THE freight train derailment at Inverleigh will further dis rupt road and rail freight supply chains that are already facing challenges from recent flooding in Victoria, says the Victorian Transport Association (VTA).
The VTA said the derail ment earlier this month, re portedly caused by the tracks buckling as water has continu ously seeped underneath them, underscores association calls for urgent federal and state funding and a plan to tackle the massive job of repairing and reinstating road and rail freight networks.
“We need our political lead ers out there committing re sources to fix the damage that’s been done as soon as possible, in what are clearly unprece dented rain and weather events and outside the ordinary main tenance of our transportation networks,” said VTA CEO Pe ter Anderson.
“As a result of the Mel bourne-Adelaide rail corridor closure for the wreckage to be cleared and the damage assessed and repaired, we would ex pect an increase in road freight transport between Melbourne and Adelaide.
As floodwaters slowly re cede in regional Victoria after the devastation of record rain fall in south-east Australia last month, the VTA says damage to the state’s road and rail trans
portation network is becoming clearer.
Hundreds of kilometres of roads have been impacted, with damage ranging from small, medium and large potholes, through to entire swathes of roadway being lifted up and lit erally washed away.
The VTA says up to $1 billion may be needed to re instate damaged road and rail networks and is urging all sides of federal and state politics to come together with a plan and additional funding for the work that lies ahead.
Anderson said the extraor dinary repair bill needed to be addressed by state and federal governments because, whilst it is mainly state road infrastruc ture that has been damaged, the impact will be felt nationally.
“We are already seeing ev idence of how national supply chains have been compromised with farmers struggling to get their goods out of regional Victoria to the ports and on to interstate and international markets,” he said.
“The flow-on effect will be felt leading up to Christmas in the form of higher consumer prices and a shortage of sup ply.”
Anderson said setting aside the impact on supply chains, there is a real likelihood of per sonal injury and lives lost be
cause of the inevitable spike in accidents damaged roads will be a factor in.
“Our road authorities are doing a magnificent job quaran tining motorists from damaged roads, but the size and scale of this event means accidents will unfortunately happen.
“The risk of this is felt most by the road freight industry that is acutely aware of its obli gation to its customers and the Australian community to keep
our supply chains moving as safely as they can.
“This underscores the ur gency of the task ahead, which is why we’re advocating for rap id evaluation, development of a repair strategy and the qual ifying of cost with the support that a plan will be acted upon to make our regional roads safe and operable as soon as possi ble.”
VicRoads says that since the beginning of the flood emer
gency, more than 500 roads have been closed, with more than 150 already reopened.
As part of a $351 million Victorian State Government package to help support com munities impacted by the floods, $165 million has been allocated to an emergency road repair blitz.
• Turn to page 41 for more from VTA CEO Peter An derson on the urgent need to fix regional roads in Victoria.
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A SELF-DRIVING truck has begun night-time trials on Melbourne’s CityLink, marking the first time a truck of this kind has been tested on public Australian roads.
Transurban, which owns the CityLink toll road, says trials will help it to better understand how roads and road technology can be fu ture-proofed to prepare for these sorts of vehicles sharing the road in the future.
Trials with driver assis tance have already been con
ducted, however this time the automated truck will be driving itself, although a specially trained safety driver will be on board at all times.
According to Transurban, the road chosen for this trial, CityLink, is one of the most technologically sophisticated roads in the world, with em bedded technology includ ing more than 600 CCTV cameras, automatic incident detection systems and smart sensors to monitor for traffic incidents such as debris and stopped vehicles.
Victorian Transport As sociation CEO Peter Ander son told Big Rigs that he was fortunate to experience this automated heavy vehicle at a recent trial at Angelsea and said the technology is “simply amazing”.
“Demand for cargo is booming and the freight sec tor is at the centre of it. We need to look at all opportu nities, including automated technologies, to make sure our sector can thrive while the demand keeps rising,” said Anderson.
“This trial will help us un derstand how roads, on-road
technology and our drivers can be future-proofed to help keep freight and motorists moving in smart, safe and ef ficient ways.
“While it will take years – maybe decades – for auto mation in road transport to become more pervasive, it is happening, and operators should start to plan for it now, as Transurban has.”
The vehicle will travel on a 27.5km route in a dedicated lane from Todd Road on the West Gate Freeway, through both the Burnley and Do
main tunnels and onto the CityLink/Monash Freeway, finishing at Warrigal Road. The self-driving truck will then turn around and return along the same route, with the trials expected to con clude in mid-December.
Truckie Luke McCrone, however, the secretary of Victorian Tippers United (VTU), is less than impressed with the lack of consultation with industry about the trial.
McCrone told Big Rigs he’ll be making this a big issue with state government
should his current campaign to be elected as state secre tary of the Victorian/Tasma nian branch of the Transport Workers Union be successful.
“It’s a big problem for the industry and needs to be dealt with,” said McCrone.
“It has the potential to put hundreds of thousands of Australians out of work, and it’s no good waiting until it’s happened.
“Everyone says that’s 10 years away, and maybe it is, but things move very quickly. It wasn’t that long ago when I
had a phone that didn’t have a camera on it.”
McCrone says the con versations need to start now with drivers about different training, and whether truck ies want these on the road at all.
“People need jobs more than we need trucks without drivers,” he said.
McCrone says the issue of financing trucks also needs to be discussed with this tech nology now on the horizon.
“For small fleet operators and owner-operators who have invested their liveli hoods in this business, what do we do to make sure those investments aren’t worthless straight away?
“Guarantee a rebate or buy-back on the truck, that needs to be part of the con versation as well.”
McCrone says he’s also concerned about the safety of his colleagues who will be on the road at the same time as the driverless truck.
“If the technology isn’t safe to have automated trains, trams or planes, why is it safe to have automated trucks?”
THE truckie who unwittingly found himself at the centre of a social media firestorm after being filmed at a Moree rest area with three rear tyres miss ing has been cleared of any wrongdoing by his employer.
Ron Finemore Transport (RFT) managing director Mark Parry told Big Rigs that the company has conducted a thorough investigation of the November 5 incident and is more than happy to have the driver stay on.
According to their findings, Parry says the centre tyre on the B trailer has “failed” at some stage, more than likely as a re sult of severe potholing in one part of the Newell Highway near Moree.
“Which in the dark, you’d have no hope of seeing,” said Parry.
“The driver probably didn’t know he had a flat and then a period later he’s gone over some rough ground again and one of the tyres has gone, the front one we think, and then finally the third one has failed.”
Parry believes all three events have happened over a 20km
distance, from the evidence the company has gathered from the scene, with the second tyre blowing 10km after the first and third one 5km from the rest area.
“The driver has made the de cision to continue on to Moree to a safe place to park. He had no right decision to make at that time.
“If he pulled into hard shoul der and got bogged we would have had a different set of vid eos. If he’d tipped his trailer we would have had a different set of videos, or if he’d stopped on a dark road at 2-3am in the morning and someone has run up the back of him, it would be a different issue again.
“In hindsight we could all say you might want to do something different, but he’s made all the decisions he has for reasons he thought were right at the time.”
Parry notes that RFT has been putting out lots of memos to its drivers to be aware of wa ter, and road damage, and ask ing them to keep clear of hard shoulders for that very reason.
He also said that well before the driver had a phone camera pointed at him later that same day, the truckie had made the RFT operations team aware that he’d had three failed tyres.
“He was then asked to go and have a rest for seven hours because it was going to take a
while for a crew to get there.
“As the video is taken it looks like he’s just got out of his truck in his normal gear without his uniform and didn’t know about it.
“That was after he’d had a sleep and woke up. You’d like to think that people would help each other.
“I think if I’d got out of a vehicle and someone was film ing me, they would have got a few more harsher words said at them.
“I also think as an individ ual he was a bit embarrassed as well, and we all would be.”
Parry said that once RFT had established that the driver and other road users were okay,
and the equipment had been recovered, the next step was to work through the investigation, which also involved co-operat ing with police and the Nation al Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
“The trailer was within its maintenance period in terms of its periodic maintenance, and those tyres were changed at the end of September, so it wasn’t a tyre wear issue.
“And there’s very little, if any damage to the road be cause we’re running on alu minium rims, the weather wasn’t hot, and you could barely see a scratch surface on the road.”
Parry said the driver has been employed with RFT, a company that prides itself on its safety standards, since June after going through a thor ough assessment.
“He went through a week’s induction, he went through buddy runs. We will now re-induct him as a matter of course and focus on the things that we think he might do bet ter in the future, and again, I’m not blaming him because it was no right decision.
“We will make sure that we spend time with him with a gentleman called Brian With ers, I think is probably one of the foremost recovery and maintenance people in Austra lia just to take him through the things that he might see and hear when he’s driving a truck.
“And you know, he’s been open and honest in the in vestigation. He’s been willing to work with us. During the investigation, or any investi gation, our people are stood
down with pay, pending the outcome of that investigation and then we determine the appropriate course of action based on what happened, how it happened. Their level of honesty and their willingness to continue to work with us.
“So, this gentleman, as I said he’s embarrassed, he’s made de cisions that he’s made for what he believed were the right rea sons. And I can’t fault those. There’s no equipment issues that we can see. And we’ll train him, induct him, make sure we can get back on the road safely, and we go from there.”
Parry believes the real story is the poor state of the roads at the moment, exacerbated by the never-ending flooding rav aging the eastern seaboard and regional Victoria.
“It’s going to take many, many months before the road surfaces can be returned to anything anywhere near nor mal, and in the dark, in par
ticular, I would defy anyone to pick up some of the damage in the road.
“We do ask people to drive slower, drive to the conditions, and then you get unfortunate ly, a lot of racist, vitriolic at tacks that to me are unfound ed, unreasonable and unfair.
“Some of the stuff they’ve been sending in is disgusting. They do it anonymously and we’ve got female staff here reading it. I had an Indian lady in one of our management groups and she went home last week in tears. She just couldn’t take it anymore.
“It’s a sad reflection on cer tain groups and certain people that they’re racist, and/or, they don’t recall that at one time they were younger and less ex perienced, and they also made mistakes.
“I’d like to think that we live in a world in which rath er than we all pile on, that we’d help each other.”
VETERAN interstate truck ie Simon Thomson is ada mant that the Moree TikTok clip wouldn’t have gathered as much steam online if the driver involved had been a white Australian.
Thomson, 50, is con cerned by the amount of racism he sees in the indus try and is speaking out in the hope of fostering more tolerance and acceptance of foreign drivers.
“Those Indian fellows are just like me, they work hard, and I’ve seen it, and there are a lot of good operators,” said Thomson, who has more than 24 years’ experience be hind the wheel.
“I’ve been in this game a long time and seen just as many Aussie guys f##k up as Indians.”
Thomson says he felt compelled to come forward after watching the video clip.
“That poor fellow got backed into a corner and that’s why he was doing the finger to them. He couldn’t do anything else. If it was me, I would have punched on.
“There’s got to be some kind of support for these In dian drivers.”
Thomson said one of the biggest blights on the indus try are the private Facebook groups which target Indian truckies.
Big Rigs approached one administrator for comment but was told: “Thank you for
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reaching out, but no thanks.”
Thomson has tried to have one of the groups shut down due to what he says are the derogatory nature of its posts which routinely appor tion accident blame on In dian drivers under the guise of highlighting road safety issues, but has been ignored by Facebook.
“These sites need to be closed. They’re racist, it dam ages drivers and it will dam age transport companies,” said Thomson.
Two transport bosses Big Rigs spoke to say they’d also tried to have the groups closed amid increasing fears for their staff’s safety while doing their jobs.
In October 2020, the Australian Trucking Associa tion (ATA) and the Nation al Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) released a joint statement calling on the trucking community to call out racism whenever it hap pens and celebrate the diver sity of the industry.
The ATA and the NHVR made the call following re ports of targeted attacks on multicultural truck drivers and racist comments on trucking social media pages.
ATA Chair David Smith said freight workers from diverse backgrounds had al ways made a massive contri bution to Australia.
“The cameleers of the 1800s, the workers on the Snowy after the war and
the drivers from all over the world delivering food and essential medicine during this pandemic: they all de serve our respect, and all of today’s drivers deserve a fair go,” Smith said. “The ATA is aware that some multicultur al drivers are being harassed, in particular those of Indian descent. Racists on social media are egging each oth er on to ever more extreme actions, including cutting truck air lines.”
Smith added that we all have a responsibility to call out racism wherever it oc curs. “And that’s exactly what this is. Racism. It is ignorant. It is stupid. And it is danger ous,” he said.
Anyone who has concerns about safety in their work place can report it through the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting Line on 1800 931 785.
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Seating - on a higher level.
CENTURION Transport and Qube Bulk are taking part in a new road train signage trial that’s currently underway in WA.
The Main Roads Heavy Vehicle Services (HVS) trial involves signage that provides additional information to mo torists about the length and type of road train that’s in front of them.
Main Roads HVS says this safety initiative is designed to assist road users in making more informed decisions about how they share the road and overtake
road trains.
“The existing ‘Long Vehicle’ and ‘Road Train’ warning signs are vague in terms of what type of vehicle is actually in front of drivers. The new signage being trialled will replace them and provide an illustrative example of the vehicle combination, and an indication of the length of the vehicle combination it is fitted to. The signs also align to the ‘road train route’ signs that are often seen on regional high ways,” Main Roads HVS said in a statement.
“A suite of signs have been
developed to cover the stan dard 27.5 metre, 36.5 metre, and 53.5 metre combinations, as well as Performance Based Standards (PBS) Scheme 30 metre, 32 metre and 42 metre combinations. A special sign is already in use for 60 metre PBS road trains.”
Centurion Transport and Qube Bulk will participate in the trial by fitting the signs to some of their vehicles.
Main Roads HVS says other operators can participate in the trial but will require an approv al letter from HVS. Operators
can register their interest to take part in the trial by email ing hvs@mainroads.wa.gov.au, however operators are required to pay for their own signage.
If the trial is successful, Main Roads HVS plans to implement the new signage for all Class 2 and 3 Restricted Access Vehi cles (RAVs) in WA, including B-doubles, road trains and rigid truck and trailer combinations.
