The Australian Trucking Association hasn’t been shy about letting its feelings be known about the National Transport Commission (NTC), with the association calling for the NTC to be sacked.
In its latest email newsletter, the ATA says it continues to argue that the NTC be abolished.
“Just 12 months ago, the NTC released a paper recommending a cut in drivers’ wages of 25 per cent,” said the ATA.
“This year the NTC has continued to frigg about with the heavy vehicle national law.
“The situation is so bad that ministers have appointed a higher level steering committee to get the NTC under control.
“Sack ’em, we say.”
This isn’t the first time the ATA has called out the NTC. Back in February, ATA chair David Smith said, “The National Transport Commission process has simply been appalling. It’s dragged on for years. It fails to address the substantive issues for the industry and is riddled with errors.
“We fear any new laws will be impossible for the ordinary truck driver and operator to understand and abide by.”
The steering committee will meet today. The ATA says that among the issues being raised will be “getting action eliminating the outdated broken permit scheme”.
The ATA argues that neither industry nor governments are coping with the volume of applications and that this blockage can cripple the economy.
“It was the original efforts of the NHVR in this area that forced Tasmania to intervene to protect the state’s economy,” explained the ATA.
“The Tasmanian automated access system is one option. The NHVR is also spending a lot of money for little result to date.”
While the ATA declared its stance was neutral on the technology, it is demanding the following action:
- get rid of duplicated permits now
- one approval should apply to all similar vehicles by notice
- the repeat bridge assessments stopped
“The unseemly bureaucratic brawls that are breaking out should be stopped. The ATA continues to hear about attacks from the NHVR on Tasmania and its scheme, Austroads, ALGA and anyone else in the firing line,” said the ATA.