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NatRoad targets RSRT in election campaign

The ‘Safety is my business’ initiative aims to promote the message to further empower NHVR and not reinstate RSRT

 

NatRoad has launched a pre-election campaign to encourage industry members to raise their concerns regarding the future of the currently-abolished Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) and how it will impact the industry if it was brought back.

It comes after the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) released its ‘election 2016 report card’ that rates political parties and senators based on their take on trucking-related issues, and the ALRTA fired a warning to industry members to highlight their concerns to local candidates prior to the elections.

With the two major political sides still holding opposing views in the matter of bringing back the tribunal and the federal elections less than two weeks away, NatRoad says it is time for industry members to seek commitment from various political parties and candidates on this issue.

NatRoad is opposed to the tribunal and its Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016 (RSRO), and has earlier suggested increasing the powers of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to promote safety and compliance reforms in the transport sector.

“We all want a safe, competitive, thriving road freight industry – after all every Australian relies on trucks to transport goods to our communities,” NatRoad CEO Warren Clark says.

“But when I talk to owner drivers during this election it is pretty clear that many businesses hang on the outcome.

“On the one hand if the Coalition is returned to Government, they will not return to the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal and will redirect the previous tribunal funding to safety reform through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

“On the other hand, if the Australian Labor Party is elected, it has stated that it would re-introduce the RSRT and consult on the order.

“These are vastly different approaches to the industry and a return to the RSRT would have an impact on the bottom line of small business truck drivers everywhere.

“Small trucking businesses know that a return to the RSRT is not the answer to improve safety.

“For owner drivers – safety is their business – it underpins their ability to be in the driver’s seat making a living in their small business.

“We know that safety in the road freight industry is vastly different from the 1980’s and that government, regulators, industry bodies and individual businesses continue to make significant investments to improve safety.

“We all want to continue to improve safety in our industry while ensure there is some consistency to regulations after many years of change and that safety compliance is truly practical.”

Launching the campaign, Clark says ‘Safety is my business’ aims to “highlight how far we have come as an industry while encouraging members to actively seek commitment from candidates for further safety reform through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator rather than a tribunal”.

“We will keep the focus on the implications of this election result for our industry through the ‘Safety is my business’ campaign combined with a new NatRoad special interest group for owner-drivers and our continued representation on government advisory groups.

The campaign will run up to the election on July 2. For more details on how to get involved in the campaign, visit www.smalltruckingbusiness.com.

 

 

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