Main Roads HVS will also liaise with the National Heavy Vehi cle Regulator to share feedback received in a bid to encourage them to adopt the same signage.
PBS operators will be able to use a broader range of tyres from December 1.
The NHVR will scrap re strictive and outdated tyre re quirements, with any brand and model of tyre permitted from next month, as long as it meets relevant PBS Standards.
NSW Minister for Region
productivity.
“At all levels of government, we have a responsibility to en sure the heavy vehicle industry can meet the country’s growing freight task,” Farraway said.
“PBS vehicles allow more goods to be delivered with few er vehicles in a safe and sustain able manner – offering produc
vehicles and welcomes this sen sible decision by the NHVR, which will only continue to encourage greater PBS uptake.”
NHVR CEO Sal Petroc citto added that the move will provide operators with greater flexibility, increased productivi ty and lower costs, without im pacting safety or performance.
and engage in other, more use ful work with the NHVR in the pursuit of increased safety and productivity for Australian road transport.”
The amended PBS Stan dards and Vehicle Assessment Rules will be made available on the NHVR website prior to the commencement date. Here’s
hicle. They will just need to confirm that the fitted tyres meet the size, load rating and configuration requirements.
• There will be a three-month transition period for any ap plications underway, during which operators can contin ue to make design approval applications using the exist
the new approach – with no need to be reassessed – and operators will not be required to have their existing vehicle approval amended to reflect this change.
• Updates to vehicle approval documents issued before the introduction of the generic tyre approach will only occur
usually end up in it becasue they’re actually faster than the cars when you’re up and about.
“In my head, if all the trucks are in the right-hand lane not holding everybody else up in the other three, then potential ly traffic could flow better.”
Fulton says the idea has the potential to work well in areas such as Brisbane, along the Lo gan Motorway right down to Chinderah on the NSW border and on the Monash Freeway which links Melbourne’s CBD to its south-eastern suburbs.
A recent state election pitch from the Victorian Greens to build a $2.5 billion bike ‘su perhighway’ got social media identity Tony Fulton thinking: why not go one step further and adapt the same idea for trucks?
Fulton, who first proposed the idea to his 123,000 fol lowers on Tones Truckin Sto ries, told Big Rigs that mak ing the far right-hand lane for trucks-only had the potential to radically improve traffic flow on key metropolitan freight routes.
“It’s something that’s never been trialled,” said Fulton, who is also the co-founder of Truck Wiz, the popular truckies’ nav igational app.
“They trial everything else which is basically to try and stop trucks from doing things, slowing them down, or trying to get them out of the way, but the idea of actually putting them out of harm’s reach in the right-hand lane has never been floated.”
Fulton said the concept
means that when cars and oth er vehicles are merging on to a highway, they’re not taking un neccesary risks to get in front of the B-double, or forcing truckies to take evasive action to avoid them.
“A lot more would have to come into it because the trucks do have to get over to that right-hand land somehow, but it’s something to think about.
“When you look on high ways, if the trucks are allowed in the right-hand lane, they
“I wouldn’t have thought too many places in Sydney [would be suitable] though just because they just don’t have enough lanes on their high ways.”
Fulton said the idea pro posed by the Greens to spend that much money on bike lanes because transport is seen as Vic toria’s biggest growing source of carbon emissions is just “ridic ulous”.
“If they’re going to put the infrastructure into that, then how about making an extra lane that’s just for trucks.
“It’s a concept that I don’t believe has ever been brought up.”
WHILE peak bodies continue to lobby to have truck drivers higher up on the Skilled Oc cupations List to help plug the driver shortfall, there is already a migration avenue open for Far North Queensland and Towns ville operators.
In a note it its members to day, the Queensland Trucking Association reminded bosses of the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) for certain post codes in the state.
“It allows employers with vacancies they have been un able to fill in the specified oc cupations, to apply for a labour agreement to source migrant workers to fill the positions,” said the QTA.
The QTA says truck drivers and forklift drivers are all eli gible under the FNQ DAMA and delivery drivers and truck drivers are included in the Townsville DAMA.
“This means that businesses
operating in eligible FNQ or Townsville area postcodes, can apply for a labour agreement (valid up to 5 years) to source migrant workers for one or more positions in occupations included on the specified lists.”
“If an employer has their request endorsed by the Cairns Chamber of Commerce or Townsville Enterprise, they can apply to the Department of Home Affairs for the labour agreement.
The QTA is now seeking interest from businesses based in, or have depot addresses in Townsville and Far North Queenland, to be involved in forming an industry specific agreement.
“Skilled migration is not the solution to our current short ages but it is an option that is available among others. This is a specific option available now for employers with operations in Townsville and FNQ.”
I was glad when our columnist, truckie Mike Williams, called me to say we need to take a closer look at the reaction to the Moree video of the Ron Fine more Transport driver who was filmed on TikTok with three missing rear tyres.
Some of the comments on so cial media were downright dis graceful. After chatting to Ron Finemore Transport managing director Mark Parry, Williams wrote a brilliant piece for us at bigrigs.com.au highlighting a completely different take, one that we followed up again on pages 4-5 of this issue.
I get that everyone wants to feel safe on the road, but would the reaction to this event have been so volatile if the guy walking out of the cab had been a white Australian?
Sadly, I don’t think it would, and we need to do better as an industry to be more accepting and tolerant of other cultures.
HEAVY vehicle rego over the last few years has only gone up.
Owner-drivers and small fleet businesses who don’t have the buying power of large amounts of fuel, are the ones going to feel the pinch the most, as they can’t bargain with the suppliers like large fleets can.
The road infrastructure was
already a joke before the rains came, and the money people pay for rego was supposed to be used to build them properly.
Now another tax on a tax on a tax to fix roads!
Between our fuel excise, ve hicle rego, revenue from road fines, and before the road user tax, should have been enough to
repair and build more roads.
In the end it’s all going to end up being paid by the consumer to absorb the cost of it, as trans port rates will go up.
The Reserve Bank of Austra lia wants to slow down inflation, so interest rates don’t keep going up, but if the government keeps putting taxes on transport the
consumer has to spend more money to get what they need! It’s a revolving door that won’t stop.
How about the government uses the money from registra tion, road fines and the fuel ex cise to actually use on the roads?
- Adam Craig NRFA NSW delegate
AFTER a relatively sluggish start to the sales year, Volvo has stormed back in October to finish tied on top for the month with Kenworth in the heavy-duty sector.
According to the latest fig ures from the Truck Industry Council (TIC), both Volvo and
Kenworth recorded a healthy 282 units apiece in what is shaping to be a record year for overall sales in Australia.
With just two months re maining in 2022, TIC says the industry is well on the way to breaking the previous alltime record set in 2018, when
41,628 new trucks and heavy vans were sold.
With current sales holding strong due to full order books at most truck OEMs, the sales tally by year end 2022 should be around the 43,000 mark, predicts the TIC.
“It was great to see strong heavy- and light-duty truck sales in October, whilst the me dium segment was just down on the sales mark set in Octo ber 2021,” said TIC CEO Tony McMullan.
“Unfortunately, van sales remain weak in 2022 and Oc tober saw that trend continue.”
Sales in quarter three were again very strong with 11,348 deliveries, a new third quarter record and just shy of the quar ter two result of 12,070 vehi cles, which itself was a record
market segments were up over October 2021 results, while medium trucks posted a slight
Year-to-date the result is much stronger with the seg ment tracking a very healthy
the segment is up a healthy 8.3 per cent up over last year, with 6466 trucks delivered to the end of October, compared to 5968 medium truck sales this time
ited (IAL) reveals it’s already
Australia’s top-selling brand for the last 33 years sailed past its all-time record of 10,175 truck deliveries set in 2021,
was Tracserv’s 33rd anniversary.
“I went out into the big wide world but wanted to return to Dubbo, so I began in the ser vice department in 2012, then moved up into stock controller, business accounting, then busi ness manager and now dealer principal,” said Gale.
“I’ve grown up around the people who I’ve watched ex pand and lead our business and now I get to work with them, so it’s like a full 360. Our cur rent management team has been with Tracserv for over 15 years. My brother Daniel is also an integral part of the business, and I would often spend our weekends here in the workshop because dad was a mechanic.”
Gale said she hoped her ap pointment would help inspire other women to consider a ca reer in the automotive industry.
girl power around here.”
Gale explained that one of the biggest challenges of her career was getting her work-life balance right after becoming a mother.
“Trying to fit everything into my day and then still being present as a parent as well, that was a challenge,” she said.
“As my two boys grow, they get to learn more of what I do in my career – it’s always excit ing for them to see a new fire, rescue or garbage truck in the dealership.”
Isuzu
“I can say with great con fidence that truck customers in and around Dubbo remain in the safest of hands with the Tracserv family,” he said.
Gale’s business leadership has since been recognised by the Dubbo Chamber of Com merce, who named her a final ist in the Outstanding Young Business Leader category of their 2022 Rhino Awards.
THE founder of a Dub bo-based truck dealership es tablished over 30 years ago, has passed the baton onto his daughter, who looks to steer the family business into the fu ture in her new role as dealer principal.
Located in the Great West
ern Plains region of NSW, Tracserv was started from the back of a ute by Richard Kirby, together with his late wife Sha ron Kirby and a mate.
His daughter Leandra Gale says her foray into the business started when she was just two years old – though she officially
came onboard as an employee around 10 years ago.
Tracserv is an Isuzu dealer, and Gale is the first female deal er principal in the Isuzu Austra lia Limited (IAL) network.
Kirby officially handed over the reins to his daughter on September 19, 2022, which
“It’s an awesome opportu nity for women in the indus try. We’re not just going to be the receptionist, we can be the dealer principal, we can do any thing.
“We have women in every department at Tracserv now, spare parts, in service, we don’t have any in the workshop just at the moment. We love a bit of
as possible.
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AS readers of Big Rigs will have seen in the last issue, Western Star Trucks have released their X-Series range of trucks in Aus tralia, using the term ‘Seriously Badass’ to describe them. Is this the case?
We’ll get to that but first let’s look at the trucks on offer. The X-Series covers three models and three powertrains.
We have the 47X, 48X and the big banger, the 49X. The 57X available in North Amer ica won’t be making its way to Australia as it’s “too big” (quote, unquote).
The engines on offer are a Cummins L9 putting out (up to) 380hp and 1695Nm, a Detroit DD13 Gen 5 (525hp/2500Nm) and a De troit DD16 (600hp/2780Nm).
There’s also a bunch of transmissions to choose from - the ever reliable 18 speed Ea ton Fuller Road Ranger, an Al lison Auto and a couple of De troit Automated Manuals that feature a Rock-free mode that allows the truck to free itself from wheel-stuck situations, and an Off-road mode which enables smoother driving on extreme terrain.
Then we have the cabin vari
ants. All models offer two day cabs and various length sleep ers: The 47X up to 48 inches, the 48X up to 60 inches and the 49X up to 72 inches so that you can invite the rest of the mob at the parking bay to come in and party.
Eagle-eyed readers will look at the dash layout and know that it is also seen in the Freightliner Cascadia.
They will also pick up on the Detroit engines also being used in that truck and indeed in the Mercedes-Benz Actros (although with subtle Western Star inspired changes).
Is this a bad thing? Not in
the least as far as I am con cerned. Being familiar with and having driven those other truck brands with the Detroit’s, I’ve nothing but praise for them.
They are terrific motors and in conjunction with the DT12 auto/manual gearboxes, deliver smooth progression with gear changes mated perfectly to the engines torque curves. Similar ly, the dash offers a good layout with everything in easy reach, so why not use it.
The fact is that Western Star, whilst distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Penske, is part of the Daimler Trucks conglomerate and WS are quite open about dipping into the parts bin where it has suited its purposes.
But, just as the Actros is a different beast to the Cascadia, so is the Western Star range. Think of it this way: Toyota manufacture a number of ve hicles off the same platform with the same underpinnings and engines that all look and behave differently and are ac cepted as such.
So it is with Western Star who have their own team of engineers and body designers. This group of people have the licence to create a vehicle to their own exacting standards, thereby manufacturing a be spoke range of trucks.
It’s the little things that make a big difference and Western Star have expended a huge amount of effort in cre ating trucks that befit their ‘premium’ tag. Go to open the door for instance and you’ll see that the handle is vertical. Why did nobody think of this before?
The height of truck doors makes this a no brainer. Small thing? Yep. Effective? Abso lutely! The door pocket has a steel beam across its lip. You can literally hang off it – I know because I did. There is a third seal on the door and once inside the cab you have to give it a bloody good tug to close it properly.
The extra seal gives an air tight cabin and will keep dust out, important when you are aiming at the Road Train mar ket amongst others. It also re duces road and engine noise, along with the sound deaden ing under the body.
Steering wheel mounted controls for all sorts of things are a first for Western Star and bring it into line with offerings from other manufacturers. It also offers a huge amount of reach and rake adjustment.
The wraparound dash gives easy reach to all controls and if you can move switches around to suit your personal preferenc es. Quality of fit and finish is up there with the best.
The trucks I drove were decked out in grey, but it was done with style, and if that’s not to your taste you can go for Charcoal Black or Quarry Brown.
The Isri seats are top-of-thewoz and offer virtually infinite adjustment. Control of the 12 speed Auto/Manual shift is on the right of the steering column. Choose economy or power, leave it in auto or play up and down the range manu ally if you prefer by flicking it up or down. Even in auto mode you can select a lower gear in
stantly if desired.
Western Star had two 49X models at the drive – one auto and one Road Ranger. The R-R model had the 72-inch Strato sphere sleeper. The stick rises out of a totally flat floor and size 17 boots have no trouble walking around it to enter the sleeper. And what a sleeper! Lift the bunk up to reveal two seats either side of a table which rises at the touch of a lever.
The roof stretches up to the heavens and I commented that there was plenty of space across the rear to add a second shelf or even more cupboards. I’m told that’s for a second bunk. The rear wall of the cabin is emblazoned with the Western Star logo and looks classy and modern.
