Former federal finance minister says governments need to accelerate the introduction of a new road charging scheme for the trucking industry.
Governments should prioritise an overhaul of heavy vehicle charges to fund new infrastructure, former federal finance minister Lindsay Tanner says.
Tanner, who now chairs the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), wants the work of the Heavy Vehicle Charging and Investment (HVCI) group accelerated.
The HVCI is currently investigating potential reforms to the charges system, including fuel-based charging. Tanner wants trucks individually billed based on weight, distance travelled and the roads they use.
He says reform is vital to ensure Australia develops and maintains transport infrastructure that can cope with the significant growth in the freight task over the next 20 years.
“A key priority is to see the implementation of the Heavy Vehicle Charging and Investment reforms expedited and prioritised by governments,” he says.
“Industry believes the time is right to start a new way of charging heavy vehicles based on how heavy they are, where they are and how far they travel.”
Tanner says the revenue from the new charging framework could be funnelled into infrastructure projects that have input from the heavy vehicle sector.
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) opposes mass-distance-location charging for trucks and instead wants governments to recover more fees through the fuel excise in return for lower registration charges.
“Fuel is a variable cost, so consumption will increase with distance and mass. As a result, the ATA plan will provide a greater incentive for operators to use fuel efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles,” it says.
It adds that its proposal will also address congestion to some extent.
“Travelling in heavily congested areas is more fuel intensive, thus encouraging behavioural change,” the ATA says.