Warren Clark, NatRoad CEO took a look forward towards where NatRoad expects to go in the future, with freight expected to grow by about 57 per cent by the year 2040. Warren examined the issues which are likely to arise.
“The problem with it is, that we’re still facing the same issues that we faced decades ago; rising costs, staff shortages, red tape,” said Warren. “Now, we’ve got the issues of decarbonisation, and we’ve got technology advancements. For many in the industry, these things are overwhelming, and that’s why you join an association like NatRoad.
“We have the staff, we have the resources and take up the fight for the industry. To get any decisions made, you need to be very united. We’ve got the ear of the politicians at the federal and state level. We’ve got it on both sides of the house, and it’s taken a lot of work, but we believe that they’re starting to listen to us.
“We’re there to take up the rights and future of your business, and we don’t stop until we start to get some sort of hearing. It was only a week ago (in September) that we had a major roundtable in Parliament House. We struggled to get some ministers on board, but at this particular meeting, we had the ear of the prime minister, who actually stopped in for about 15 minutes.”
Australian trucking has to deal with regulations and rules that are decades old, and any change is hard to achieve. The trucking industry is not taken seriously in Parliament House. The importance of the industry was illustrated during the global pandemic to the public, the decision makers and the policy makers, to see it as an essential service.
“One of the big changes, is the change in the industrial relations legislation, the Closing Loopholes Bill. We do need change in this industry, there’s no doubt about it, but we don’t know what that’s going to look like. It’s being handled through the Fair Work Commission and, traditionally, that’s been a bit of a battleground for the industry. But we’re pooling our resources with others and we’re at the table, we’re there.
“We’re going to be fighting for industry in the way of efficiency gains and safety gains. This year there’s been an increase in major incidents by 27 per cent so really, what it’s showing is that we actually need to do something about it. It’s across all sectors in the industry, large, small and medium, it’s not just segregated to any one particular group.
“A major focus of our organisation is going to be safety and sustainability. The other problem that we talk about is driver shortage. Without drivers, the industry can’t grow. We risk long term disruptions to the supply chain.
“The thing that’s frustrating is we don’t do enough to promote our careers in this industry – things like flexible working hours, self employment opportunities. You can come to this industry, earn a good wage, own your own business, and guess what? You can actually do it for your whole entire life, if you’re successful.”
