ATA calls for government to prioritise safety and road access in $24.5 billion infrastructure boost

ATA calls for government to prioritise safety and road access in $24.5 billion infrastructure boost

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced in early May that the Liberal-National government will invest $75 billion-plus in significant transport infrastructure projects across the country in the coming decade, including $24.5 billion in new funding. In a statement, the ATA (Australian Trucking Association), which represents trucking businesses in Australia, called for the government to prioritise safety and road access as it begins earmarking the new funds.

Busting congestion

Dr. John McVeigh, Minister for Regional Development, Territories, and Local Government, says the “investment will bust congestion in our cities to get commuters home sooner and safer, move freight more efficiently to our ports and markets, better connect our regions, grow our economy, and create thousands of new local jobs.” Specifically, McVeigh says the “pipeline of infrastructure projects” would create roughly 50,000 additional direct and indirect jobs in the coming 10 years. New major rail and public transport infrastructure projects targeted will include up to $5 billion for the construction of a new rail link to the Melbourne airport.

ATA Chair Geoff Crouch says that while the $24.5 billion infrastructure boost “is great news for all Australians,” as it will include safer roads and deliver greater efficiencies across supply chains, the projects will also “involve an enormous increase in construction truck traffic,” and adds “these truck movements all need to happen safely.”

Crouch says that although the government has announced that businesses seeking Commonwealth contracts that exceed $4 million will be required to show they have a satisfactory tax record, the government should go further. “Businesses that work on Commonwealth-funded projects should not just be required to have satisfactory tax records, they should be required to have good safety records and systems, as well,” he says.

Reducing delays

Crouch states that any major infrastructure project the government helps fund should mandate accreditation standards the ATA is working to develop through its TruckSafe Program for construction truck operators. The ATA is working in conjunction with the National Road Safety Partnership Program, the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, and other organizations. In addition to under-run protection and alert systems, the standards would cover better driver training and mirrors covering front, rear, and side blind spots of trucks.

In a separate statement, Crouch has also said that a key condition of government funding to states and local government, including under the government’s new RoSI (Roads of Strategic Importance) initiative, should be road access for high-productivity and OSOM (oversize/overmass) vehicles. “Trucking operators that move oversize/overmass freight are in crisis because of the long delays involved in getting permits,” he said, adding that getting a permit to haul OSOM steel products on Melbourne’s Transurban tollways can take upward of 80 days. “In total, trucking operators spend 4.5 million days per year waiting for approvals to move freight,” he said.

Crouch noted that in the eastern states and South Australia, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator issues such permits but faces the same problem as ATA members. “It has to wait endlessly for local authorities and other road managers to sign off on the permits. They can take as long as they want, and there are no external appeals against their decisions,” Crouch said. “The Australian Government needs to attach conditions on its infrastructure funding to require local councils and the states to get their act together and issue permits in a timely way.”