There’s lots of LED light ing, a decent fridge, room for a microwave, great vertical cup board space to store all your blue singlets, shorts and even a formal suit in case you should pick up the Queen – sorry, King – hitchhiking somewhere across the outback.
And there’s no doubt that’s one of the places the 49X is aimed at with its top spec ca pable of hauling up to 200+ tonnes GCM.
From Page 12
ON the outside the first thing to hit you is the distinctive new grille design. Made from stain less steel, its flutes rise up and curve in around the Western Star logo.
The resin bonnet is 47 ki los lighter than its predecessor, can be opened and closed with one hand, offers superior resis tance to stone chips and has a safety catch to stop wind from slamming it on your head. The ‘Isotech’ dual coil over shock bonnet mounting system iso lates the bonnet from the body, meaning no shake (and it doesn’t).
Should you have a prang, the bonnet is a three-piece de sign, so you don’t have to re place the lot.
The chassis rails are splayed, allowing the 1600 square inch aluminium radiator with larg er tubes (in the DD16 model) to be mounted off the engine, rather than the chassis.
The ‘Power Bonnet’ design of the 49X places it higher, giv ing more airflow and reducing risk of damage. Underneath, the cabin and sleeper is clear of obstructions, again to increase
airflow in hot conditions. Those rails also give plenty of room around the engine, giving good access for servicing.
The wiper motor has been moved to make it more accessi ble, along with the washer filler moving to the driver’s side, in creased in size and placed lower for easier access.
The under-hood air cleaner reduces weight by 27kg and has 12 month/160,000km service intervals for the filters. But if you want those shiny extended air filters, Western Star can pro vide them. The HVAC system is also improved and it’s notice able within the cab. The header tank is now clear so a glance will tell you the levels, and all other ancillary tanks are in eas ier reach.
Western Star’s ethos of du rability and reliability are fur ther enhanced by the addition of two extra steel rails running underneath the cab. There’s also extra steel reinforcement in the rear walls of the day cabs and smaller sleepers. For the first time square fuel tanks are offered, although you can still have round if that’s more to your taste.
Wiring is all wrapped, mov ing away from split conduit and giving much better protection. It is also placed on brackets that separate the wiring from the chassis rails, deleting the chance of rubbing and stopping dirt and dust build up.
There are a myriad of other changes to enhance the trucks suitability for Australian con ditions. It’s worth noting that Australia has been involved in the X-Range development from the get-go, which has been a 6-year process.
Now to get behind the wheel/s. Western Star has lined up a range of variants: we have truck and dog, single trailers and B-doubles with both the 13 and 16 litre donks. There’s not enough room to describe each of them so here’s an overall impression.
The doors open to 70 de grees so getting in and out is easy, aided by 5 grab points including steering wheel and that reinforced door pocket. Driving position adjustment is endless so no problem there.
The mirrors are set on steel reinforced ‘C’ brackets which delete any vibration under any
circumstance. They are also placed to give a good view at roundabouts or road junctions.
The motors – with adjust able idle from the steering wheel – pull away smoothly and powerfully. The 13-li tre pulled a B-double around RACQ’s closed test track easily – and the 16 litre, with a 59 ton GCM even more so.
Hill Hold works superbly on all the trucks. Give an extra press on the brake and you’ve got 5 seconds before the truck begins to creep forward.
That’s going to save a few car bonnets. Noise in the cab is kept to a minimum thanks to sound deadening and those doors with extra seals - tested to 230,000 slams which equates to a 15-year life cycle.
Steering is direct with just the right amount of feedback to the driver and it’s easy to place any of the variants exactly where you want it. There’s tail gate warning, lane departure warning, active cruise control and Side Guard Assist – partic ularly useful in urban settings.
Then there’s the brakes. These are without a doubt the best brakes I’ve ever had the
privilege of planting my size 10’s on. From the smallest to the biggest truck I drove they were simply superb. Guess you have to able to tame these ‘Seri ously Badass’ trucks.
Come to a downhill stretch, employ the decent control and that’s the speed you’ll stay at, no ifs or buts. True to Western
Star’s hyperbole, there’s no scut tle shake of the bonnets stretch ing out in front of you. The company has done a great job of providing excellent visibility over and around the bonnet.
So, is it Seriously Badass? Not in the way it drives which is thoroughly modern in every respect. In looks? I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder.
From this writer’s eyes I’ll give them a tick on that front. They look tough and solid, while retaining that Western Star DNA which differentiates the brand from other North American product.
Western Star has usually been the domain of the own er-driver or small fleet owner, but I suspect that the X-Series will appeal to a much broader spectrum of the truck industry.
And for that cohort who would only step out of their truck for a Peterbilt (which isn’t available here anyway), there is now a viable, Australian-influ enced premium truck alterna tive.
But I know you won’t take my word for this so just do yourself a favour and go for a test drive to see if it’s badass enough for you.
WHEN veteran driver Trevor Southern was asked to take a fully restored 1993 Kenworth T650 from Tully in north Queensland to the Transport Hall of Fame at Alice Springs he jumped at the opportunity.
The Kenworth is T6 one of a fleet of more than 100 trucks operated by Blenners Transport which has depots at Tully, Cairns, Innisfail, Maree ba, Townsville, Mackay, Rock hampton and Brisbane.
The 57-year-old Trevor has worked for Blenners for almost 18 years both as a driver and as a fitter mechanic in the huge workshop at the company’s Tully headquarters.
“In 1993, Blenners owners, Les and Judy Blennerhassett took delivery of T6, a Ken worth T650, their fifth Ken worth sold to them by sales rep, Tony Burton from Brown and Hurley Townsville. This unit was driven by Rodney Reis running to Melbourne and Adelaide markets from El Arish, North Queensland,” Trevor said.
Under the bonnet of the
650, was a CAT3406C AT TAC PEEC 400hp @ 1800rpm motor geared by a FULLER 14613B transmission.
The rear axles were Rock well SSHD with 3.55 ratio diffs. Its suspension was a Ken worth Air Glide 100, having a GVM 26,000kg and GCM 45,000kg.
“This vehicle travelled the long routes for many years be fore being semi-retired from in terstate to do some float work and local pick ups from the farms to the depot,” Trevor told Big Rigs.
He said that in 2019 after travelling over 2,000,000km, it was decided by Les and Judy that this workhorse had earned itself some care and attention and so it was time to restore her back to her former glory.
“Ideally, they would have liked to restore T1 (truck one) as it was also a T650 but it had been sold and written off years earlier. To begin the restoration, two new chassis rails were or dered from Melbourne and with that, the rebuild began. All other parts needed for the rebuild were purchased from Brown and Hurley Townsville.”
Assigned to this mammoth task was Blenners’ truck me chanic, Greg Stonehouse, who spent countless hours at the Tul ly depot workshop, stripping it down to replace the chassis rails and start the rebuild.
“Greg carefully stripped the cab and sleeper back to a bare shell, replacing brackets, floor mounts and generally refur bishing the whole interior.
“As Greg put her back to gether piece by piece, Aar on Carmon, Blenners’ spray painter, gave her, a new glossy shine with the original paint colour scheme being renewed. Towards the end of the resto ration, the truck was taken to Jeff Barrie at Cyclone Airbrush Signage and Graphics at Ca boolture to add the stripes and sign writing.
“The job was completed in August 2021 and displayed at Brown & Hurley’s 75th Anni versary celebrations in Towns ville sitting beside Blenners’ 300th Kenworth T650 in the original paint scheme.”
In 2021, the fully restored T650, accompanied by Les and Judy, was driven to Alice Springs by Trevor to attend the
reunion at the Alice Springs Transport Hall of Fame.
Trevor recalls travelling to Alice Springs with Helen in the restored Kenworth and meeting Les and Judy at Camooweal just on the Queensland side of the border with the NT.
“We stayed in motels during the three-day trip to Alice Springs where the Kenworth was displayed at the National Transport Hall of Fame for a week,” he said.
“Roads in the NT are top class and we thoroughly en joyed being in Alice Springs. Although about 700 people were expected at the reunion only about 400 attended due to Covid lockdowns.
“Surrounded by other shiny Kenworth prime movers, the T650 sat proudly, gleaming on display for the week, in the Kenworth Hall of Fame Shed. In her retirement, the T650 will spend time on display and par ticipate in some charity events and truck shows.”
Trevor has been involved in the road transport industry since aged 16 at Tully after hav ing moved from his home town of Kerang in Victoria.
“I first worked for Mal Ba kon of Malley’s Transport at Tully initially hand loading bananas and started driving interstate at age 18 in a S2 Kenworth carting bananas and general to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. I thought I was King of the Road,” he said.
Later, he took on an appren ticeship as a fitter and got mar ried to his wife Helen.
About 18 years ago Trevor joined the fast-growing Blen ners’ workforce and hasn’t looked back.
“I drove interstate for nine years carrying produce and then ended up in the Tully workshop and have been there since. But I still drive trucks when required,” he said.
One of Trevor’s four chil
dren, Ashleigh Southern, 30, who now lives in Sydney, has represented Australia at two Olympic Games as a mem ber of the women’s water polo team.
“That was at the 2012 Lon don Olympics, when Australia won the bronze medal and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 when they came fourth,” said Trevor.
Trevor, who lives in the sce nic coastal town of Cardwell, near Tully, has no doubt that he will continue working in the in dustry until his retirement.
“I said I was going to give the game away and a fellow driver told me [in 1987] that I should go and see a doctor and get a blood transfusion. He told me once the industry is in your blood it stays there for life.”
With such a proud history in the fleet, no corners were cut in restoring this iconic Kenworth T650 to its former glory.
THERE’S been a lot of dis cussion about rest areas and rest area funding but precious little about changeover bays.
Trucking is an essential service. Like they say without trucks Australia stops.
The infrastructure we need to keep the freight moving as safely as possible is also essen tial. It’s also essential that facil ities be appropriately sited and properly managed.
Changeovers between our capital cities have been a staple of operations for many years.
Drivers have got by with some pretty poor facilities, just dropping trailers on the side of the road is now right ly considered an unacceptable exposure to danger. There’s a constant conversation about
doing our jobs safely and more than enough groups and individuals happy to take pot shots at us.
However, when it comes to getting the funding or the planning permission to do something that makes our job safer or easier there’s silence or a ‘not in my back yard mate’ attitude. The major carriers are also quite happy to let ex penses fall to others wherever possible.
Conversation is now turn ing to the need for a change over facility at Clybucca. Something that should have been addressed, discussed, planned and constructed before the bypass was even opened to the public.
The fact this didn’t happen even though some raised their voices to the issue in good time and those voices were ignored tells you how sometimes not a lot of thought goes into what we, as an industry, need.
Once again, the realisation that we do need a plan to be safe hits too late. The concern for many now is the plan for
Clybucca will be made with out consideration or consulta tion with the people who have to endure the consequences with no requests or only lim ited time for comment.
This has been the case with the existing changeover areas at both Tarcutta and Nhill. Whoever was responsible for the design of the bay at Tar cutta needs to have a long hard look at the shortcomings of that project.
Hundreds of trucks use changeover facilities each day. They’re not standard rest ar eas and shouldn’t be lumped together with them, certainly not a great venue for a long break.
Only a masochist would choose to expose themselves to a night of reversing beepers, slamming turntables, land ing gear, fridge motors and noisy truck drivers, let alone the ones who need to change down 10 gears and Jake to the entrance. What a wonderful rest!
Frankly this is what we bring to the small towns of
Tarcutta and Nhill. We also bring the cost of maintaining the facilities. We pay nothing and expect these facilities to be there for our use. Well, not all our use, only the ones doing the changeovers. Most of us
don’t go anywhere near one.
I can’t think of a good rea son the council of Tarcutta or Nhill and perhaps soon, Cly bucca should be happy their ratepayers are forking out to support the maintenance of the changeover bays. It doesn’t happen for nothing.
There are a couple of possibilities that are worth considering when it comes to changeover bays and even rest areas in general. First among those is the idea of partnerships between fuel companies, councils and gov ernment. This has shown to be a successful model both at Miriam Vale and in Darwin.
Acquiring land adjacent to existing or planned service centre and expanding the fa cility to more vehicles and parking therefore improving the availability of amenities to drivers. There’s no reason the required changeover area at Clybucca couldn’t be deliv ered in this way.
A second reasonable op tion would be that the com panies whose drivers use the facilities contribute to the maintenance cost. Their drivers are the ones using the amenities.
I’d expect it’s a relatively simple process to work out who uses the changeover ar eas and then another simple mathematical process to work out how much it costs to pro vide the maintenance of the area and apportion a charge commensurate with the use.
What is a clean shower and toilet facilities at a changeover facility worth to a driver and why shouldn’t the cost be met by the employers? We’re con stantly told we’re part of the team, then why can’t drivers be afforded the same access to clean well-maintained fa cilities as does office, admin, management or any other member of ‘the team’?
A purpose built, well-lit and spacious area allowing room for the larger combina tions to manoeuvre safety and proper amenities for drivers at Clybucca is a priority.
How the maintenance of that facility once delivered, should be considered as a part of the planning.
You can contact me via @ theoztrucker on twitter, On The Road Podcast (@otrpod castaus) on Facebook or email me mike@ontheroadpodcast. com.au.
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This Ipswich-based steel transport specialist jumped at the chance to help with a load of a very different kind.
up via a dirt road,” explained Dickenson.
Following behind the truck was a car with a vet and handler from the SA zoo, and a handler from Australia Zoo.
BY DANIELLE GULLACIEARLIER this month, a 1400kg southern white rhi no named Carrie made her way from Australia Zoo in Queensland to Monarto Safari Park in SA, which has dedicated over 20 years of work to helping ensure the species’ survival.
Daryl Dickenson Transport was the company responsible for getting her safely to her new home, some 2463 kilome tres away.
There are only an estimated 14,000 southern white rhinos left in the world, with around 10,000 of these majestic ani mals lost to poaching in the last 10 years alone. So as you’d ex pect, a move of this sort doesn’t come along very often.
