Tip-truck drivers in Victoria are still suffering due to the government’s lack of an adjusted fuel levy, meaning more action may be on the way
This week’s Victorian Tippers United (VTU) protest already caused a stir, but VTU spokesman Luke McCrone says more action may be on the way if the state government refuses to move on a fuel levy proposal.
Wednesday’s Melbourne CBD protest involved more than 70 tip-trucks driving at 35 kilometres per hour through the city, bringing traffic on the West Gate Bridge to a standstill and pushing queues of cars back 10 kilometres during the peak hour rush.
The convoy then drove out the front of Victoria’s Parliament House, causing the state government to quickly hold a zoom meeting with the VTU that afternoon.
“We had a meeting with the government and senior advisors following the protest,” McCrone told ATN. “They were very interested to know why we did it.
“They said the Transport Industry Council is in the process of reviewing rates but their view was that it would be too complicated to police a levy, which is just wrong.”
McCrone says levies are standard in the industry, with the VTU willing to reach out to the government over the next week to make some progress on negotiations.
The VTU spokesman says the union wanted to get the government’s attention as previous phone calls and efforts to reach politicians received no answer.
“The plan was to take our trucks out the front of Parliament House, ideally on a sitting day, but there isn’t one anytime soon,” McCrone says. “When you put that many trucks on the road, we had to try and bunch people up so they could see our convoy and it ultimately caused quite a disruption.”
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Wednesday’s protest wasn’t a new move by the VTU. Earlier this year, tip-truck drivers all around the state stopped work at certain stages to gain an increased fuel levy to cover the rising cost of diesel on government jobs. Now, the union wants non-government jobs to have similar rate increases applied.
“It all kicked off again last Friday,” McCrone says. “We’d been told by the government that they would introduce a new fuel levy as part of their recommended rate, which would’ve been payable straightaway on government jobs.
“We’d also been working with hirers and got them to agree to some rate increases with fuel for non-government jobs, but then they heard the news that the government wouldn’t introduce a fuel levy.”
That news on Friday meant hirers previously in discussion with the VTU dropped their fuel levy proposals, as the state government announced it wouldn’t introduce a fuel levy that could be adjusted each month to suit the fluctuating diesel prices.
It deflated hopes of tip-truck drivers, with some only taking home a profit of $60 per day in recent times due to the astronomical price of diesel and vehicle maintenance.
“We were really disappointed, mainly because there was no levy as promised and no consultation on it either,” McCrone says. “The government did all of this once again without talking to anyone in the industry – it was handled by bureaucrats who just don’t get it.
“We dealt with them in good faith, they then made commitments to us and had no intentions of honouring it.”
The massive blow for both government and non-government tip-truck drivers spurred Wednesday’s protest through Melbourne.
McCrone says it won’t be the end of the VTU’s plans to disrupt Victorian transport life unless the state government agrees to finally consult with them and implement an adjustable fuel levy.
“The state government is pinning their re-election hopes on the infrastructure program that they’re in the process of delivering,” McCrone says. “But that entails moving quite a lot of dirt – if people don’t do that then they’ll struggle to deliver it.
“Unless they come to the party with us and constructively discuss a fuel levy then we’ll be forced into more action like we saw this week.”