This year’s Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Victoria conference, held in Shepparton, was an important one for several major issues affecting drivers, farmers and operators across regional Victoria.

As the peak body for rural transport in the state, members flocked from all over Victoria, while representatives from the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association, NTI, NHVR and more were in attendance.

Top billing was misgivings from many members surrounding the state’s road network, and the application of high productivity vehicles.

A panel was assembled including industry leaders on the subject, giving members an opportunity to highlight what they see out on the roads on a daily basis.

“We want to be able to explain what we’re doing inside the association on high productivity livestock vehicles and PBS going forward,” said LRTAV President Russell Borchard.

Operator Anthony Boyle of Boyle’s Livestock Transport runs a fleet of more than 20 trucks out of Allansford along the Great Ocean Road, servicing livestock markets across the state.

He detailed his struggle with making his fleet meet PBS standards, particularly facing the financial challenges of the endeavour.

“It cost me about $300,000 to get vehicles approved,” Anthony says.

“It gave me access from Mount Gambier in South Australia, to Warrnambool down the Princes Highway, back to Melbourne, through Shepparton and then to New South Wales. I had two roads I could use for that money, and six trucks approved.

“The process of gaining network access, getting over bridges, getting approval for existing equipment instead of going for new designs was tedious and very long.

“Just when you’ve got it all approved, another bridge would pop up and you’re shelling out for another bridge assessment.”

The push to ‘Keep the Sheep’ was also touched on, as the advent of new legislation threatens to make a significant dent to the work of sheep transporters.

A bill was passed in July to see live sheep exports by sea phased out over the next four years, eventually ending entirely by May 2028.

But there has been a vocal pushback from livestock transporters and farmers across the country. LRTAWA Vice-President Ben Sutherland is one of the voices behind the movement.

He travelled to Canberra before the LRTAV Conference as a part of the Keep the Sheep delegation, telling Parliament the importance of the live sheep export trade in Australia.

“Keep the Sheep’s a grassroots campaign which came about from us saying no,” Ben said at the conference.

“At the moment we’ve got 83,500 signatures. We’ve just amassed $475,000 for our warchest to give the federal government a kick.

“This thing is not just a WA problem. It’s an Australia-wide problem. Agriculture keeps getting kicked in the teeth, and we’re agriculture are we not?

“We need to make that decision and have a crack at it. When it first came out, it was 30 per cent of my business being taken away.

“All the money that we’re putting in is for people like you. Help us keep the sheep.”