Nevertheless, this isn’t the first rhino move for Daryl Dickenson Transport. “We re ceived an email about a rhino about five years ago but thought
it was a prank, so we initially ig nored it. Then someone called and it all went from there. We transported a rhino from Queensland to South Australia, and then brought a different rhino back up,” explained com pany owner Daryl Dickenson, who was behind the wheel for the most recent trip, running two-up with company driver Mark Ziersch.
“They still had our details so contacted us again when this rhino move came up. Usually our work is all steel, but now we specialise in exotic livestock too,” he laughed. “We’ve named ourselves the rhino wranglers.”
After serving in the navy for 10 years, followed by four years working in television, Dicken son, now 66, bought his first truck in 1988 – a Ford LNT 9000. He says the company started expanding into what it is today from around 2001.
“I thought I could earn
CARRIE the rhino wasn’t the only gentle giant undertak ing a mammoth journey to Monarto Safari Park during November – a three-year-old giraffe named Inkosi made his way across the Nullarbor to his new home, where he’ll play a lead role in a local breeding program.
The 800kg, 4-metre-tall an imal was required to stand tall in his box for around 38 hours, as he was transported on the back of a truck along the Eyre Highway, from Perth Zoo to Monarto Safari Park, some 2750 kilometres away.
Inkosi’s keepers from Perth Zoo, along with Monarto Sa fari Park’s senior veterinarian travelled behind the precious cargo, to ensure he was safe and well for the entirety of the journey.
Monarto Safari Park says there are now less giraffes left in the wild than elephants. Its national breeding program aims to help ensure the crea ture’s survival.
Ahead of the trip, Inkosi undertook months of prepara tion, with daily training to help ensure he’d be as comfortable as possible for the journey.
Upon his arrival at his new home, Monarto Safari Park took to Facebook to share the news. “The non-stop jour ney involved many logistical challenges but thankfully they made it safe, sound and with a giraffe poking his head out to eat the leaves at every opportu nity,” they wrote.
Inkosi spent about a week in quarantine before joining the Waterhole exhibit where he met the herd of female giraffes.
more money in transport, so I got a job as a truck driver, be fore buying my own truck. I thought I could work as hard as anyone else,” he said.
The Carole Park based busi ness now operates a fleet of 32 trucks and 75 trailers. “We do a lot of work into regional NSW and a lot of local work up here in Queensland, as well as some work into Melbourne.”
As well as running the busi ness, Dickenson still spends a lot of time behind the wheel, averaging anywhere between 50,000 to 100,000 kilometres each year.
With transporting such precious cargo as a rhino, a lot went on behind the scenes be fore Carrie could set off on her recent adventure.
The crate was sent up from Monarto Safari Park so that zookeepers at Australia Zoo could get the rhino acquainted with her new ride. “They would
feed her in the crate to get her used to going in. Then on the day, they were able to get her in there, using food, and could give her a sedative to ensure she remained calm and at ease for the journey ahead,” Dickenson explained.
Pulled by a K200, the rhino set off from Daryl Dickenson Transport’s depot at 11.30am on Wednesday November 2. She arrived at Monarto Safari Park at around 4pm the next day.
The voyage was actually supposed to take place two weeks earlier but got delayed due to flooding. With all of the recent heavy rain, water on the roads still had an impact on the journey.
“The route we took was out to Goondiwindi, then through Gilgandra, we cut across to Narromine, then from there we went to Broken Hill. When we turned out to Burra, we found a road had been washed out, so had to turn around and go back with a B-double on. Then in SA, we were going to cut around the back but got told the bridge had been washed away, so had to back it
“There were potholes we saw that were as big as their car. There was water close to the road pretty much the whole way through. You could see the road damage pretty much as soon as you leave Toowoomba right up to the SA border, and then again once you get into SA. It’s going to take years to fix all the roads. I’ve been going through Gilgandra for 30 years and that’s the highest I’ve ever seen the water.
“We also couldn’t take her into Victoria because a rhino is classed as a noxious feral ani mal there, so it’s really difficult to get permits. It meant we had to go through SA, and when we got to SA, there was a require ment to have an armed escort, so by that point we had five people who had to follow us,” Dickenson said.
The truck also had to stop every two hours so the vets could check on her along the way, with only one unfortu nate incident reported on the
journey. “The crate was dogged and chained front and back, so each time they’d check on her, I’d have to undo the chains. On one stop, as I was undoing the chains, the rhino pissed on me. It was only 5 degrees outside so the water I had to use to wash it off was freezing!” he revealed.
Upon her arrival at Monarto Safari Park, Carrie joined fellow female rhinos Uhura, Umqali and Savannah, who had to do a stint together in quarantine.
Monarto Safari Park is be lieved to be the largest openrange zoo in the world, span ning over 1500 hectares. It’s home to more than 500 ani mals and 50 species. The first southern white rhino arrived there from Singapore in 2000. The latest rhino to arrive will join a crash of five other south ern white rhinos – two mature bulls and three mature females – as part of an important breed ing program.
Since 2005, the three female rhinos have produced seven calves. “The SA zoo reckon they’re building up a herd of 41 rhinos within the next eight years, so there might be some more rhino moves coming up,” Dickenson added.
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headspace to work on it…I like to just climb in it and head off!” he said with a grin. With the Noonan Scania on the podium earlier in the year at Wakefield Park, and third overall for the Winton round, Mark and his team are looking ahead to bigger and better things for the 2023 championship.
BY DAVID VILE“THE ECU and the turbo put out a lot of horsepower. You have to be careful how you manage it as you could be a hero, or you could be picking up parts off the track,” said Mark Noonan with a wry smile.
The #42 Scania raced by Mark Noonan is indeed a powerful piece of engineering to witness as he participates in the Australian Super Truck Nationals.
Mark and his small race team had travelled down from their Queensland base to Winton Raceway in northeast Victoria for the final round of the 2022 Cham pionship, with a busy pro gram of qualifying and racing across the weekend.
The Scania has a long history of racing in Austra lia and New Zealand, with a multiple Bathurst winner previously sharing the driver’s seat with Mark’s late father Brian, who initially built it as a cab-over when the sport of truck racing took off in the late 1980s.
“It started out as Stream line cab over. Dad and Jim Richards ran it in 1989/90 and then they converted it to a T series,” Mark explained.
“They both drove it and Dad and [1967 Formula 1 World Champion] Denny Hulme used to get stuck into it back in the day when it went to New Zealand.”
Over the years the Sca nia ended up in Melbourne and Dave Pitman ran it for a while before it was retired in the early 2000s after suffering some accident damage.
Fast forward to 2014 and the Scania was back on Mark’s radar with the aim to turn his father’s truck into a racer once again.
“I was told that it was sit ting in Pitmans wrecking yard so, I rang Dave and he said,
‘Come down it’s all here’, so I picked it up when we were down for the Winton round of the championship.
“It sat at home for two years, everyone reckoned it was past it, but I couldn’t scrap it. Royans in Brisbane straightened out the chassis and I went from there piece by piece.”
The Scania was rebuilt and first hit the track in its current guise for testing at Qld Race way in 2020, just prior to the Covid shutdowns, with the limited race meetings of the last couple of years also being used to evaluate and develop the truck.
Mark has had long links to both trucks and motorsport, being exposed to both from an early age in the family business.
“I have always been in transport. My mum and dad were involved. Growing up around it you have a fascina tion for it.
“We still run trucks today, with a fleet of tilt trays and do a lot of work for rental companies and so forth,” he explained.
With Brian Noonan working with Dick Johnson for a lot of years, and Mark’s uncle being a highly-regard ed race engineer (and former Australian Rally Champion) George Shepheard, motor sport was also on Mark’s agenda from a young age.
With the aim of get ting to Bathurst, Mark ran in open-wheelers and the Queensland Gemini series before and accident at the age of 21 curtailed his racing plans for a number of years before getting his father’s truck back on the track again.
“We are Scania through and through with our years of running Scanias, and with Dad’s truck it made sense to do, and we know it could be good - this was something that I wanted to
have a go with.”
And Mark certainly has plenty to have a go with, as the Scania’s 12-litre electron ic motor and single turbo sends the power to the rear end via a six-speed auto box. With recent upgrades to the intercooler and exhaust, and fitment of twin air intakes up over the cab, the performance has improved.
However, this needs to be carefully managed from the driver’s seat, especially given the Victorian weather and the nature of the Winton circuit as Mark explained.
“The way its geared at the minute we are good for a top speed about 182km/h so it gets there pretty quick. With the ECU we have dialled it back a bit today, we had it amped up a bit yesterday in the dry, but it was just too ag gressive in the wet.”
With a dedicated crew and a loyal group of spon sors on board such as Been leigh Truck Parts, the Fuel Doctor and King Shocks, Mark’s operation is the only
“We leave Wednesday
morning to arrive here Thurs day and get home Monday night….it takes a lot of work, but the boys work away at it, and they get it done. I give them feedback - I did build the truck but I don’t have the
“The truck has its own bay in the workshop, we will pull everything apart and check it all over. There a got a few changes to be made over the off season, but we have phe nomenal support from our sponsors so next year we will be back, a bit sharper and a bit better!”
IT SAT AT HOME FOR TWO YEARS, EVERYONE RECKONED IT WAS PAST IT, BUT I COULDN’T SCRAP IT.”
NOONAN
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AT the post-event clean-up at the Redcliffe Showgrounds, tireless treasurer Leanne Prince was still pinching herself in awe of the massive turnout for the Brisbane Convoy for Kids ear lier this month.
Prince has been steering the ship since the event’s inception in 2010 – with just one year off for Covid – and has never seen so much support, both from truckies and spectators alike.
“The guys that did the park ing did a phenomenal job,
everyone was nose to tail, just about, and we went very close to filling the showgrounds,” said Prince.
“It was an awesome day with huge crowds and a lot of people stayed late. Everyone enjoyed the Adam Brand concert, they didn’t want him to leave.
“The drivers all had a ball. One lady got out and gave San ta a cuddle while they were in gridlock.
“Another was very impressed because he got three 10s from
people standing on the side of the road holding up score cards.”
A near record 631 trucks officially registered for the con voy, but by the time everyone got rolling, Prince says there was more than 700.
Prince says it’s too early to tell how much has been raised, but is hoping to at least match the $100,000 collected last year for Hummingbird House, Queensland’s only children’s hospice.
Trucks came in all shapes and sizes, from the newest models to those of yesteryear. Lead truck went to Karreman Quarries, which has led the convoy for the past five years running. Following behind were trucks from Northside Diesel and John West Logistics. Photos: Freeze the Moment Photography Doing it for the kids – plenty of teddy bears hitch a ride. Truck of the Show went to this shined up beauty from Airlie Beach Hotel.winners are:
Truck of the Show
Brad Gallagher – Airlie
Beach Hotel
Best 2022 Model Truck
1st Brenton Northcott –
SRV
2nd Brad Crockett –
PACCAR Australia
3rd Blair Mason – Geoff
Richards Transport
Best Vintage Truck 1992 and older
1st Tristan Cartner –
Northside Diesel
2nd Mitchell Brown –
Karreman Quarries
3rd Dan Walter – SEQH
Best Custom Graphics
1st Josh Rigney – CJ’s
Bulk Handling
2nd David Shailer – CNC
Cartage
3rd Brenton Northcott –
SRV
Best Rigid
1st James Hincks –
Aquaholic
2nd Brad Greaves –
Wallace International
3rd Paul Patterson –
Paddo & Sons Transport
Best Tipper
1st Jake Hamilton – Hamo
Excavations
2nd Brendan Hetaraka –
Timms Haulage
3rd Wally Loweke –
HAACK Logistics
Best Light Recovery
1st Caleb Corcoran –
Knight’s Heavy Towing
2nd Jared Cowmeadow –
Tow Trucks Brisbane
3rd Malcolm Murdock –
Thunder Towing
Best Heavy Recovery
1st Alexander Grabs –
Claytons Towing
2nd Adam Brand – Barnes
3rd Quinn Bastow –
Knight’s Heavy Towing
Best Hino
1st Kurt Ellis – CNC
Cartage
2nd Benny Brandon –
Colpak Logistics
3rd Belinda Pointon –
Ashers Transport
Best Kenworth Bonneted
1st Ben Tangas – Geoff
Richards Transport
2nd Les Hill – Les Hill
Transport
3rd Troy Richards – Mark
Tobin Transport
Best Kenworth Cab Over
1st BJ Munro – P3
Transport
2nd Michael Smith – Milin
Haulage
3rd Jake Hamilton – Hamo
Excavations
Best DAF
1st Robert Hook – CNC
Cartage
2nd Anthony Shetters –
Team Transport
3rd Mark Crynes –
Robertson Trucking
Best Freightliner
1st Ethan Cooley –
Straight Jacket Transport
2nd Bear Bolen – Bolen & Son Haulage
3rd Ashley Whyatt – St
George Freightliners
Best Volvo
1st Mick Rogers –
Bondwoods Transport
2nd Tony Washband –ADE Washband
3rd Jason Hunter – Ready
Towing
Best Western Star
1st Clinton Sheldon –
Penske
2nd Phil Dickson – Method
Earthworks
3rd Peter Brown – MDP
Refrigerated Transport
Best Mack
1st Darren Martin – Mark
Tobin Transport
2nd Brendon Cathcart –
Followmont Transport
3rd Linda Rush – Rushway
Transport
Best UD
1st Paul Eustace – PTI Tilt
Tray Services
2nd Jason Crosby –Colpak Logistics
3rd Niesje Tabbernal –Followmont Transport
1st James Hincks –
Aquaholic
2nd David Thomasson –Farlow Transport
3rd Ethan Nash – JNN Haulage
Best International
1st Bryan Jennison –
Bondwoods Transport
2nd Renee Gray – Digrite
Earthmoving
3rd Ron Brown – R&M
Haulage
Best Mercedes
1st Paul Patterson –
Paddo & Sons Transport
2nd Braden Ohehir
Fleming – Vanstone
Logistics
3rd John Carroll – Carroll Plant & Haulage
Best MAN
1st Lyle Eames – J & P Richards Transport
Best Mitsubishi
1st David Shailer – CNC
Cartage
2nd Jared Cowmeadow –
Tow Trucks Brisbane
3rd Richard Dunham –StarTrack
Best Peterbilt
1st Corinna Riley – Gaffs
Heavy Haulage
Best Fleet (3-10 Trucks)
1st Milin Haulage
2nd Paddo & Sons
Transport 3rd Exodas
Best Large Fleet (11+ Trucks)
1st Bondwoods Transport
2nd Robertson Trucking
3rd Karreman Quarries
Largest Fleet
1st Followmont Transport
2nd CNC Cartage
3rd Karreman Quarries Best Decorated
1st Michael Bliesner – Speedy Reedy
Excavations
2nd Bear Bolan – Bolen &
Son Haulage
3rd Phil Dickson – Method
Earthworks
Best Night Lights
1st Jay Reed – Harvey’s
2nd Darryl Gimm – Gimm
Family Transport
3rd Graham Hill – Knight’s
Heavy Towing
Encouragement Award
Chris Laidlaw – Deception
Bay Removals
Barnes Towing at its rollover display. This right-hand drive ‘Shiner’ was followed by an impressive – and much larger – Mack. A shined up green machine stood out in the crowd.AS truckie Ian ‘Eno’ Taylor walked around chatting to driv ers at the mental health aware ness convoy in Coffs Harbour at the weekend, he realised why all the hurdles he’d had to jump to get the event underway had been worth it.
