Letter to Premier Jay Weatherill outlines concerns at state tax pressures helping put companies out of business
The South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) is calling on the State Government to reassess heavy vehicle charges following the collapse of Allsons Transports.
SARTA Executive Director Steve Shearer says Allsons Transport is one of many transport operators who are going out of business due to the cost of fuel and registration charges.
The South Australia-based company which was formed in 1987 went into administration on May 7 due to spiralling costs.
Shearer has written to South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill requesting a meeting, saying he has seen one too many companies go out of business in the last 12 months.
“We’ve been saying to the government for some time that we’d like to see some more comprehensive discussion about the road transport industry,” Shearer says.
“The problem is that they see that truckies are tough and they’ll still be there tomorrow.
“We are supposed to wear ridiculous fines and penalties for things that are not just safety related but are technical and that all adds cost.
“The land tax rate for transport yards is substantial – a whole range of things add up making it very difficult and we need the government to actually understand and get serious.”
He says the economy can’t afford to lose transport operators.
“We would rather ring the alarm bells and get a serious discussion and do what we can before things get so bad that it causes the economy to collapse because afterwards it’s going to be very difficult to recover.
“The economy can’t afford to have too many truck operators go to the wall because you won’t be able to replace them all and by the time they’ve gone it’s too late.”