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OPINION: Think big on trucking’s future

The transport industry and national prosperity demand need a more modern regulatory mindset

 

The transport ministers of Australia will soon meet to discuss the review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL); the national law that applies to some of the country.

The recent Productivity Commission report, Shifting the Dial, notes that as a country, Australia’s use of its resources is growing at about half of its historic rate, which is consistent with the inexorable decline in productivity in the transport industry since the early 2000s.

This is against a backdrop where the Productivity Commission has continually estimated that only 10-15 per cent of the freight task is contestable between road/rail and the freight task is going to double by 2030. This further highlights that the current legislation is outdated and lacking relevance for the contemporary demands of the economy.

A full review of any Act is rare, and this opportunity to review the HVNL must not be missed. It is far too important for the future of the industry.

New lateral thinking needs to be brought into this legislation. The industry needs to lead a new conversation to capture imagination and inspire new ways to balance productivity and safety to make it as competitive as it can be.

Historical evolution

In the period from 1898 to the early 1920s, truck development grew from the adoption of semi-trailers and hard tyres until in 1923, Benz CIE put the first diesel truck on the road and the evolution of the modern freight vehicles of today was well under way.

The 1920s saw many countries adopt standardised truck and trailer sizes, along with fifth wheel couplings and with power assisted brakes and steering. By the early 1930s, truck weights/standards were set. The standards in Australia correlated quite closely with the standards and many elements of the approach in the US.

In 1933, under the leadership of President Franklin D Roosevelt, all industries were required to create a Code of Fair Competition and the American trucking industry immediately responded with their code being approved on February 10, 1934. A special ‘Blue Eagle’ licence plate was created for truck operators who complied with the code.

The Motor Carriers Act established by the US Congress later in 1935 was modelled on the code and hours of service requirements were introduced in 1938.

The president’s leadership of this remarkable approach to public policy established the settings for the next 85 years.


 

 

NTC annual report outlines HVNL and automated vehicles as key reform agendas. Read more, here


In 1982, the Motor Carriers Act was deregulated with the introduction of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, which established a variety of limits relating to size and weights for interstate traffic.

In particular, to resolve the impositions being required by “barrier states” as described by the US Congress.

The legislation in Australia has been in place for a similar number of years to the US, with fundamentally the same orthodoxy being applied since time immemorial.  

Time for a change

In Australia, the transport and logistics industry contributes almost 9 per cent to GDP in an economy where the last big reform program in this country started with the Hawke years and continued through Keating and into the earlier Howard years.

This reform program delivered many productivity and safety gains for the transport industry. The micro economic reforms of that period have been acknowledged by the Productivity Commission as having declined to a point, and that since 2007 there have been negligible productivity gains for the industry.

It is time for a breakthrough strategy, a disruptive step if you like, to properly prepare and set the industry up for the next 30-40 years. A full review of an Act (HVNL) is rare and a once in three-generation opportunity. This opportunity must not be lost.

The existing ways of thinking are the remnants of the remarkable way the legislation was formed back in the 1930s.

There have been 85 years of extraordinary development of efficient viable technology, productivity and efficiency alternatives, none of which are reflected in the current law.

These developments need to be used to energise and reform the law and meet the needs of the modern world.

To achieve this goal and give due recognition to the impact and importance of the industry to our economy, attention should be drawn to the commencement of the last big reform program in this country through the establishment of a “Road Transport Accord”.

It is through a mechanism like this that we can debate the ideas from the key opinion leaders across our industry, be they companies large and small, logistics, unions, agriculture, associations, economists, road managers and insurers, to name a few, along with lawmakers to set a new vision.

This Accord could set a vision across a number of spheres that cover productivity, safety and organised labour considerations, and would be the guiding framework to then conclude what the legislation should be.

This approach has the potential to set a framework that is agile and adaptive to future needs, and gives this country every chance to maintain a sustainable and comparative edge.

This country covers a large geographical area with a relatively small population. The industry is forced to punch above its weight and stands at the edge of some of its biggest challenges, including technology, autonomy, alternate energy, safety and productivity. These challenges will have significant consequences on our workers and the industry demands and deserves a new vision for the future.

Our industry is ready to step up and set a new direction, and lawmakers need to get on this charter with us. It is time to move out of the analogue legislation model into a future led by forward-thinking that reflects the digital age.

Gary Mahon is CEO of the Queensland Trucking Association

 

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