freight transport

"The unprecedented fuel prices we are facing at the moment is adding unimaginable hardship to many in the transport industry, add the new Registration charges, fuel excise increases and driving hours regulation which now come with unreasonable fines and demerit points and compliance regulations, it’s not hard to believe that we are heading in one direction…….Bankruptcy"
Industry spokesperson and Southern Cross Party spokesman, Mick Pattel, 4 December 2008

European truck drivers and farmers and fishermen have been demonstrating for weeks in the face of high oil prices. Now, finally, Australian truck owners are taking action. And it looks like there is a new political party supporting them, The Southern Cross Party.

At a meeting in Toowomba on Saturday, owners and drivers from three states said that they could not remain in business because of administrative costs related to increases in fuel excise and vehicle registration.

This supply interruption has been a long time coming, as perusal of Industry spokesman, Mick Pattel's blog will attest.

"If the government doesn't come to the party, deliveries of bread, fuel and milk will be affected," say spokespersons, Sheridan Steinohrt and Mick Pattel

They also complained about new rules for managing driver fatigue, anticipating problems with demerit points, and describing pettiness over log book infractions and excessive driving times. The truck owners and drivers are down on the National Transport Commission, the national governing body, which they say does not contain representatives from the industry.

Owners claim that they can no longer recruit drivers because of all the rules.

Mr Pattel was reported by the Toowoomba Chronicle to have stated that he thought the action might go on for two weeks, but he thought that the government might come to the table just before the truck owners take action.

According to Fairfax-owned paper, the North Queensland Register, on 29-5-2008, in Reg Burton, "National Truck stoppage go ahead", Mr Pattel had quoted said a spokesperson for Federal Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, as saying that "he didn’t know why the operators were worried as all they had to do was pass the cost on to the public."

The truck owners hope that the public will understand their plight and support them. Mr Pattel said that the industry was warning the public so they can prepare for an interruption to supplies.

The Toowoomba Chronicle reported that the intuitive Bob Katter, Federal Member for Kennedy, was supportive to the industry, agreeing that they "have no alternative but to take direct action." The Chronicle reported that Vaughan Johnson, Member for Gregory, and Ray Hopper, Member for the Darling Downs, were also present at the Toowoomba Meeting.

The Chronicle, however, made no mention of the surely cogent fact that Mr Pattel is a spokesman for the Southern Cross [political] Party. The Chronicle is owned by APN News & Media Ltd. We have, unfortunately, come to expect this kind of omission from the mainstream press.

("All but seven of the 36 regional daily newspapers in Australia are owned by just four companies: News Corporation, John Fairfax Holdings, Rural Press and APM News and Media. And all but four of the 39 non-metropolitan commercial television stations in Australia are owned by just three operators: Prime Television, WIN, and Southern Cross Broadcasting. And it's clear if media ownership regulations are further relaxed, greater concentration is certain." - Dianne Jones from the University of Queensland, in a program about changes to media cross ownership rules, which featured Toowoomba, on 5 October 2006, at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2006/1754395.htm)

According to their website, the Southern Cross Party is against the traditional party structure per se; it is for independents. It aims to be a party of independents. It voices reasonable and valid concerns about lack of democracy and about corporatised government affecting the access to and use of land. It is suspicious of climate change agreements and the weakening of local democracy by the distancing of political control and the abstraction of issues.

This list of demands was passed by a meeting of truck owners in Townsville on the 24th of May 2008, the additions 16,17, were added at Toowoomba Meeting 14th June 2008. (Information from: http://southerncrossparty.com/blog/2/feed)

"Not Negotiable

1. Disbanding of the National Transport Commission immediately.

2. No electronic recording systems, or work dairies.

3. No changes in the present log book format.

4. No demerit points on log books, or driving hours regulations.

The full list, available at http://southerncrossparty.com/node/783 is

Road Transport Shutdown 2008 List of Demands
Sun, 05/11/2008 - 17:39 — Mick Pattel