Almost all the drivers Taylor spoke to said they were either personally impacted by the is sue of suicide, or knew Mark Haines, 52, or Tom Seccombe, 29, the two Coffs Coast truck ies who took their own lives last year and whose memory the Grinding Gears and Burning Diesel event is held in.
“We need to hold events like this to raise awareness that suicide and mental health issues in the trucking community are affecting a lot more people than we actually realise,” said Tay lor, who is also now a Lifeline North Coast ambassador.
A huge turnout of truckies and locals turned out to show their support.
“In our industry we need to bring the word suicide out of the darkness and shed some light on it and say it is okay to talk about it.
“If you’re not [feeling] right, it is okay to go and see a doc
tor, or talk to a friend, or pick up the phone and reach out for help.”
Taylor had been hoping for 150 trucks in this year’s convoy that set off from the Woolgool ga Industrial area for the car park at the Coffs International Stadium on Saturday.
The fact that there were clos er to 90 in the event’s second running didn’t matter to Taylor one bit. If the convoy, which Taylor hopes will also raise another $17,000 for Lifeline North Coast, just delivered the right message to one person, he knows it was all worth it.
“I can still remember that Monday when I got the phone call to come back to the yard and boss was standing there and told me that Mark had taken his own life,” said Taylor.
“That day I’ll never forget and if I can reduce the amount of people that have to go through what I had to that day I’m doing something positive.”
According to a recent Monash University study, sui cide had become the second leading cause of death for truck drivers under the age of 30.
It also found one in five drivers suffered from severe
psychological distress, almost double that of Australian men of the same age.
Taylor was grateful for the event backing of Health In Gear, which provides health and wellbeing support for the transport and logistics sector, but believes trucking as an in dustry can, and should be do ing a lot more to help.
“I know there are a lot of places where you go and do in ductions and you know where the first aid kit is, you know where the lunchroom is, but there’s nothing really about mental health, no phone num
bers and support numbers.
“We need management trained up in seeing signs of mental health. Being trained when one of their drivers comes up to them and says, ‘I’m not doing that well’, in stead of saying, ‘Harden up, and you’ll be right, get back out on the road’.”
For more details on how you can be involved in next year’s event, either as a driver, or sponsor, or make a donation to this year’s fundraising drive, visit lifelinenorthcoast.org.au.
• If you need support, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
THREE months ago Troy O’Neill purchased a sec ond hand Isuzu with over 250,000km on the clock and he’s glad he did.
O’Neill, 31, grew up in Charters Towers and is now based in Townsville where he runs his own business Top Flow Plumbing and Gas.
His pride and joy is a 2013 model NPR 300 with a big cab, which carries everything he needs.
“It carries my tools and gear and is also my mobile office,” he said.
Big Rigs recently saw O’Neill in the sleepy Towns ville suburb of Cranbrook.
The Isuzu was also towing his trusty digger which is an integral part of his operation.
With him was his five-yearold son Tyler who O’Neill said just loves trucks and machin ery.
“My dad Gary is up here from the Gold Coast so I stopped in to see him,” O’Neill said.
Quietly spoken O’Neill says his work took him 900km west out to Mount Isa, 400km south to Mackay and 350km to northern Cairns.
“Basically I will go anywhere around north Queensland and I also have an apprentice working for me.
We do a lot of jobs with solar panels and at pubs,” he said.
The latter is perfect to have a cold beer after a hard day’s work in the tropic heat.
Speaking of that, O’Neill said he faced severe hot condi tions a few weeks ago.
“It was 42 degrees with 94 per cent humidity and we got cooked that day. I am almost immune to it,” he said.
The worst road O’Neill gets along is between Hughenden and Richmond which is a 100km stretch on the Flinders Highway. “It is like driving over big waves,” he said.
With much expensive gear on the back of the Isuzu,
O’Neill had two guard dogs.
“They are named Kaos and a Fox Terrier bitch called JoJo,” he said.
This young driver said that rising fuel costs were very hard to absorb even for operators like himself who owns a light rig.
His favourite roadhouses are the Puma Gold City on the outskirts of Charters Tow ers and another at Calcium located about 50km west of Townsville.
“They have plenty of park ing and good food and lots of trucks pull up at both,” he said.
His hobbies outside work
include pig hunting around Charters Towers and rugby league football.
“I barrack for the Cow boys in the NRL and before they entered I was a St George Dragons fan,” he said.
A few times a year O’Neill also plays in northern All Blacks carnivals as a front row forward for Charters Towers team Black Bream.
“It is named after black bream fish in the Burdekin River which founding mem bers caught and still do,” he said.
A regular occurrence which amuses O’Neill are the num ber of young male and female
tourists he sees “having a call of nature” beside a highway in clear view of traffic.
“On the odd occasion I have seen overseas females chuck a browneye as I drive past,” he said.
The dirtiest jobs O’Neill gets to do is cleaning drains as he never knows what he will find.
“I have been covered in dirt and crap many times doing this,” he said.
Having done the job for 12 years it has grown on O’Neill, who can’t see himself doing anything else.
The first truck O’Neill drove was a Sterling tip truck.
FRIENDLY truckie Phillip Judd was driving a 2019 Volvo and having a break when Big Rigs saw him recently.
Based at Carol Park in Bris bane, the 54-year-old works for Simon National Carriers.
“I have come up with pipes from Melbourne but will be go ing back empty,” he said.
Judd has been driving semis for the past 12 years and says Si mon National Carriers is a good company, which gave workers a fair go.
His favourite roadhouse is at
Jerilderie in NSW but Judd also carries a gas cooker to prepare his own meals.
The first truck he drove was an Isuzu body tray and he bar racks for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL.
Outside work his hobbies are fishing the creeks around Ballina.
“I catch mainly estuary fish and some bream which make good eating,” he said.
Judd said parts of the Newell Highway were by far the worst he gets along.
Troy O’Neill runs his business Top Flow Plumbing
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 #PicOfT heMonth, with the lucky winner receiving a $500 Shell Coles Express Gift Card. Keep an eye out for our reg ular posts on the Big Rigs Na tional Road Transport News paper 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 win ner announced each month. Keep those amazing truck pics coming!
Dan McKenzie snapped this ripper shot of the Kenworth K200 Race transporter on the Nullarbor, heading from Perth to Brisbane after the Kalgoorlie desert race. Andrew Rowe didn’t miss the opportunity to capture this stunning backdrop at the Flinders Ranges, SA. Oliver Bruce shared this pic, unloading fertiliser at Savernake, NSW. Jakob Batchelor transports wheat down to Victor Harbour. Lucas Clough shared this shot of one of Kalari’s Kenworth T658 emulsion tanker road trains unloading at a Central Queensland mine site. Lachlan Harm sent in this snap of the Kenworth T909 his father drives for Metcalf Transport. Tony Griffin navigates this rig along the Eliwana Access Road.
Anthony Griggs and the Western Star, running from Townsville to Darwin.
Matt Williams shared this shot of the old 1992 Mack Ultraliner E7, snapped on Telfer Road.
Stephen Gurney heads back to Townsville from out west with a sleepy side tipper.
“Wet weather just makes for great scenery,” said Filip Schubert.
Kyle Nicholas-Benney stops to admire the Great Australian Bight, while crossing the Nullarbor.
Rod Clark shared this great snap of the Kenworth T904 carting grain in WA.
When the going gets tough, truckies keep everyone going
The night-time closures of the popular Frank Partridge rest area near Sydney will force many truckies to reschedule their stops.
The rest area, located 4km south of the Menangle Road Overbridge, will be closed from November 16 to Decem ber 15 (8pm-5am), and again from January 15 to January 20, 2023 (8pm to 5am), due to pavement work in the area.
From Sunday October 30 until March 1, 2023, the work will be carried out between 8pm and 5am Sunday to Thursday between Menangle and Douglas Park.
This is a very popular stop and parking area for hundreds of grey nomads in caravans too.
I have stopped there numer ous times during trips through NSW.
The closest alternative stop for southbound truckies is Pheasants Nest Rest Area, lo cated 17km south of the Frank Partridge rest area.
The Frank Partridge rests area is one of numerous along the Hume Highway between Sydney and Canberra in what is known as the ‘Remembrance Drive’.
It is named after Frank Par tridge (1924-1964), who was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his action in Bou gainville during WWII.
In July 1945, aged 20, and with three bullets in him, he single-handedly destroyed a Japanese machine-gun nest and became the youngest Vic toria Cross winner of the War.
Apparently, he stormed the enemy position, throwing a grenade and yelling “Come out and fight,” before diving into the bunker and killing a Japanese soldier with his knife.
Partridge was killed in a car accident in 1964, and was bur ied with full military honours in Macksville Cemetery.
Every time I stop at one of these special rest areas I think of these heroes.
Sometimes off the cuff remarks made by truckies, which may seem menial, can paint the pic ture of a bigger story.
Such is the case, I found, after asking every driver I in terview in a year “what is your favourite roadhouse”.
Such establishments around the country have been given the thumbs up for reasons such as clean facilities, good food at value prices, plenty of parking and friendly staff.
A minority mentioned those that have fallen short.
One answer I did glean which has come up consistent ly is that our truckies like stop ping at roadhouses which are close to shopping centres.
The main reason is they can walk over and check out food prices at supermarkets and then prepare what they like on their gas cooker.
These days the majority of drivers have a cooker, small fridge and microwave on board.
If the food at the roadhouse is not up to scratch they won’t buy a meal there but are still
able to park up.
Of course some of these will still purchase fuel there, ensuring the roadhouse gets business.
I know roadhouses situated close to shopping centres are not in large numbers.
But there are enough in strategic locations and word of mouth from drivers ensure these are spoken about.
Some drivers have told me the best time to pop into such shopping centres is on a Sat
urday or Sunday evening just before closing time.
“There are plenty of mark downs on meat and other food and you can snap up a bar gain,’’ some drivers have said.
Food for thought.
A driver who regularly travels from the Queensland border into NT is calling for a few rest areas with toilets along the way.
“The ones there are mainly pull off areas with no facilities
whatever,” he said.
Those who need a piddle can try and wait for a road house to stop at or in urgent needs have their spray beside the road.
However recently one re quired a number two and had to head off and find a tree.
“Lucky there was lots of trees in the area and nobody could see me,” he said.
To some this might be fun ny but it isn’t if you are the one requiring the call of nature.
It turned out to be a positive outcome for a small fleet driv er who lost a muffler from his Western Star whilst driving at Eaglehawks Neck in southern Tasmania.
Roadworks were being done and the truck was direct ed to the half lane of the road still operating.
Alas, his muffler was ripped off by a low laying limb and would have cost $700 to re place plus labour.
The truckie was happy when the company doing the roadworks contacted him and offered to replace the muffler, which they did.
“They couldn’t have been nicer to me,” he said.
Some of my truckie mates in Tasmania tell of “sneaky placed cameras” being installed at lo cations around Copping and Murdunna which are between Hobart and Port Arthur.
“These are nothing but rev enue raisers and are at the crest or the bottom of hills,” one said.
Another said they are also just after the speed limit has been reduced at certain places.
These cameras check for speed and mobile phone use whilst driving.
If you are a truckie or work in the road transport industry and have a long white beard, Spy wants to hear from you.
It is optional if you have been a Santa Claus in previous years before Christmas Day on December 25.
Most years I have managed to track down such lads to ap pear as either a driver profile or feature story in our last edition for the year, out this time on December 9.
This year such gents have been scarcer than a reindeer and sleigh.
If you fit the bill contact us at Big Rigs.
The Melbourne Cup in early November may be known as “the race that stops a nation” and rightly so.
Just about everybody, in cluding once a year punters, have a bet on the event.
After the race and into the next day, media across the country report on the race.
However Spy has discov ered that a week after the win ner crossed the finishing line a majority of truckies I spoke to can’t recall the winner’s name.
This year’s Melbourne Cup winner was Gold Trip.
On the subject of a “Gold Trip” some of our truckie mates who travel the high ways and byways carry metal detectors with them.
These come in handy if they are parked up at some remote place and to pass the time they pull out the detec tor.
Spy heard there are a cou ple of NT truckies who reck on they have managed to find “some specks of gold” at a certain place not far from a town.
Now for obvious reasons, they won’t share the location.
Some Tasmanian and Victo rian drivers were pleasantly surprised to discover that a Banjo’s Bakery had opened its doors in faraway Townsville in November.
Banjo’s has numerous bak eries in Tassie where it started business in 1984.
Spy has been to many of these including at Sorrell and Campbelltown.
Lots of truckies would pa tronise them as well as Victo rian drivers who were making deliveries in the Apple Isle.
The bakery also has stores in southern Queensland.
The new one in tropical
Townsville is beside busy In gham Road in the suburb of Garbutt.
Work has commenced on five projects on tropical Palm Is land in north Queensland which will make life easier for locals and visiting truck driv ers.
