ATA resists plan to charge HPVs on the Hume, as ALRTA raises concerns NSW will impose state-specific road usage prices
By Brad Gardner | September 7, 2012
The trucking industry has raised concerns New South Wales may go it alone in introducing new heavy vehicle charges, while the state’s government faces resistance to charging higher productivity vehicles (HPVs) to use the Hume Highway.
In light of the release of a draft 20-year transport plan for NSW and news Michael Lambert will chair the body responsible for reforming truck charges, the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) fears what might be in store for indsutry.
The draft plan talks up the need to implement a direct charging model for trucks, while the Government’s 2011 financial audit, by Lambert, advocates a new pricing scheme for trucks.
It also recommends NSW introduce state-specific charges if other jurisdictions do not agree to a national model.
“It sounds as if NSW fallback position might be to simply scoop up more for themselves, on top of what the industry pays to other jurisdictions and to the Commonwealth. If that’s the plan, it’s simply unacceptable,” ALRTA Executive Director Philip Halton says.
“Before the NSW Government moves to begin any kind of discussion with industry, we need to see NSW disavow any intention of ever unilaterally imposing new statewide road usage prices on top of the current national charges and the fuel tax. We’ve been down that road before in this country. It did not end well.”
Halton says the draft plan, which wants to impose tolls on all Sydney motorways and eventually directly charge all road users, indicates NSW wants to take a lead role in reforming heavy vehicle charges.
The document also supports allowing higher productivity vehicles to use the Hume Highway to reduce the number of trucks on the road and to improve efficiency.
It says some upgrades will be necessary to allow larger trucks to travel on the route and that these costs should be recouped from operators.
While Australian Trucking Association (ATA) Government Relations and Communications Manager Bill McKinley has welcomed NSW support for HPVs, he opposes attempts to introduce new charges.
“There is no case to charge trucking operators more to use higher productivity vehicles. We already pay our way on the road system through very high fuel and registration charges,” McKinley says.
He says governments need to discuss better ways of distributing existing funds if NSW believes the current funding structure is inequitable.
“If the NSW Government feels it’s not getting enough of that money, it needs to talk to Queensland and Victoria and argue they should give it some,” McKinley says.
He says operators are already paying too much – about $1 billion extra based on the ATA’s figures – in a combination of fuel excise and registration fees.
Most freight movements occur in NSW, but the state does not recoup the revenue because there are a lot of interstate trucks travelling through to Victoria or Queensland.
The 20-year transport plan claims existing revenue levels will not be enough to cover the cost of maintaining and upgrading the road network.