This list of demands have been passed by the meeting in Townsville on the 24th of May 2008, the additions 16,17, were added at Toowoomba Meeting 14th June 2008
Not Negotiable

1. Disbanding of the National Transport Commission immediately.
2. No electronic recording systems, or work dairies.
3. No changes in the present log book format.
4. No demerit points on log books, or driving hours regulations.
5. Recoupment of demerit points for professional drivers who earn their living from their licence to be reduced to 12 months not the existing 36 months.
6. No penalty to drivers exceeding prescribed driving time when attempting to reach a vacant heavy vehicle rest area or when marginally over driving hours in compliance with defacto hours proposed under the new NTC ruling for all drivers irrespective of participation of fatigue management programs, and in any case ‘reasonable defence’ is to apply where compliance is not possible.
7. All fines for logbook breaches to be capped at an agreed fixed amount and relate to safety breaches only.
8. All fines and loss of demerit points for logbook breaches to be rescinded, fines and points to be reimbursed, all licences lost as a result of this legislation to be reinstated to previous status.
9. No increases or changes in registration charges for any truck or bus over 4 tonnes, charges to be set in concrete at current levels.
10. No increase or indexation of fuel excise.
11. No fuel based carbon charges or taxes.
12. No changes or variations to the Federal Fuel Energy Grants Scheme or to the State Bulk End User Rebates both of these are to remain in place indefinitely.
13. Authorities to endorse a driver intercept report sheet to create a reporting system to identify rude and unethical enforcement officers.
14. Main Roads Authorities in all States to construct and maintain all weather road train termination pads of adequate size.
15. A priority funded program to provide all weather heavy vehicle rest areas that are designed to provide adequate parking and amenities for the different truck trailer configurations according to truck traffic density.
16. That the log book period be changed from any 24 hour period to midnight to midnight on any calendar day.
17. That an inspection by an officer of either Queensland Transport or the Queensland Police Service of a drivers log book cannot be inspected past 14 days prior to the interception date.

5. Recoupment of demerit points for professional drivers who earn their living from their licence to be reduced to 12 months not the existing 36 months."

In a Submission to the Select Committee of the Legislative Council on the Impact of Peak Oil on South Australia
Summary, the South Australian Farmers Federation has stated that, and I quote, "The rise in 'Peak Oil prices' has had a significant affect on the farmers and rural communities in this state."
They explain that the effects have been experienced as:
"• Higher costs of farming and using machinery
• Higher costs of farm inputs as a result of petroleum products used in their production, for instance fertilizers
• Higher freight costs
• Supermarket Duopoly forcing farm gate prices down
• Higher transport costs affecting rural families for basic social activities for sport and relaxation
• Drop in volunteer labour due to travel costs

In their executive summary they state:
"Unless something is done quickly to address this situation there is a danger of farmers leaving the land and food production dropping. Recently the UN stated that lower production in developed countries and rising demand for food could cause serious global problems due to food shortages.
It seems incongruous to the SAFF that given the world wide situation that our farmers are finding it so hard to make even a reasonable living, when market forces should be driving the price they receive for produce up, not holding it down at a level below the increase in costs.
The South Australian and Australian markets need to be reviewed as a matter of urgency to ensure that fair market forces are allowed to operate in the state so that producers can earn a fair return for their effort and ensure their future viability."

The submission-writers recommend "that the South Australian Government:

• Review the fuel excise system with a view to reducing the excise levied on fuel
• Invest in research into viable alternative fuel sources.
• Create a system that ensures the supply of fuel to the state in general and to farmers in particular at crucial harvest / sale times
• Review the current system of moving freight, looking for an innovative new approach that can benefit all industries in the state
• Undertake a program to improve the ability of rural people to travel to basic family activities such as sport and recreation as well as other necessary travel
• Ensure the elderly in rural areas are supported to reduce the cost of travel to essential appointments
• Volunteers are supported."

Full submission is available here.