14 minute read
PUT YOUR OWN BUSINESS FIRST
The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) is comprised of six mature state associations, together representing around 700 individual transport businesses. For most of the past 35 plus years we have focussed on the bigger picture. We have driven our own agenda. We have put forward ideas and strategies to influence decision makers. We have been on the front foot, always striving to protect and enhance your operating environment so that it remains safe, efficient and financially viable.
But these are not normal times. Over the past two years, we have lurched from crisis to crisis. The shocks to our industry have been many and varied. It hasn’t been government regulation, media, research or community expectations that have thrown up disruptions, it’s been drought, fires, floods, war and disease, perhaps the most enduring and difficult of all challenges that have affected human-kind over the millennia.
From the perspective of a national industry association, there is not a lot we can do about the weather, species jumping viruses or centuries old territorial disputes. So when these shocks suddenly occur, we need to be nimble and quickly switch modes from proactive to reactive. Other longer-term priorities just have to go on hold. During the storm, we batten down the hatches and man the pumps to keep the ship afloat until the inclement weather has passed.
Throughout these challenges, ALRTA and our six State Member Associations have represented the interests of grassroots members at the highest levels. We attended the National Drought Summit. We put forward views at the National Bushfire Recovery Forum. We were involved in drafting the National Freight Movement Code in response to the COVID pandemic. And we have kept members up-to-date about flood disruptions including available support and financial assistance.
Some of our most significant achievements have been to delay significant heavy vehicle charging increases by two
years, establish national protocols for the safe re-opening of food, showers, rest and toilet amenities, and to influence the creation of a multi-year loss carry back allowance for all Australian businesses. Through our membership of the Australian Trucking Association we have also tackled the adblue shortage, maintained generous accelerated depreciation allowances, and gained ‘in principle’ Ministerial approval for a move to competency-based licensing and a new driver apprenticeship to help address our longer-term labour shortages.
Yet, as you know, the real impacts of these external shocks are felt at the coalface, in your business. Thanks to ongoing disruptions to global supply chains and domestic labour shortages, the Australian economic climate is rapidly changing. Inflation is back, and it’s not happy!
Like all of ALRTA’s elected Councillors, ALRTA National President, Scott McDonald, runs his own freight business. McDonald Brothers Transport purchased their first truck in 2000 and have since grown it to a fleet of 12 today. The business operates tippers, crates, flattops and dropdeck trailers, servicing all types of rural transport tasks.
Scott recently offered advice for fellow carriers about surviving economic shocks in uncertain times that is worth repeating here.
“Operating a transport business is difficult at the best of times. It’s a high capital, high cost, low margin game and we operate in a competitive environment,” said President McDonald. “While recent headlines are reporting a steep and sustained increase in the price of diesel and adblue, most other cost inputs are being affected by inflation with the price of tyres, parts, vehicles and labour also increasing significantly in recent months.
“Most transport businesses cannot afford to absorb these increases. Now is the time to put some effort into really understanding the full cost of providing your freight service. Calculating the impact of increased fuel prices is the easy part. However, it’s important to also factor in the current cost of replacing tyres and parts as well as performing essential maintenance. And at some point, you are going to need to replace the truck and trailers, so you need to make sure your margins can cover that too.
“Understanding these rising costs is vital in building a case to adjust your freight rates. Customers are for more understanding when you can explain why your rates must go up. It’s of no help to your business to work harder for the same rate you’ll just go broke faster. We should approach this important issue as an industry. Rate increases are easier to achieve when everyone understands the true cost of our service.”
So, while the ALRTA and our State Member Associations are fighting the good fight on your behalf at the very top of the decision-making ladder, don’t forget to take the time to protect yourself at the individual business level.
No-one knows your business better than you. And with the price of most agricultural commodities at (or near) all-time highs, now is the time to make sure your freight rates are sustainable.
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THE MORE INDUSTRY ISSUES CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME
If you want to shape the future, don’t forget the past, says Warren Clark, NatRoad CEO, in this look at the issues facing the trucking industry today.
Five years ago, our industry had a short-list of issues of concern in the run-up to the 2016 Federal election. We were calling on whoever formed government to take serious action to improve road safety.