The Palm Island Aborig inal Shire Council is co-or dinating the delivery of the projects which commenced on November 1 and will be completed by December 23.
There will be a barge landing upgrade which will include the digging up of an existing two coat seal area and replacing it with concrete, from the edge of the concrete road to the barge ramp and from the barge yard fence to the undercover area on other side.
All trucks that travel to Palm Island on one of two barges which cruise from Lu cinda on the mainland use the ramp for disembarking.
The Esplanade and Beach Roads will be upgraded by digging up existing two coat seal roads and replacing them with concrete.
Mossman St and Dee Streets will also have similar upgrades.
Empire strikes
It was an emotional time for many in late October when the renovated Empire Hotel in Townsville reopened after sev eral decades.
When it last operated more than two decades ago it was called the Republic Hotel, when the boss was popular mine host Terry Wilshire, who has since passed away.
The hotel was previously known as the Empire before it was renamed the Republic in the lead up to the unsuccess ful referendum to remove the Queen as Australia’s head of state in 1999.
The old building in South Townsville was a wreck until purchased and renovated.
I can recall fondly going there as a boy with my father. Some of the patrons would be truck drivers heading to and from Townsville wharf.
The two-storey brick pub is a twin to the nearby Common wealth Hotel, built in the same year – 1901 – and designed by the same architect, Tunbridge, Tunbridge and Lynch.
According to Townsville City Council’s heritage trail, the hotel, as reflected in its rel atively simple federation style design, was built to cater to the needs of the suburb’s work ing-class people.
STARTING his career in the workshop, it wasn’t long before former diesel mechanic Tom Bromley, 28, made the switch to being behind the wheel.
Based in Violet Town in north-eastern Victoria, Brom ley began learning his trade at 17, when he was fresh out of high school.
“I always had a great inter est in trucks. While I was still at school, I was greasing trucks on the weekend and driving stuff around the yard for Bri an at Brian Kearney Transport. He was good mates with the guy I did my apprenticeship with,” explained Bromley.
After completing his ap prenticeship, he went out on his own for about 12 months. “I was doing onsite stuff and breakdowns. Most of my work was still for Brian and then he offered me a job driv ing and I thought, I wouldn’t mind doing that and getting to travel around and see some places too.”
That was five years ago. And with that, his driving career was born. At first, he did the
Albury to Melbourne run each day, and eventually it expand ed further afield, with trips into Sydney and Brisbane too.
Close to three years ago he was offered a job from Rick Button at Comspread Engi neering in Violet Town. As well as manufacturing cus tomised bulk spreaders for the farming industry, the company
also has a transport division specialising in bulk transport.
The fleet is made up of six Kenworths, with a Volvo due to be added to the mix in De cember.
Bromley is lucky enough to be behind the wheel of an impressive new Kenworth Legend SAR, which joined the Comspread family just a few months ago. “I started inn a K200, then a T659 and now I’ve got this new truck and I love it – it’s a very good bit of gear. All our trucks are set up very similar, with Ice Packs, fridges, tellies, microwaves and that sort of stuff,” he said.
The only downside of the new truck is that Brom ley’s beloved pooch Turbo, a red heeler, isn’t allowed in the new truck! “It’s also very hard to find pubs that will let you have a dog in the smoker’s area, let alone cook a steak for him, but luckily the Roma Pub and Royal Ho tel in Mount Hope do,” said Bromley.
Behind the Legend, you’ll find an AB-triple set of tip pers. They’re used to transport stock feed, predominantly from Mildura, Victoria and Renmark, SA, and into vari ous parts of Queensland, par ticularly Goondiwindi. “We used to go to Roma often but not so much anymore. And I carry cotton seed on the way back and into SA,” Bromley added.
Occasionally his wife Che nille, who also has an MC li cence, joins him in the truck
too, when she has some time off.
When Bromley chatted with Big Rigs, he was in Tin tinara, a town in the Murray and Mallee region of SA, un loading cotton seed.
“The stuff I do now is mainly into Queensland –I’m not a big fan of driving around Victoria. I enjoy this sort of work more because you just get to drive, without having to stop and start all
the time. I get to see more of the countryside too and go to places people don’t really get to visit. It’s nice out where we go up through Cobar and Bourke, and there’s not a lot of traffic. In Bourke, I like to stop at Morrall’s Bakery.”
Though he loves being on the road, he says being away from home is still tough – es pecially with his first baby due any day as this edition of Big Rigs hits the shelves.
“My partner and I have our first baby due in late Novem ber/early December. I’m head ing home tomorrow and will take some time off for the next couple of weeks.
“But having a boss like Rick Button has been fantastic. He’s made sure I’ve been back at home for every major scan we’ve had to go to. I imagine me being away has been even harder for her, but that’s how it is with this sort of job.”
THE son of a truck driver, Wayne Rogerson, 50, grew up around trucks but didn’t initial ly think it would be the path he’d follow.
“I got my rigid licence when I was 19. I didn’t want a truck licence and tried not to do it, but when it’s in the blood, it’s in the blood. My dad was a truck driver and my brother is a truck driver too,” he said.
“For the first five years of my life, we moved around a lot, because we followed dad’s work. He had to have his leg amputated from the knee due about two years ago, due to health complications so he can’t drive any more. He was already retired but still loves his trucks.”
One particular truck that stands out in Rogerson’s mem ories is an R model Mack his father drove in the Snowy Mountains. “When we were kids a lot of his work was in the Snowy. On the weekends, we’d stay in the Snowy instead of coming home and would ride tubes in the snowfields. If we ever got lost and couldn’t find him, we’d just look for his big, bright orange truck.”
For Rogerson, his foray into truck driving started when he was working as a vehicle detail er, which had a contract for the Institute of Sport’s coaches and buses. On the weekends, he’d transport athletes via bus. Then by 21, he switched from a bus to a truck.
“I already had a rigid licence and needed to upgrade, then I got a job carting offal from the abattoirs to Young each night,” Rogerson said.
He’s based in a small logging and fishing town on NSW’s south coast, about three hours south of Sydney.
Over the past 30 years, Rog erson has tried his hand at nu merous different jobs, but was lured back into trucking.
He began his current role at Schumann Transport in July, servicing the FedEx contract, which sees him travel to Syd ney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Ad elaide and even Perth.
“My brother had been working here for seven or eight years and he’s a really nice
bloke and really fair, so I came on board. I’m in a brand new 2022 Kenworth K200, which I really like. It’s quiet, comfy and set up to live out of, so there’s a TV, microwave, fridge, freezer,
big bed. All the creature com forts are in there,” explained Rogerson.
“It starts getting really busy at this time of the year. I’ve been heading into Perth a bit too, which we do when the rail line goes under water.”
It’s mainly B-double work, with singles thrown into the mix as well.
Now that he’s back in the driver’s seat, Rogerson says he’ll probably keep it that way for quite a while.
“I like moving, I’m not one for ever sitting still, so I like be ing mobile. I have had a break here and there from truck driv ing, but got back into it when I decided I needed a change, that was a couple of years ago now. I’ve had a fair crack at a few other jobs, but there’s some
thing I love about driving and being on the road,” said Rog erson.
Though he admits that the state of some of the roads he travels through are in a very sorry state at present. “The state the roads are in is atro cious. You’re constantly on the lookout for damage to roads so you don’t damage your own truck. NSW’s roads are really bad at the moment. The Hume Highway running down to Melbourne has some huge pot holes that were there before the rain too.
“And the Hay Plains is re ally bad too. There are pot holes that are 6-8 inches deep. They’re only just starting to get them fixed now. It’s a major arterial road so it shouldn’t get into that state.”
He’s behind the wheel of a brand new 2022 Kenworth K200. Wayne Rogerson recently began working for Schumann Transport.AUSSIE Pumps supports trans port and has a huge respect for how truckies deal with the chal lenges of this essential industry.
“One way we show that re spect is through our Big Rigs Clean Up Club,” said Aussie Pumps’ Niki Patel.
The club is open to all Big Rigs readers. Being members of the club automatically means qualification for discounts on all standard high pressure Auss ie cleaning equipment as well as access to free training programs that help users save money, time and operate more safely.
Cold wash machines – 3000, 5000 psi
The company is Australia’s leading manufacturer of heavy duty professional high pressure cleaning equipment. Machines all feature slow speed 1450rpm ‘Big Berty’ Bertolini triplex pumps. They are available in Honda petrol, Yanmar diesel or single or three phase electric drive configuration. These slow speed pumps have an extended life and offer a unique four-year warranty.
The single and three phase machines have slow speed pumps running at 1450rpm powered by heavy duty four pole electric motors. Called the Monsoon series, they feature the heaviest duty switch in the business. The switch features motor protection, including a
circuit breaker with a thermal trip and short circuit protection in an IP65 enclosure with pad locking capability.
Machines are stainless steel trolley mounted, both in elec tric and engine drive, with big steel wheels with flat free tyres.
“They are built to last in the tough environment of trans port cleaning,” said Patel.
Hydraulic drive pressure cleaning kits are also available, enabling mobile equipment, vac trucks or road tankers to carry inbuilt cleaning kits.
Cold wash accessories Cold water machines are avail able with a wide range of high pressure accessories that can save a huge amount of labour in cleaning large vehicles. They work equally well with earth moving gear, semis or any other large vehicles.
Recommended essentials for use on big jobs is a range of turbos that cut cleaning times by up to 85 per cent, making it easier to move mud, clean un dercarriages, saving time, water and wear and tear on the ma chine and the operator.
Other accessories include a heavy-duty telescopic Aussie Telewand that enables the oper ator a reach of up to 5.5m. The beauty of the Telewand is when the operator pulls the trigger, the pressure of the water going up the lance takes the weight
off the operator. A free harness also makes the job easier.
Hose reels are available in standard powder coated black, or in stainless steel configura tion which is becoming excep tionally popular. Aussie offers special deals with a stainless steel hose reel fitted with 30 metres of high pressure hose for some models.
The power of steam
Aussie leads the way in the design of high pressure steam cleaners with a range that goes all the way up to 4000 psi. They run off either single or three phase electric motors. These machines are ideal for wash bays, providing an infinitely
variable temperature control from cold water all the way up to 130°C.
Mobile steam cleaning
Aussie’s Heatwave is a 4000 psi 130°C steam cleaner, powered by a Honda electric start pet rol engine. The full machine, including the diesel fired boil er, comes in a stainless steel frame that can be either trolley mounted or turned into a mo bile cleaner by mounting on a ute, trailer or truck.
The Heatwave can be moved around a yard to operate inde pendently cleaning vehicles. It can also be mounted in a fixed position on a vehicle with a wa ter tank to make it an entirely
Aussie Heatwave is a new concept in mobile high pressure steam cleaning.
portable high pressure steam cleaning apparatus.
Safe operation a must Aussie Pumps offers a free safety training program. Called, ‘Auss ie Safe Operator’, the course is accessed online and aims to help protect both operator and equipment by explaining the triplex pump technology at the heart of every pressure cleaner system.
Once the operator under stands how the machines work, including its hydraulic circuit, maintenance costs are substan tially reduced and safe opera tion of the machine dramatical ly enhanced.
To join Aussie Pumps Big
Rigs club, contact Australian Pumps and register your details to get regular updates on safety, new high pressure accessories and models, as well as tech niques, and even special deals for Big Rigs readers.
For further information contact aussiepumps.com.au.
The Aussie ‘Safe Operator Training’ course is a must.
The
FOUNDED in 1994, Oberon Quarries is still family owned and operated, and now in its third generation.
It produces blue metal products and has supplied some of Australia’s largest proj ects including Mt Panorama, Mascot Airport, Sydney Har bour Bridge and RTA road works. Its quarry provides high quality basalt blue metal, with reserves of over 100 million tonnes.
From the beginning, Oberon Quarries has focussed on providing its customers with the same high-quality product and exceptional ser vice – and this has led to con tinued company growth.
Today, Oberon Quarries employs around 40 staff and operates a fleet of 22 trucks and 15 plant items, includ ing everything from bulldoz ers and excavators to various forms of mobile equipment.
Oberon Quarries CFO Jake Hargraves says equipment finance specialist, Finlease, has been there to support the busi ness every step of the way.
“Finlease has always assist ed us with our growth and provided finance in every as pect. They’ve helped a small business grow into a larger business – and, consequent ly, have helped deliver some of Australia’s largest projects,” Hargraves said.
“As the quarries have moved further west, we have gotten bigger as a result. Oberon Quarries has become an important component for NSW’s infrastructure needs.”
Though he only officially joined the business 10 years ago, while still completing his schooling, Hargraves says he’s been passing spanners in the workshop since he could walk.
“Being a family business, I was born into it. I started as an accountant 10 years ago and then switched from part time to full time. I’ve been here my whole working life but have become more involved as we got bigger,” he explained.
As the business has grown,
so has its fleet of trucks and equipment. The most recent addition was a Mack Superlin er with a truck and dog set-up, that was delivered in October.
“It was bought to cater to the company’s expansion. We also have another Mack Superliner arriving before the end of the
year,” added Hargraves.
Though supply chain de lays have had an impact on how quickly new equipment is received, Hargraves says Fin lease has been quick to adapt to any challenges that have come its way. “Finlease has adapted to all the changes in
recent times, through Covid, through changes in produc tion and supply, Finlease has always been on top of it and are a pleasure to deal with,” Hargraves said.
He added that Finlease bro ker Michael Abberton has be come an important asset to the
business. “Michael has been a pleasure to deal with and I would highly recommend Finlease to anyone looking for finance. Finlease has been there with us right along the way, from the start. They’ve been one of our key building blocks.”
FINLEASE HAS ALWAYS ASSISTED US WITH OUR GROWTH AND PROVIDED FINANCE IN EVERY ASPECT. THEY’VE HELPED A SMALL BUSINESS GROW INTO A LARGER BUSINESS –AND, CONSEQUENTLY, HAVE HELPED DELIVER SOME OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST PROJECTS.”
JAKE HARGRAVES
SOMETIMES it seems a bit easy, or convenient, to throw mud at the incoming gener ation. In reality most of us have also great stories to tell about just how switched on many of the young folks in our lives are.
