before, just buses. Armstrongs provided me with a lot of great training from a really good trainer,” Liz said, adding that the career move was a good one. “The support you get from management at Armstrongs is incredible. They’ve built my confidence up so much. They’re really supportive and there are no silly questions

Truck and bus driver trainer Liz.

Truck driver trainer Tom.

in their eyes – I just love it!” Liz has been with Armstrongs for 10 months and loves the new challenges and people that each day brings. “I like meeting new people every day and also learning every day. Some learners have different personalities, and if there are signs a learner needs a bit more

support, I like working out, how can I get this across for them?” she said. Tom had been in the transport industry, driving trucks, for over 12 years. After starting to feel like the long hours on the road and time spent in traffic were wearing on him, he contemplated changing ca-

reers. “I was looking for a career change, but was a little scared to really deviate too much. I came across a training role at Armstrongs, and thought that would be a great opportunity to not only try something new, but also to use my current skills and knowledge,” he said. Having been with Arm-

strongs for 12 months now, training mostly at the Truganina site, Tom said he finds the job really rewarding. “I really enjoy meeting new people every day and helping them. It can be quite daunting for anyone who’s new to truck driving but I enjoy making people feel comfortable and relaxed, and

then they actually enjoy driving by the end of the day,” Tom said. Tom also loves the crew of trainers and the entire team at Armstrongs and enjoys being able to have a laugh and a bit of banter with his co-workers, which makes being at work really fun. Armstrongs Driver Training is currently recruiting truck driver trainers with a great attitude and the right personality. No previous experience in training is required, as Armstrongs puts its new trainer recruits through a thorough onthe-job training program. They’re looking for drivers with at least 12 months heavy vehicle driving experience and a valid heavy vehicle license. The Armstrongs team is looking for driver trainers to join their Thomastown and Truganina sites, which are both located in Victoria. If you think you have what it takes to become a valued member of the Armstrongs team and want to work with an organisation that prides itself on developing people, head to the careers page on armdrive. com.au.

DRIVING AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE 2.0 Looking for a Rewarding Career Change? Armstrongs Driver Education has been producing safe, confident heavy vehicle drivers for over 50 years.

Show case edition

We are currently recruiting trainers and assessors with the right attitude, a valid heavy vehicle license, and over 12 months' driving experience to join our team! Full-time training positions available Competitive salary and better work-life balance Training and professional development provided Recruiting in Thomastown and Truganina, Victoria

SPONSORSHIP, EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES

➡ For more information, and to apply, visit the

Careers page at www.armdrive.com.au

PETER HOCKINGS 0410 334 371 peter.hockings@bigrigs.com.au A National Initiative for the Next Generation

16 September 2022

WE WANT YOU!

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DELIVERY DRIVERS

WANTED!

Cameron Logistics wants experienced, reliable and enthusiastic DELIVERY DRIVERS for our growing Air Liquide contract. Providing an essential service, with multiple locations across VIC/NSW, we offer secure, long-term employment opportunities, SIGN-ON & REFERRAL BONUSES base rate + allowances OT Super

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Requirements include a valid HR or HC licence, police check and pre-employment medical.

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%TTVSTVMEXI PMGIRGI I\TIVMIRGI 17-' SV [MPPMRKRIWW XS KEMR 17-' GEVH A desire to uphold the Arrow company mantra of ‘Service Matters’

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL OR TEXT

Don’t miss out – email Cameron Logistics at careers@camerons.com.au or call George on 0455 827 014

0432 232 891

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Easter Group Pty Ltd 73 Formation St, Wacol Easter Group, located in Wacol, provides time sensitive road transporting solutions to many companies throughout Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. . We are a family owned business, operating since 1976. We currently have the following positions available:

OPERATIONS ALLOCATORS (Brisbane based only)

You will be required to work on a rotating roster including Days-Nights-Weekends Previous Operations experience preferred.

MC LOCAL, LINEHAUL & 2-UP DRIVERS WANTED

(Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Based) Come and work for us as we are committed to: • Training and further education • Your safety • Maintaining an impressive Fleet On offer are permanent full time and roster positions including paid leave entitlements and public holidays. Drivers will need to be available to be scheduled for work falling across the 7 days of the week. The successful Applicant will: • Hold a current MC licence (minimum two years) • Have knowledge of the HVNL and Load Restraint • Be professional • Be reliable

SEEKING SUB-CONTRACTOR / TOW OPERATORS

Qube Logistics Qld is currently seeking experienced local sub-contractor/tow operators for our Toowoomba and Brisbane Depots. Majority of work on offer is FCL’s, & Palletised freight single/ double and road train combinations, operators to be licenced accordingly, ongoing work with attractive rates paid weekly. You will need:  Maintained prime mover  Insurances - Comprehensive Motor Vehicle, Public Liability (min $20m), Trailers in Control/Carriers liability, QLD Workers Compensation  Sub-contractors will be subject to Qube’s COR audit, Rapid safety assessment, accepting Qube T&C’s, Pre-employment & random drug testing  Truck-safe/NHVAS accredited operators preferred

To apply for the Operations/Driver positions please contact Operations Manager or by emailing your resume to

WORKSHOP MECHANICS & TYRE FITTERS WANTED (Brisbane based only)

To apply for Mechanic positions please forward your resume to Workshop Manager via email to employment@kseaster.com.au

Further information and to apply for Toowoomba please contact Adam Ross – 0435 901943 – Adam.Ross@qube.com.au Further information and to apply for Brisbane please contact Darren Fuller – 0431 000621 – Darren.Fuller@qube.com.au

MERITOR® ALUMINIUM WHEELS

RUN WITH RELIABILITY ALUMINIUM WHEELS

(FROM 20.7KG)

Introducing the all-new Meritor Aluminium wheel range. Tested and proven to meet exacting Meritor standards, this durable lightweight range of alloy wheels build on our commitment to keep our customers moving. Run with the Bull.

UNLIMITED KM

•

M E RI TO R

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A LI

APPRO

SAE

COMPLIANT

Aluminium Wheel Advantages Rigorously tested to exceed SAE J267 standards for proven reliability Additional passivation layers for extra protection against tarnish and corroision Cold flow formed after forging process for greater strength and lightweight designs Available in standard machined finish or high quality mirror polish Suits common truck and trailer applications Learn more at meritorpartsonline.com.au

Big Rigs 5 August 2022

Articles inside

to 8 hours usage time depending on truck batteries