Reforms to the chain of responsibilities regime has taken a step closer with a recent release by the National Transport Commission. The NTC discussion paper details the proposed specific requirements of participants in the supply chain. Read more
Finally…some real progress
The whole process of moving regulation of the trucking industry onto a national basis has been a long slow grind. Real results ending the ridiculous cross border issues we meet every day have been hard won and often quite small victories. Read more
It’s all about high productivity
The National Transport Commission has said productivity will become the main focus for its work over the next four years. A statement released outlined a range of projects designed to boost transport networks. It says it will seek to identify ways to deliver quicker and cheaper road, rail and intermodal networks, particularly for Australia’s freight and logistics industry. This announcement follows the approval by Australia’s transport ministers of anew work program last week. Read more
Let’s get serious
How the atmosphere has changed in the last few months? After a bad year in 2014, when it looked like the project to get a true national legislation and regulator for the trucking industry looked in danger of stalling, and the various state ministries and regulators were rubbing their hands in schadenfreude at the misfortunes of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, we seem to be turning a corner. Read more
Review flawed rego charging
There is a general recognition the current way of calculating the road user charge for trucks on Australia’s roads is flawed. In 2014, the government froze the charge for the year after questions were raised about incorrect calculations about the number of trucks on the road. Read more
Rego rise discussions
The calculations have been done and the National Transport Commission has released the proposed heavy vehicle registration charges, to come in later this year. The NTC annually recalculates the charges using a seven year average for both road expenditure and vehicle numbers. Read more
Dreaming of the grand final
It’s like waking up on the morning after losing a grand final. Your team made it all of the way to the big day and then messed up, going down meekly to the opposition. There’s a blame game to be had, if you want to take it out on somebody, and then there’s just crying in your beer. Read more
Roadworthy trucks
The whole issue of how roadworthiness in trucks can be maintained is undergoing scrutiny, at the moment. The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released a regulatory impact statement (RIS) to the industry and is calling for submissions in response. Read more
NHVAS changes announced
New rules governing the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme are on their way and effective next month. This week’s announcement by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator sets out changes to the auditing provisions of the NHVAS which will be in force from March. These changes are part of the National Transport Commission/NHVR National Heavy Vehicle Roadworthiness program. Read more
One voice on critical COR reform
All of the representatives of the trucking industry have agreed to a single submission to the National Transport Commission on amendments needed to improve the current chain of responsibility situation. Speaking at an industry information forum, hosted by Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers on the Gold Coast today, Chris Melham has outlined the road transport industry’s position on COR. Read more