Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 404 i Australasian Transport News (ATN)

ROB McKAY has been a journalist for more than three decades, with the last 25 years focused on national and international freight transport Behold, the power of the trucking lobby! It seems like only a few years ago, a veritable yesterday, that this column was castigating the rail and green lobbies for beating the same old boring drum on how the ‘road lobby’ – read, traditionally, mostly trucking with some big construction firms thrown in – was so powerful that it always got whatever it wanted. This, while ‘neglected’ rail limped on under the weight of unshared cost. Oh, and the cost of emissions wasn’t being counted. This column said back then that this view was sadly self-serving and demonstrably false given that trucking, particularly long-haul, had been overpaying the actual…

TRIPLE APPOINTMENT IN RCT RESTRUCTURE Ron Crouch Transport (RCT) is signalling its growth intent with a management restructure to complement its recent facilities investments. As part of the restructure, the company has completed three appointments. Graham Bailey is welcomed to a newly created position of chief executive officer. Bailey has been involved in transport for more than three decades and was most recently the general manager contract logistics NSW for Ceva Logistics. Current general manager Peter Braneley has been promoted to chief operating officer. He has been at the firm for more than 13 years and has previous experience in operations and business development. Dale Bigham joins in another newly created role of national 3PL manager. Bingham was previously national manager for Chemcouriers. He has also owned his own company…

GEOFF CROUCH chairs the Australian Trucking Association The move to establish Australia’s emergency fuel reserve in the United States is a serious strategic error. Liquid fuel is critical to trucking and critical for our economy. Without trucks and the fuel that powers them, Australia stops. Last month, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor announced that the Australian government would spend $94 million to establish a strategic fuel reserve in the United States. Also included in this figure was $2.5 million to lease space in the reserve. But the United States is on the other side of a very wide ocean. The arrangement to meet Australia’s fuel security obligations by tapping into the US reserve is simply not realistic. Australia has signed an international treaty that says we will…

BRENDAN RICHARDS is KPMG national sector leader, transport & logistics Transport operators in Australia have been warned by analysts that Amazon is a potential threat to their businesses. People have noticed that Amazon is moving into the transportation market to cut costs and is investing heavily in autonomous vehicles and delivery services. In the words of New York-based Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker: “The entire transportation space should prepare for a future where Amazon and other giant shippers are potentially competitors.” Now this is obviously distressing news to anyone who has been living under a rock and was unaware that Amazon is, first and foremost, a logistics company. But is it really as simple as that? My view is that, far from being a threat to transport operators, Amazon and…

■ Happily, there have been a few reports of hoarders left with expensive toilet-paper mountains that will last them their lifetimes while leaving their wallets and purses much lighter for as long. Antisocial scum like these were no doubt operating around many of the 600 main road washrooms, thieving the contents and damaging fittings. One of the resultant closures raised the Australian Trucking Association’s chagrin and CEO Ben Maguire got quite pointed with NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian over it. However, we noticed the TfNSW closure notice – a piece of state government property – was, arguably, defaced… yes, defaced, sir!… by a Keep Them Open sticker. As we’re very law-abiding at the kennel, we asked TfNSW whether this was the sort of behaviour it had been bemoaning and whether action…

WARREN CLARK is NatRoad’s chief executive officer NatRoad helps members put in place written contracts on a fee-for-service basis. We also assist in helping members understand the contracts that are presented to them as part of a tender process or often on a “take it or leave it” basis. We also help members where there are disputes under contracts, often helping members refer these issues to external lawyers. Getting contracts in writing has become more important now, as from May 1, the Victorian government has introduced laws which include set penalties for failure to provide an owner-driver with the Victorian Owner Drivers’ Information Booklet, the applicable rates and cost schedule, a written contract and either the minimum period of notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice. But getting…

ROZ SHAW after a 30-year career in running her family’s transport business Gallagher National Head of Transport Roz Shaw moved into an equally high-level role in insurance, drawing on her industry experience and knowledge of family business dynamics. As the Australian business community faces the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, business owners are also tackling the ongoing responsibilities to workers and protecting our workplaces. Even with new arrangements to work off-site, employers must still comply with relevant work, health and safety (WHS) and workers compensation (WC) legislation. For transport operators, this means making adjustments to how operations, such as warehousing and loading or unloading, are managed to comply with social distancing requirements, as well as site hygiene, particularly in regard to shared equipment, such as forklifts (steering and controls).…

POLICE KILLED IN TRUCK CRASH The truck-car crash in Melbourne that claimed the lives of four officers has been reported as the deadliest single incident involving Victoria Police in the state’s history The collision occurred inbound on the Eastern Freeway near Chandler Highway just after 5.30pm on April 22. The exact circumstances surrounding the collision are still being probed by detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit. Victoria Police chief commissioner Graham Ashton explains that two officers intercepted a speeding Porsche and upon a positive drug test were going to impound the vehicle, requesting two more officers for assistance. A refrigerated truck for a Melbourne commercial poultry company drove into the stopped vehicles, killing the four officers. The truck driver, believed to be uninjured but suffering a ‘medical episode’ involving…

DENISE ZUMPE is a qualified and experienced consultant with practical industry knowledge in work health and safety and heavy vehicle safety and compliance, establishing SafeSense Workplace Safety in 2010 As we now emerge from pandemic lockdown, the ongoing risks of virus transmission must be addressed and managed. For businesses that are re-opening and those that worked through, Covid-19 must be recognised as a workplace health and safety (WH&S) issue and managed in accordance with WH&S legislation, just like any other workplace hazard. This is now ‘safety 101’. Just as we look at a forklift and know it has the potential to seriously injure or kill, so does this hazard we can’t see – Covid-19. And the challenge in significant. Take manual container unpacks – two people in a restrictive space…

Mercedes-Benz has launched the new Actros; the first ever truck in Australia with cameras for mirrors. Of course, those lucky enough to have attended last year’s Brisbane Truck Show were given a view of this marvel. But the fact remains, the new Actros is the first vehicle on Australian roads to replace traditional outside mirrors with cameras – full stop. No carmaker has yet managed this technological feat, not Tesla, not Rolls Royce and not even… Mercedes-Benz. So much for the idea that truck technology has to lag behind that of cars. The MirrorCam feature, which is not standard but an option on the Benz heavy hauler, is the headline grabber for the updated version of a truck the manufacturer continues to put through its paces on the open road.…