For our next generation to thrive they need to have the room to express themselves and show us their perspective, and to learn for themselves what they are capable of.
That means giving them some rope - so long as they know there is someone at the other end who has got their back.
HVIA’s young leaders’ council intends to harness those qualities and give our young people the opportuni ty to showcase some of that initiative and talent, and un leash their potential.
The heavy vehicle industry is built on a legacy of coura geous innovation; innovation that is usually the result of some daunting challenge or other, stared down with de termination, resilience and some good old-fashioned ini
tiative and ingenuity.
For our industry the good old days were not about sit ting around twiddling our thumbs – our best memories are always signalled by anoth er step forward – never rest ing on our laurels.
Historically the solutions were not so much technology, but more about practicality.
While plenty has changed over the decades, and the tools might have evolved, the people that thrive in this en vironment continue to have one thing particular in com mon: a can-do attitude.
We think we are pretty good at identifying those types of people.
HVIA has always been proactive in the workforce development space, with Ap prentice of the Year awards, and more recently the Peter Langworthy Future Leader Award. HVIA also hosts the National Apprentice Chal lenge biennially, alongside the Brisbane Truck Show; we host and facilitate “schools to industry” tours, and we have a significant stake in the success of programs to bring young people into the in dustry such as Glenala High
School’s Trade Centre in Brisbane, and the Australian Industry Trades Colleges. We are going to kick off our new young leaders’ council with a group who have already had their credentials tested by our
national awards process over the last couple of years.
We aren’t going to set the agenda for the forum, but you can imagine some of the issues they might consider:
• Diversity and inclusivity –
what that really means and steps our industry can take to improve;
• Sustainability – there are opportunities for every or ganisation to make a big difference to Australia’s car
bon footprint – how do we educate them about those first steps and the benefits.
• Career pathways- does our industry do enough to fos ter its employees and what can they do better to ensure every industry participant has te opportunity and en couragement to reach their potential;
• Community – the heavy vehicle industry is a great supporter of numerous causes large and small.
What further steps can we take to better connect our vital industry with the broader community;
• Industry policy and reg ulation – there are many layers to our relationship with government from the Australian design rules and standards at one end to federal government’s approach to safeguarding Australian manufacturing sovereignty at the other. What issues are important to our Young Leaders?
Their energy is infectious, so we are looking forward to sharing the progress from our Young Leaders as they set their agenda for 2023 and be yond.
day goes by that we don’t find ourselves caught up in conver sations brimming with double entendres.
WOMEN IN TRUCKING LYNDAL DENNY CEO, Women in Trucking Australia
ONE of the most common questions I’m asked as a female heavy vehicle driver is: “What’s it like working in an all-male environment?”
Given this vocational al ter can be dangerous territory for sensitive souls, I offer the following advice to all wom en considering embarking on trucking careers.
First up, a recognition that male truckies aren’t embassy diplomats is critical, so if that’s what you’re expecting – you’re in for a rude shock!
Political correctness is non-existent, so from day one it’s important to set boundar ies, as your behaviour will de termine the way the ‘boys’ be have around you in the rough and tumble of the truck yard.
In addition to the usual es sential criteria, female truckies also require a whole other layer
of soft skills to enable them to successfully navigate this tes tosterone fuelled environment.
These include resilience, deflection, emotional intelli gence, tolerance, assertiveness and - when all else fails - a good sense of humour!
One commonality across male dominated sectors is the long-accepted practice of ap
plying a thick layer of sexual innuendo to most situations - together with an expectation we ‘gals’ will cop it on the chin.
If you leave the door open - even the slightest – many of the boys will come crashing through it like a bull in a Chi na shop.
This means we need to be mindful of how we frame
our comments. I’ve learned through experience to talk about reversing - not backing up. Don’t announce over the UHF when the forkie asks you what freight you’re carry ing – that you’ve got nothing on. The inevitable teenage boy sniggers over the radio get real tired, real quick!
For many women, not a
Occasionally, these remarks are made to test our mettle. The message is simple; if you want to be accepted - to be one of the boys - then be prepared to get down and get dirty.
Thankfully, though most of these throw-always are wrapped in humour and made without malice.
If you can give as good as you get - great - but if you’re not comfortable, have a friend ly chat with the culprit rather than making a beeline for HR. Challenging these outdated practices is best done without rudeness or hostility.
Another interesting trait you’ll notice, is the male incli nation to reference poor male behaviour as a female trait: “You’re carrying on like a shei la. Must be the wrong time of the month, is it? Harden up princess. You’re driving like a girl. You’re nuthin but a bunch of sheilas!”
These are just some of the throw-always bandied round the truck yard and over the UHF.
Personally, I pick the ‘boys’
up when I hear this sexist com mentary. If a bloke’s throwing a tantrum or has damaged gear, let’s call it out for what it israther than relating it back to perceived female behaviour.
As the only female driver on my shift, I try to keep things light, laugh off the ‘boys’ antics and turn a blind eye to some of the behaviours I see.
Always lend a hand, don’t leave work undone or your truck for others to fuel up.
If you think the ‘boys’ are critiquing your work while they’re standing round watch ing you work – you’re right – they are. This scrutiny can be enormously off-putting if you let it get to you. The trick here, is to learn not to give a toss. Once you reach that astral plane - you can ignore them and get on with your work!
Always support your sis ters. Reach out and help oth er female drivers. Dress, speak and conduct yourself profes sionally. Find female and male mentors and - as your skill set and experience increases, be come a mentor yourself.
Most importantly, care more about being respected in the workplace - than being liked.
FOR heavy vehicle operators there is no relief in sight from the privatised Transurban toll road network.
Your hard-earned dollars are pouring into the pockets of shareholders at Transurban because of the deal made be tween that private company and the NSW Government.
We know that in the New Year, costs on the Sydney WestConnex motorways will
businesses are paying three times the amount for every toll road they drive on.
The Premier announced in October: “I think we need a system that puts further downward pressure on prices
ready stated that there must be published information or data that justifies the rate of road use charges for heavy
ceived zero consultation over toll roads and I would suggest
FOR MANY OPERATORS THERE IS NO CHOICE BUT TO USE TOLL ROADS, THE INEQUALITY CONTINUES THAT FORCES HEAVY VEHICLE OPERATORS INTO THE NORTHCONNEX TUNNEL OR FACE A FINE.”
RICHARD OLSEN
entire swathes of roadway being lifted and literally washed away.
And as if that wasn’t enough, a key rail corridor between Melbourne and Adelaide is now closed after flash flooding at Inverleigh appears to have buckled the tracks, derailing a 1.7km freight train. Thankfully, there were no injuries.
billion may be needed to cor rect the damage and we need all sides of federal and state politics to come together with a plan for the work that lies ahead.
AS this issue of Big Rigs goes to print, millions of Victorians are voting in the state election. The contest has been big on spend ing, with both parties appealing to voters on the very legitimate issues of health, energy, cost of living and education.
But as I write this column, much of Victoria remains un derwater from unprecedented spring rainfall that has devastat ed much of southeast Australia, and we are regrettably nonethe-wiser on plans to repair and reinstate our flood-ravaged transportation infrastructure.
As waters slowly recede in re gional Victoria after the record, the damage to the state’s road and rail transportation network is becoming clearer. Hundreds of kilometres of roads have been impacted, with damage ranging from small, medium and large potholes, through to
The derailment will further challenge already-compromised road and rail freight supply chains, with an influx in heavy vehicle road freight movements between Victoria and South Australia expected until the rail corridor can safely re-open.
The destruction of our state’s road and rail infrastructure as sets underscores our calls for ur gent federal and state funding to tackle the massive repair and reinstatement job ahead.
Our current state budget includes $101m allocation for regional road upgrades, $780m for road maintenance through all of Victoria and $263m to our Road Safety Strategy. How ever, this funding is already al located to projects that were in place before the floods, and sig nificantly more is now needed.
Reconstructing, reinstating, and resurfacing does not come cheaply. We estimate up to $1
Current road funding in the budget will not cover the issues that have now emerged. It will cost a minimum of approxi mately $500,000 a kilometre to repair roads that, for many hundreds of kilometres, will be identified as unsafe when floodwaters recede.
Such an extraordinary repair bill needs to be addressed by state and federal governments because, whilst it is mainly state road infrastructure that has been damaged, the impact will be felt nationally.
We are already seeing evi dence of how national supply chains have been compromised with farmers struggling to get their goods out of regional Victoria to the ports and on to interstate and international markets. The flow-on effect will be felt leading up to Christmas in the form of higher consumer prices and a shortage of supply.
Setting aside the impact on supply chains, there is a real likelihood of personal injury and lives lost because of the in
evitable spike in accidents dam aged transport infrastructure will be a factor in.
Our authorities are doing a magnificent job quarantin ing motorists from damaged roads, but the size and scale of this event means accidents will unfortunately happen. The risk of this is felt most by the road freight industry that is acute ly aware of its obligation to its customers and the Australian
community to keep our supply chains moving as best they can.
Freight will always find a way to get to customers and consumers, particularly during our peak season leading into Christmas. With the expected increase in heavy vehicle traf fic, we ask all motorists to take additional care on the roads to prevent accidents and keep ev eryone as safe as possible.
All this highlights the ur
gency of the task ahead and, re turning to where we started, we need a rapid transport network evaluation, development of a repair strategy and qualifying of cost, with a joint federal-state plan to make our roads safe and operable as soon as possible.
Until that happens, every tragedy created by the condi tion of road and rail infrastruc ture from this point will burn on our collective conscious.
As waters slowly recede in regional Victoria after the record rainfall, the damage to the state’s road and rail transportation network is becoming clearer. Photo: VicRoads/Facebook VTA COMMENTTHE Transport Women Aus tralia Limited Driving the Difference scholarship winners have been announced for 2022, TWAL is proud to provide this opportunity every year with our sponsor Daimler Truck Austra lia Pacific, to women in the transport and logistics industry who want to advance their ca reer or to enter our industry.
We have six very worthy candidates who will be pre sented with their certificates at TWAL’s end of year functions.
Ainsleigh Bilato of Adelaide is our first scholarship winner from SA, and I will be flying over to present her with her cer tificate in December at an event to be announced. Bilato will be studying Certificate IV in Leadership and Management.
In her application she stated, “I am grateful for the strong fe male leaders I have been lucky
enough to work alongside since joining the transport industry. They are contributing daily to removing the barriers for women in the industry, simply by showing up every day and giving it a crack. They have in spired me to pursue a career in the transport industry.”
Brooke Tran of Perth is a long-term member of TWAL and has been employed in the industry throughout her career.
She is studying an Australian Institute of Company Directors – Company Directors course. Tran says this course will pro vide in-depth knowledge of the responsibilities and expecta tions of directors, and enhance her financial literacy and stra tegic decision making for the greater positive impact of the business and the community.
Ellen Tandy of Forbes is studying the following two courses in the next 12 months: Integrated Governance, Risk Management and Compliance, and ISO 45001 OHS Risk Management. “I have decided to venture into offering trans port and logistic companies a knowledgeable and friendly face to help operators set up into the NHVAS and complete
compliance audits required for them to continue accredi tation with the NHVR. This is a service that is becoming highly needed throughout the transport industry and one that needs to be available for region al NSW operators,” Tandy said.
Nichole Speers of Wollon gong will obtain her HR licence to give her a better understand ing of the driver role as she ad vances in her compliance career.
Joana Feiteira is undertak ing the Women Leaders: Own ing Your Success course at the
Australian Institute of Manage ment Education and Training. This course includes outcomes in identity leadership capabil ities and strengths, will chal lenge impostor syndrome and develop strategies to support other women. Feiteira joined
the industry in Portugal 10 years ago and has now brought her passion to Australia and to Sydney Ferries. We are looking forward to watching her in her career in the maritime sector.
Sally-Ann Eather of Sydney is studying Planning Succession in Family Business at the Fam ily Business Association, which is a hot topic for many family businesses and one for TWAL itself. We are looking forward to Eather reporting back to us, once she completes the course, on the fundamentals of succes sion planning.
All the candidates provided outstanding applications and courses that will assist them in advancing within our industry and contribute to the future of all women as leaders. TWAL and Daimler are immensely proud to support women as female participation continues to grow in the industry. Lead ership skills and careers are en hanced by programmes such as these, and the opportunity that the scholarship provides. Being awarded the Driving the Dif ference scholarship means that these successful applicants will undertake a course of study that may have been out of reach.
2022 scholarship winners: Ainsleigh Bilato, Brooke Tran, Ellen Tandy, Joana Feiteira, Nichole Speers and Sally-Ann Eather.
THE trucking industry is being buffeted by increasingly strong headwinds, with operators deal ing with issues such as escalat ing fuel costs, staff shortages and the escalating cost of living.
As we often say, the truck ing industry keeps delivering for Australia, no matter what is thrown at it. But with the best will in the world, something has to change or many trucking operators could buckle under the pressure.
The ATA believes the feder al government can create that change.
For example, the new Alba nese government is more than six months into the job and has made it very clear that produc tivity is a top priority.
The ATA shares the view that productivity is essential. It’s no surprise that productivity in the trucking industry is falling.
One of the key areas that needs to be addressed is the absolutely archaic road access permit system.
As I said earlier this year in Big Rigs, the current permit system is a dinosaur and gives ‘the finger’ to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commit ment to productivity.
It’s cumbersome. It doesn’t work. And there seems abso lutely no point in waiting for the National Transport Com mission to pull its finger out and resolve the issue.
At the moment, trucking operators are working with their hands metaphorically tied behind their backs.
For example, there are 44,000 applications each year to use the roads for which they are intended is wasteful, cost ly and time consuming. In 95 per cent of cases it is complete ly unnecessary.
The artificial limits on highly productive freight ve hicles causes congestion and increases costs.
To make matters even worse, there is complete in consistency between states.
In contrast, Western Aus tralia, Tasmania and the
Northern Territory are widely recognised for better access. Those state and territory gov ernments partner with and recognise the essential charac ter of trucking.
Access should be stream lined, with high productivity freight vehicles enabling Aus tralia’s freight task to be moved in fewer trips, reducing costs, emissions and fuel use.
