The Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia says truck sales are suffering because of uncertainty around the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal – to the point that new truck orders are being cancelled.
The HVIA’s concerns follow its attendance at an industry roundtable with the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise (ASBFEO) ombudsman Kate Carnell that discussed the now defunct Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016.
“The flow-on effects of the payments order are becoming clearer with cases now coming to light where orders for new heavy vehicles were impacted or cancelled,” HVIA chief Brett Wright told Australasian Transport News.
“Further, there were grave fears expressed by some in industry that the second hand vehicle market would have been flooded and the value of trucks and trailers dramatically reduced as owner-drivers and small operators began to feel the impact of the order and simply parked them up or sent them to auction.”
“Whilst the tribunal and the payments order have been abolished, HVIA shares the concern of the ATA, NatRoad and the ALRTA that the industry is still negatively impacted and under a cloud of uncertainty.
“This is mainly due to the Labor Party’s current position to re-instate the tribunal should it gain power at the upcoming federal election,” he told ATN.
HVIA is calling for industry suppliers to contact HVIA and the ASBFEO to discuss how they were effected and gain their feedback about the major issues now facing them due to the RSRO.
As a result of the roundtable the ASBFEO will also be collecting information from industry through a Facebook-based survey and conducting regional forums shortly.
Groups represented at the roundtable: Australian Trucking Association, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, National Farmers’ Federation, the Council of Small Business of Australia, National Road Transporters Association, Australian Logistics Council, Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia, Trucking Support Agency of Australia, National Road Freighters Association, National Owner Drivers Association and Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association.
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