The Parliament had rightly scrapped the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), but there was concern about
new and increased regulation that might replace it. And we all wanted more practical business support for trucking to keep operators afloat. Half a decade and two elections later, our industry’s focus isn’t much different.
Safety is still fundamental to how we operate, and governments at all levels still aren’t doing enough to improve it. The tsunami of COVID, supply chain disruptions, driver shortages and rising fuel prices that have driven some businesses to the wall are continuing to compound tiny operating margins, making life tougher for those who remain.
And while a Labor Government would review labour laws, especially those pertaining to the gig economy, NatRoad still opposes any thought of exhuming the RSRT from the grave. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that all of the above remain real and present issues for us all.
It’s not that we haven’t had a lot of wins along the way in five years. What’s more of a problem is a lack of appetite for reform that pervades both sides of government. There are good people on both Coalition and Labor teams and at the State and Territory levels, but it takes more than the words of a few to change the will of the many.
Our history as a Commonwealth is that doing as little as possible to align ourselves with each other is more often than not the default behaviour. The national regulations that supposedly govern how we operate have grown to be increasingly unwieldy and difficult to apply.
We need to take things down to simple principles. We are an essential industry. The pandemic proved that beyond doubt. So we must ask our politicians if they want us to thrive, then why do we have a regulatory system that assumes the truck driver is always in the wrong, and penalties are applied that don’t fit the so-called crime?
Misspelling a town’s name in a travel diary should not be a fineable offence. Unless it’s a bald-faced attempt to say you were someone else, I’m struggling to think how it can even deserve a warning.
Fractionally exceeding a speed limit when driving to conditions, while accommodating the behaviour of seemingly unaware motorists to avoid a collision, should invoke a warning and not the automatic imposition of a hefty fine and loss of points. Yes, there’s always an appeal process but the costs of legally challenging infringement notices is too high, especially when the prosecutor regularly claims their costs.
For us to thrive as an industry, roads need to be better and we need more rest stops. So tie Federal road grants to states and make it mandatory that they adopt better design and rest areas as a condition of funding.
The Federal Government’s own figures show that heavy vehicle charges recover about $22 out of every $100 spent on roads, yet only $17 out of every $100 spent on roads by the Australian Government supports freight.
NatRoad was right behind Pre-Budget calls on the Australian Government to take responsibility for funding and operating all major freight roads. It should then upgrade them all to meet minimum safety star ratings, apply national rest area guidelines, drive productivity outcomes and mandate mandatory service level standards.
The annual spend on rest areas alone is only about $5.5m, which is woefully inadequate when you consider how many lives could be saved by building more.
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SPREAD THE WORD: SHARE THE ROAD THIS HOL IDAY PERIOD
We Need Space provides simple tips on how light vehicle drivers can safely share the road with trucks.
The campaign aims to educate L and P licence holders about how to safely share the road with trucks.
Each year, the Easter and school holiday period sees high volumes of Australians driving on our roads to visit friends, family and loved ones. And while many people are on holidays, we know the trucking industry doesn’t stop.
Bringing heavy vehicles, light vehicles, caravans and bikes together on our roads during this particularly busy period means the potential for accidents to occur increases. So, it’s important that we all make safety a priority during the holidays so we can ensure everyone travelling on our roads returns home safely.
We know more than 80 per cent of multi-vehicle crashes are caused by the light vehicle driver. This is why we’re urging everyone in the heavy vehicle industry to share some simple safety messages with their mates this holiday period, which could save lives.
Please spread the word – don’t linger in a truck’s blind spot, cut in front of a truck, or park in truck bays.
If you know a mate who is taking their caravan out for the holidays, let them know about the importance of leaving rest stops free for heavy vehicle drivers who need to manage their fatigue.
Or if you have a mate who’s a learner driver or on their Ps, point them to our Don’t #uck with a Truck campaign. If they’ve been driving for years, they still might not know that trucks have four blind spots, so send them to our We Need Space campaign and explain
IDAY PERIOD
where heavy vehicle blind spots are and how they can make it easier for you by avoiding those areas.
More generally, it’s about being truck aware. This means leaving space for trucks to stop and turn and only overtaking or merging when there is a long stretch of road, with full visibility.