The ATA proposes the fol lowing solution:
• Reduce the number of access
permits by at least 95 per cent. It would define vehi cle access on the National Land Transport Network to include combinations up to 53.5 metres.
• Replace the permit system and manage access through an automated notice system based on the successful Tas manian model.
• Operators would be able to check their access 24/7. The system would match each vehicle’s configuration to the
network assets on the vehi cle’s possible routes. Op erators would generally be able to use an available route without needing a permit. PBS vehicles would be han dled the same way.
• Change heavy vehicle reg istration by transitioning the HVNL to a Common wealth law which would en able heavy vehicle plates to become truly national.
The inconsistencies in the current scheme would be elim
inated and heavy vehicle regis trations would be exempt from state stamp duty.
There is nothing consumed in this country that does not ride on the back of a truck. So, it’s worth remembering that a streamlined road access system will not only benefit the trans port industry, it will also flow through to our customers.
This is why access and high productivity are so very im portant and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
THIS article is the ending of an era for the transport industry with the demise of this magazine under the restructure and rationalisation of News Corp
It is a sad day for all of us in the industry as Big Rigs magazine has been a part of our lives for almost 30 years.
For some, their entire careers so far.
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 people, 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 many successes and achievements.
It has expanded the relationship with Girl Guides Australia and been involved with several successful projects with them, the Victorian Snoozefest in April 2018, the “Great Bag Migration” for the International Jamboree in Sydney in October 2018 and other interactions that are expanding the knowledge of the transport industry.
We launched the Women Driving Transport Careers initiative with our partners Wodonga TAFE and Volvo Group at the 2018 TWAL Creating
be movingly expressive is to be what (8)
are circus jesters called (6)
a Danish fairy tales author; Hans Christian ... (8)
formally withdraw from an alliance is to do what (6)
give up one’s throne is to do what (8)
an epistle of Paul in the New Testament (6)
term implies that which is the most verdant (8)
is a registered nurse called (6)
term implies a relationship to the kidneys (5)
is a tendon also called (5)
do we call one having the same name as another (8)
Which hockeylike game is played on horseback (4)
Name a large ferocious spotted feline (6)
To catch a glimpse is to do what (6)
What are some beasts of burden called (4)
Name another term for puddings (8)
What is an external covering for the human foot (4)
in Melbourne.
In November 2019 we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the organisation (TWAL) with a fabulous gala dinner at The Windsor Melbourne where we also presented our first four winners of the Driving the Difference scholarships with our amazing sponsor, Daimler Truck and Bus Asia Pacific.
We also presented the inaugural Trish Pickering Mem-
orial Award, sponsored by the wonderful Wes Pickering.
This was awarded for longterm outstanding contribution by a female to the road transport industry, the inaugural winner was Pam McMillan the longest serving director and chair of Transport Women Australia Limited.
This is an annual award and the recipient of the 2020 Trish Pickering Memorial Award
Who was the husband of Queen Victoria (6)
What are sets of 24 uniform sheets of paper (6)
What are groups of tents in one place (5)
Which term means to move to music (5)
What are non-human anthropoids (4)
will be announced later this year at an event still to be determined.
We have also launched our Learning Initiatives Breakfast Series with several partners so far, including NTI, MOVE BANK and rt health.
In early 2020 the Creating Connections Mentoring program was finally ready to commence with both mentors and mentees signing up to the pro-
gram.
I would like to thank the fantastic team at Big Rigs newspaper for their incredible support and wish them ongoing success.
I hope that I get the opportunity to continue to work with some of them and so work towards making the trucking industry a better appreciated, and a safer place for our people.
policy that should be keeping safe one of the most dangerous industries in Australia.
To quote one truck driver turned Australian senator, Glenn Sterle, “a death at work or on the road should not be the price of doing business”.
The TWU puts it to governments that we must stop the inequality that exists between truck drivers and clients.
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,
Drivers must be paid proper 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
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
losing their contracts and the ability to support their families.
It appears the government does not care.
There are unsafe vehicles, dodgy licences, poor payment times, wage and superannuation 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.
A final reminder to all Big Rigs readers: now is the time to unite, now is the time to ensure equality in this industry.
Together we can stand on common ground working to ensure the government continues to support transport workers and the industry they support.
The TWU will continue to voice the needs of transport workers to the employers, their industry bodies and the clients.
Better standards mean job security and ultimately a safer and fairer industry for all. We can lift the standards we need together – our lives depend on it.
HAROLD Goudie, from Kel Stanton’s Mobile Diesel Ser vice, has won the Heavy Com mercial Industries Apprentice of the Year prize at the presti gious 2022 TAFE Queensland – SkillsTech Apprentice Awards in Brisbane.
Sponsored by Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA), the award was open to nomina tions from apprentices training at Queensland’s most trusted training organisation in heavy automotive, mobile plant, and diesel fitting courses.
As with each category, three finalists were chosen and invit ed to attend on the night, with the others being Ben Duff ield from Brown and Hurley Toowoomba, and Cody Farmer from Lindsay Transport.
Goudie was nominated for the award by his employer Kel Stanton, Director at Kel Stan ton’s Mobile Diesel Service, who sees him as a leader within the business already despite his young age.
In the third year of his apprenticeship at TAFE Queensland, Stanton says Goudie has already shown a knack for passing on his grow ing knowledge.
KEL STANTON
“Harry continually demon strates excellent initiative and leadership skills within the workplace,” said Stanton.
“He is extremely kind-na tured and friendly and is always the first to make our schoolbased work experience students feel welcome within the work place.
“Three years ago Harry him self was in their exact position, so he is able to relate well and provides the students with a great sense of comfort through his leadership.”
All three finalists’ appren ticeships have been funded by the Queensland Government’s Fee Free Apprenticeships pro gram, which encourages young
people to upskill for in-demand industries such as the heavy au tomotive and transport indus tries across the state.
TAFE Queensland’s training provides in-demand industries with skilled workers for now
and for the future.
TAFE Queensland – Skill sTech General Manager and event host, John Tucker, said the fifth annual Apprentice Awards were a chance to celebrate the outstanding apprentices who
would go on to become indus try leaders in Queensland.
“The Apprentice Awards are a great opportunity to celebrate the dedication and success of the next generation of local tradespeople and I’d like to
congratulate all of the finalists on their achievements,” Tucker said.
“TAFE Queensland cur rently trains more than 25,000 apprentices across Queensland and the finalists and winners recognised tonight are among the best we have seen this year.
“Harold, Cody, and Ben are prime examples of the quali ty tradespeople produced by TAFE Queensland’s trade train ing.”
The apprentice awards saw a total of 16 prizes presented to apprentices and two inaugural employer awards announced at Howard Smith Wharves in Brisbane City. Unique trade categories presented on the big night ranged from carpentry to manufacturing.
“TAFE Queensland’s teach ers are a key reason for the qual ity of apprentice graduates at the organisation, with all teach ers experienced and deeply con nected with their industries,” added Tucker. “TAFE Queen land is proud to help so many Queenslanders successfully start their trade careers.”
For more information about apprenticeships and trade train ing, visit tafeqld.edu.au.
dog, and an agitator, onto its grounds for the program on October 13.
Cleary Bros was invited to present the Trucks & Teens program to Year 11 students as part of the school’s ‘Life Ready’ skills program.
Students learnt about the challenges facing heavy vehi cle drivers on our roads, and as new drivers, what they can do to ensure the safety of them selves and our truckies. The program covered blind spots, turning room and braking dis tances, with all students also given the opportunity to jump in the truck and sit in the driv er’s seat, with one of Cleary Bros’ drivers next to them.
A NEW program is giving senior high school students the chance to sit in the truck cabin with a truckie, to bet ter understand the challenges heavy vehicle drivers face on the road.
The program was devel oped by Cleary Bros. Located
in the Illawarra and South Coast regions of NSW, the company is a leading provid er of transport, construction, concrete, quarry product and plant hire services.
Running a fleet made pre dominantly of truck and dogs and agitators, Cleary Bros
is looking to bridge a gap in teaching young people how to share the road safely with heavy vehicles, which isn’t taught when they go for their car licence.
Trucks & Teens is funded by the National Heavy Ve hicle Regulator’s (NHVR)
Heavy Vehicle Safety Initia tive (HVSI), supported by the Australian Government. Cleary Bros received fund ing in 2021 as part of HVSI Round 6 however due to Covid restrictions, the pro gram only started making its way into schools in October this year.
Cleary Bros compliance manager Jade Daly told Big Rigs how the idea for the program came about. “Our transport manager recalled
growing up and jumping in the truck with his dad when he was younger, whereas you can’t do that now. So we came up with the idea of taking trucks to schools to expose students in that way. It’s not only about getting kids inter ested in driving trucks, but also about safely sharing the road with a truck,” she ex plained.
The first cab off the ranks was Bomaderry High School, which welcomed a truck and
“Nothing beats the reac tion from the students than when they actually get to jump into the truck. They’re all given a safety brief on en tering and exiting the truck, and the drivers let them toot the horn too, which they re ally enjoy. The driver of the truck sits in the passenger seat with them, and someone else helps them to get in and out safely. We have the blind spots marked out, so they can see what truckies see from inside
All students get to sit in the truck and speak with a driver, one on one. Cleary Bros truck and dog driver Todd Rainey, compliance manager Jade Daly, agitator driver Tye Elliott, and transport distribution supervisor Ray Bowden were at Bomaderry High School.the cabin,” said Daly.
“The feedback we had from students was all really positive. The only negative feedback we’ve had is that they didn’t get to drive the truck – but that obviously can’t happen!
“Students are blown away by how much extra time it takes for a truck to stop. We know it’s not always the young ones who act danger ously around trucks, but if we can educate people from a young age, it’s hopefully going to get better eventually. When it comes to being on the road, the more educated you can be, the better.”
Since the program went live, Cleary Bros has been
contacting local schools and offering up the free program. Another two schools are booked in for November, and the team is hoping to lock in more schools throughout De cember and into the new year.
“We would love to get the program into more schools and have issued invitations to 34 schools in our area. The outcome we’re aiming towards is for the program to be launched nationally, so that other transport businesses can run it at their local schools too,” Daly added.
“It’s a free program and we’re hoping to get as many schools as we can taking it on.”
WITH its 50th intake set to kick off next week, this time WA’s successful truck driver training program will focus on getting more women into the driver’s seat.
An initiative of the WA Government, the $6.1 mil lion Heavy Vehicle Driver Operations Course has seen close to 500 truck drivers graduate through the sixweek program.
Launched in April 2021 and delivered by Driver Risk Management (DRM), on behalf of Central Regional TAFE, the course aims to de liver job-ready drivers.
The course is open to both new entrants to the industry and those wanting to upgrade to higher licence classes. Gen eral manager at DRM, Mia Taylor, says of those who have completed the course, 85-90 per cent have been new en trants. Approximately 40 per cent of graduates to date have been women.
“We’d like to see an in crease in gender diversity, as diversity rates in the industry are still quite low. Compa nies are now making it easier for women within this indus try to come on board,” said Taylor.
“The industry is scream ing out for female drivers and female participants, and coming into the Christmas rush for logistics, there are
more jobs than people to fill the roles.”
The course is delivered in partnership with Western Roads Federation (WRF).
WRF CEO Cam Du mesny said, “This trend is very welcome news for the transport industry, as so many of our employers are keen to employ more female drivers not just because of the skills shortage but because they bring different positive attributes to their company.”
Women from all walks of life and circumstances have been attracted to the course, from mature aged women and women seeking family friendly hours.
“Having a women only cohort and the support ive structure of the course, means it is perfect for women who feel that they may need time to build their confi dence,” said Taylor.
The next course, which will be targeted at women, began in mid November, with 25 places offered. Those taking part only needed to hold a car licence and be off their P-plates.
“Rather than just possess ing a licence, the course pro vides the fundamental skills for graduates to become a safe truck driver out on the road,” said Taylor.
“Every unit has a practical element as well as a theory
element. For load restraint, they’re actually loading the back of a B-double and in stead of nice neat boxes, they learn about what to do with unstable loads too, and have an element for dangerous goods. We look at if your load has dangerous goods, can it be mixed with other items? With journey plan ning, there’s fatigue manage
ment and looking at how many breaks you would need to have.”
To date, 89.5 per cent of those completing the course have gained either immediate or near-immediate employ ment.
Those interested in taking part in the course can contact Western Roads Federation for more information.
The Opportunity
Fulton Hogan Transport currently have a vacancy for a tanker owner driver to join our transport team based out of Dry Creek in South Australia. Reporting to the WA/SA Transport Manager, your primary duty will be the transportation of bitumen products to our plants and customers.
You will be Responsible for
• Adhering to all Safety procedures to operate the Tanker
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively to deadlines
• Accurate completion of all trip paperwork
• Work in accordance with all Fatigue Laws
• Ability to work as part of a small team
• Delivering hot bitumen to required sites and ensuring all safety regulations are adhered to during transportation
• Continuous
What we need from you?
• Dangerous Goods License
• MC Driver License
• Experience in the Asphalt industry an advantage
• Willingness to travel and work away when required
• White Prime Mover (Late Model) capable of towing a B-Double or Double Road Train
• Fulton Hogan Transport will provide training and all specialised PPE.
• Remuneration is paid twice monthly.
• If you are willing to work the opportunity is there to develop a very profitable and sustainable business for yourself.
• Fixed term cartage contract
We build and maintain critical infrastructure that connects and enhances communities across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Everything from roads and bridges, to airports and utilities. We’re committed to ensuring the Good Work we do will make a positive difference to the quality of life for our people, our customers and the communities we all call home. Our continued success relies on generating new and diverse ideas, which is why our ‘Good Work’ culture encourages ownership and empowerment, while never forgetting the importance of balancing life’s priorities.
If this sounds like and you would like to help build on our Good Work culture, then we would like to hear from you.
In the First instance please contact Peter.Hug@fultonhogan.com.au
WA/SA Transport Manager
Julie Lymon and Natasha Wyatt are taking part in a current mixed cohort course. Bomaderry High School students.
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