New Labor government promises trucking reform to make industry safe

Major transport industry groups, TWU, ARTIO, and NRFA have welcomed the new Federal Government and called on the rest of the transport industry to participate constructively in new trucking reform as committed under the ALP platform.

The new Labor government has pledged to act on Senate recommendations tabled last year calling for an independent body to set universal, binding standards to make Australia’s deadliest industry safer, fairer and more viable.

The Senate recommendations acted on evidence from 150 witnesses and 128 submissions spanning the entire trucking industry over a two-year inquiry.

In the six years since the LNP Government tore down a road safety watchdog – despite its own report saying it would have reduced truck crashes by 28% – and put nothing in its place, 1,061 people have been killed in truck crashes including 257 truck drivers.

The TWU, ARTIO, and NRFA are calling for industry-wide participation to make sure a new regulatory body is implemented in the right way so that it is sustainable and equipped to tackle industry concerns well into the future.

The industry stakeholders say the new Federal Government’s commitment to regulation will be welcome relief across the industry to address the Amazon Effect smashing supply chains, dragging down standards and undercutting businesses through gig-style arm Amazon Flex.