Share these simple messages with your mates: • Can you see a truck’s mirrors? • Leave truck bays clear for truck drivers to rest • Leave extra space for a heavy vehicle to turn • Don’t steal the space in front of
a heavy vehicle • Drive to the conditions around heavy vehicles
This advice isn’t new, but it remains critical and we know the message can really sink in when you – a member of the trucking community – talk about your first-hand experiences on the roads.
The more your mates understand the safety issues heavy vehicle drivers face each day, the more they can do to prevent incidents from occurring.
So please share these reminders with friends, family and colleagues, and keep an eye on our social media channels for more information.
Stay safe.
The Don’t #uck With A Truck campaign is designed to improve young drivers’ awareness.
DON’T #UCK WITH A TRUCK The Don’t #uck With A Truck campaign is designed to improve young drivers’ awareness about how to drive safely around trucks. It aims to educate L and P licence holders about how to safely share the road when trucks are turning, stopping and how to overtake a truck. Don’t #uck With A Truck was launched in January 2022 and appears online on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube. For more information and to share the Don’t #uck With a Truck campaign with your mates, visit www. dontmuckwithatruck.com.au
WE NEED SPACE We Need Space provides simple tips on how light vehicle drivers can safely share the road with trucks. The campaign is spearheaded by former Supercars star Garth Tander and provides educational resources and videos for light vehicle drivers about how to avoid truck blind spots, overtake a truck safely and overtake a turning truck. In 2021, we partnered with Coles and its supply chain partners Toll and Linfox to promote the campaign, branding their trailers with the We Need Space messages.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SHARE THE WE NEED SPACE RESOURCES
HVNL CIRCUIT BREAKER
Rather than complain, the Australian Trucking Association has come up with an alternative, says David Smith, ATA Chair.
The National Transport Commission’s review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law has dragged on since 2018 and there’s no end in sight. Many of us have made submission after submission and yet there’s been no movement at all.
To say it’s disappointing is an absolute understatement.
The ATA could easily just sit on the sidelines and complain about the situation. However, we’ve decided to take action and introduce a circuit breaker. That circuit breaker is an alternative policy we’ve drafted called the Road Transport Act, which would replace the Heavy Vehicle National Law.
The draft Road Transport Act shows our commitment to laws that have the national economy at the heart and ensure the safe, productive movement of freight. Our draft Road Transport Act would be a Commonwealth Act, not a cooperative national scheme, so the law would be the same for all the participating states and territories.
Under the draft Act, all businesses operating trucks would be required to have a safety management system (SMS). This would mean that every business operating trucks would need to address driver fatigue in its SMS. The regulations would set out maximum work hours for non-certified businesses. For a certified business to exceed that level, it would need appropriate risk controls.
The draft Road Transport Act could see the end of official work diaries, which are nothing more than a compliance trap for hard working truck drivers. Under our model, businesses would be required to keep records of driver work hours, which could be in any format as long as they meet the requirements of the law. This would be more efficient and would save operators millions of dollars every year.
The proposed law would also eliminate minor fatigue and work diary offences. Long term fitness for duty would be handled through the licensing system. All truck drivers would be required to have regular medicals against fit-for-purpose medical standards.
The new Road Transport Act would dramatically boost the industry’s productivity. It would define vehicle access on the National Land Transport Network to include combinations up to 53.5 metres. The Road Transport Act would also replace the permit system and the number of access permits would be reduced by at least 95 per cent.
Operators would be able to check their access 24/7. The system would match each vehicle’s configuration to the network assets on the vehicle’s possible routes. Operators would generally be able to use an available route without needing a permit. PBS vehicles would be handled the same way.
The Road Transport Act would make changes to heavy vehicle registration, with heavy vehicle plates to become truly national. The inconsistencies in the current scheme would easily be eliminated and heavy vehicle registrations would be exempt from state stamp duty.
We know it’s unusual for a national industry association to create a draft law. However, to us, it’s the obvious way to break the impasse.
We urge governments to adopt our proposed law and put an end to this policy review circus that has frustrated far too many of us for far too long.
YOU CAN CHECK OUT A SLIDE DECK ABOUT THE DRAFT ON THE ATA WEBSITE
