Queensland Opposition plans to stick with existing heavy vehicle charging system if it wins the election.
The existing heavy vehicle charging system will remain in place in Queensland if the state’s Opposition wins the election this weekend.
Queensland Labor Party deputy leader Tim Mulherin has told the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) that Labor has no plans to move away from the scheme built around registration fees and fuel excise.
Mulherin made the pledge in his response to the QTA’s list of priorities sent to Labor and the Liberal-National Party (LNP) ahead of the January 31 poll.
In the document, the QTA listed national heavy vehicle regulations, heavy vehicle charges, rest areas and road infrastructure investment as the main areas it wanted the next Queensland Government to focus on.
“With respect to heavy vehicle road user charging, Queensland Labor has no plans to alter the current charging system or move towards Mass-Distance-Location pricing,” Mulherin says in his written response to the QTA.
“Labor believes that further discussions and broad consensus at a National level would be required before any moves to radically alter current pricing mechanisms.”
Mass-distance-location involves charging trucks individually based on the weight they carry, the distance they travel and the roads they use. It was one option the now disbanded Heavy Vehicle Charging and Investment (HVCI) group put to Australia’s governments.
Mulherin has also told the QTA that Labor supports ongoing work to develop a national heavy vehicle registration system, chain of responsibility legislation, the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme and greater investment in heavy vehicle rest areas.
However, Mulherin stopped short of specifying commitments for those key areas.
But he added that Labor would double the annual Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme funding for the Roads and Transport Alliance to $60 million and establish a regional fund of $35 million to bankroll infrastructure projects in provincial cities and rural areas.
“This funding will help provide vital transport infrastructure and road safety improvements that will benefit all Queenslanders including the trucking industry,” he says.