If 2024 was anything to go by, 2025 is going to be a huge year for the road transport industry.
This time last year, the Albanese Government’s groundbreaking Closing the Loopholes legislation passed the Parliament. This legislation will ensure that labour hire loopholes will be closed, wage theft will be made a crime and workers will benefit from safer workplaces. The first tranche of the Closing Loopholes Legislation will also criminalise industrial manslaughter and make ‘same job same pay’ the law of the land. The fight to deliver these changes had been hard fought by workers for many years but the fight was not over. We still needed to get transport reform, or Tranche Two of the Closing Loopholes bill, over the line.
After a long and unified fight by the road transport industry, transport reform passed the Parliament on February 12, 2024. This Bill will go a long way to ensure a safe, sustainable and viable trucking industry – including for owner drivers! It was a very proud day for the transport industry, which still stands united, unlike the Coalition (the Liberal and National parties as well as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation), who voted against supporting truckies, transport companies and owner drivers. Next year, when the federal election comes around, transport workers will have a clear choice of who they can trust to stand up for them.
Whether it be delivering transport reform for truckies, owner drivers and transport companies or investing $26.5 million in new or upgraded rest areas for our essential truck drivers since being elected in 2022, the Albanese Labor Government is the only party that genuinely cares about the road transport industry and our truck drivers. Compare that to what the Liberal and National parties have done for truck drivers in recent history, including abolishing the Road Transport Renumeration Tribunal without putting anything in its place to guarantee protections for owner drivers and transport operators and leaving drivers scared out of their wits when they failed to prepare for the looming shortage of urea back in 2021.
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On top of this, they also cut the fuel excise which failed to produce any relief to truckies working on razor thin margins, offered a truck driver apprenticeship scheme prior to the last election without first committing to come up with a plan to address the broader issues which were resulting in a race to the bottom through the squeeze of the supply chain and, when faced with an opportunity to deliver real transport reform to ensure a safe, viable, sustainable, profitable and secure road transport industry, they voted against it. They voted against job security for transport workers, better rights, pay and conditions, minimum standards for truckies and a dedicated arm within the Fair Work Commission just for the road transport industry. They also voted against delivering standards for food delivery riders and drivers; and improving payment terms that wouldn’t put pressure on drivers into lowering costs.
The actions of the Liberal and National Party, along with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, were in complete defiance of a unified transport industry which was comprised of transport workers, owner drivers, truckies, gig economy workers, academics, transport companies – large and small, transport associations and the Transport Workers Union who had been calling for this change together for many years. The Coalition were aware of the position of the unified transport industry and some MPs and Senators from the Coalition even met with them to hear why transport reform was so important.
Yet they voted against it. So, with that being said, what is the Coalition’s plan for the road transport industry in the lead up to the next election? Will they continue to bow down to the likes of the Minerals Council of Australia, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, AI Group and the National Farmers Federation who ran a $24 million campaign against the labour hire reforms?
Or will they engage with the likes of the National Road Freighters Association, the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation, NatRoad, state-based transport associations and the Transport Workers Union to understand why this groundbreaking transport reform is essential for the road transport industry and why it must be protected, respected and supported – now and into the future?
For me, the choice at the ballot box next year could not be clearer. For now though, I would like to wish everyone and their families a very Happy New Year and remind everyone to travel safe and make sure you hug the ones you love before you head out on your next trip.
Glenn
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