Australasian Transport News (ATN) Issue 412

Freight transport in its various modes is being attacked by a state or state-sanctioned illness previously common merely to corrupt developing nations. But there will be no internal border closed to keep it from spreading. Perhaps it is too late. Nor is there any vaccine available, for it is deep in the political fabric. Transport epidemiologists will recognise the symptoms immediately as something akin to extortion, but it has other manifestations. Misuse of state power is one. Bullying is another. It is inflamed by a searing lack of fairness or relationship. The latest outbreak is in Western Australia and affects ships but displays hallmarks of contagion manifest in trucking around the nation’s major container ports and in northern Sydney. As it is increasingly shown to be easy money and lacking…

■ Truck appreciation and the love of muscle and fast cars do tend to go hand in hand. And it is a fact that Supercars teams spend a hefty amount on the skins and bling of their vehicle transporters. But who outside the wonderful world of racing V8s and cars with the sounds of the 60s, 70s and 80s would want to know what the net worth of Jon Kelly is? Pictured here in happier times, Kelly, you may recall, headed the now defunct Heavy Haulage Australia (HHA). He and his magnificently turned out trucks and characterful drivers were the stars of TV show MegaTruckers some six year ago. Well, car enthusiasts’ website hotcar.com, that’s who. We neither, but without a direct quote from the man, and while going into…

Officers from the Major Crash Investigation Section and the Heavy Vehicle Enforcement Section investigated a crash on October 12 on Spring Gully Road after a concrete truck struck a tree. The crash killed the driver, a 30-year-old man from Parafield Gardens. SAPOL alleges the concrete company’s truck fleet revealed "significant deficiencies", with 19 of the company’s 20 vehicles defected by police at the company’s Salisbury South depot. Reports indicate the company involved is Hi Mix Concrete. Two company managers were arrested on November 30 and charged with manslaughter. Two Rosslyn Park men, aged 61 and 34, were refused police bail and will appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court. SAPOL is also seeking former employees of the company, or anyone with information, that can assist the investigation.…

Listed national operator K&S Freighters faced charges recently over a 2018 incident at an Adelaide depot. Statutory authority Comcare reports the Commonwealth director of public prosecutions filed two charges in the Adelaide Magistrates Court at the end of last year, alleging K&S failed in its duties under the Work Health and Safety Act. It was alleged that K&S, a self-insured licensee under the Comcare Scheme, failed to provide a safe system of work and adequate training and supervision. The incident happened on November 25, 2018 at a freight depot in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. "After delivering a load of steel coil, workers were raising the heavy interlocked gates on a truck trailer when the gates fell on a K&S worker, causing severe leg fractures," Comcare's statement notes. "The charges are Category…

Listed transport logistics and services optimisation firm Orcoda has acquired Queensland-based Betta Group of Companies (BGC) for $5 million. Orcoda specialises in operational efficiency, combining software, management expertise and contracting services, and its purchase of BGC adds to its portfolio a transport services business specialising in rail, road and air infrastructure power services contracting, hire, and oil and gas and mining services. Betta was formed in Rockhampton in 2005 and was registered as BGC in 2012, trading as Betta Power Services. Its clients include Aurizon, Ergon Energy, Queensland Rail, PowerLink, Q-Build, Australian Defence Force and the Bowen Basin mining industry. Orcoda says Betta is exposed to growing infrastructure markets in central Queensland, which are likely to grow further with significant government stimulus to occur in major infrastructure because of its…

US-based Velocity Vehicle Group (VVG) is poised to become Australia’s newest truck dealers through a deal signed with Eagers Automotive. Eager reveals in a stock market advisory that, in a deal said to be worth A$108 million, it has signed an agreement to divest its 15 Daimler Trucks dealerships and the Stillwell Trucks premises in Sydney’s Milperra. "The divestment of our Daimler truck operations represents another key step in the ongoing simplification of our automotive retail business," Eagers CEO and MD Martin Ward says of the move. Daimler points out that, as with its US operation, VVG’s Australian network will only sell and service commercial vehicles, with a focus on the needs of truck and bus customers. It will also exclusively represent Daimler brands Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Fuso. A privately-owned…