Presentation to SEATS Quarterly Meeting 14 November 2008 Batemans Bay

1. Presentation to SEATS Quarterly Meeting 14 November 2008 Batemans Bay

2. NATROAD • The national road transporters operators’ • association. Its members range from owner drivers • through to multinational logistics providers • Formed in 1994 after amalgamation • Member of Australian Trucking Association • Operates from Canberra office • Joined SEATS recently

3. Mission Statement: NatRoad committed to leadership, support and development of members, staff and stakeholders • NatRoad strives to maximise members’ long term viability by providing tools, networking opportunities and industry education within the following core values: • -National Uniformity of Regulation • -Promotion of Safety and Compliance • -Environmental Sustainability • -Positive Community Awareness • -Fair and equitable Industrial Relations framework

4. ROAD FREIGHT • The road freight task will double from 2000 to 2020 (BITRE) • Road accounts for 36% of all freight moved and is anticipated to increase to 42% by 2020 (domestic=72% : BITRE) • Only 10-20% of freight is contestable between modes as- • Australia has 810,052 km of roads and 44,262 km of rail track (BTRE 2004) so often road is only option.

5. Current Issues • ISSUES • Uniformity of Heavy Vehicle Regulation • Believe critical to support Australian • Government move to recognise national market • Endorsed by Aust Transport Council & COAG • -Single national regulator by July 2009 • -National regulation for heavy vehicles • -Single heavy vehicle licensing/registration 2010

6. Current Issues • ISSUES • Safety & Compliance • - As stated, is a NatRoad core value • Campaign for sharing the roads safely with trucks • to be started on north coast • Support National Heavy Vehicle Safety Strategy eg • wearing seatbelts • NatRoad running many workshops on new fatigue • laws, which councillors & staff have attended

7. Current Issues • New Fatigue Laws • 29 September: Vic, NSW, Qld, SA -transition periods • Standard Hours : 12 hours • Basic Fatigue Management: 14 hours • Accreditation needed • Advanced Fatigue Management: 16 hours (15 NSW) • -Accreditation needed • -Outer limit-not daily

8. Current Issues • Fatigue • Differences between jurisdictions eg NSW • -No defence if a rest area is full, allowing up to 45 mins • to drive to another rest area. Chronic shortage of rest areas • -AFM up to 15 hrs daily work not 16: Limit of 16 hours • recommended by NTC after consulting fatigue experts. • The local work exemption for work diaries currently provides for an exemption for one year only. Records must still be maintained by operators

9. Current Issues • Fatigue • -The reasonable steps defence is also prejudiced with operators “failing to provide for remuneration for time spent queuing”. This stipulation in the example to the regulation ignores accepted award arrangements. • -Roundtable to be held with Minister Daley on 26 November • with Government & industry representatives

10. Current Issues • Intelligent Access Program (IAP) • NatRoad supports use, not its compulsion: • -Cost • -Cannot advise combination or mass • -Penalises compliant operators • For Higher Mass Limits (HML), IAP required in NSW & Queensland but not Victoria

11. Current Issues

12. Current Issues • HIGHER MASS LIMITS (HML) • Standard HML Extra • 9 metre (6 axle) Semi-trailer 42.5 tonnes 45.5 tonnes 10% 25/26 metre (9 axle) B-Double 62.5 tonnes 68 tonnes 13% • Double Road Train 79 tonnes 85 tonnes 7% • In SEATS area, believe that Monaro Highway (especially north of Cooma) should be available for HML (OK with RTA but ACT not providing HML) • Also HML should be available for Princes Highway in NSW

13. Current Issues • Infrastructure: Roads • Roads in SEATS area in submission to Infrastructure Australia: • Gocup Road Tumut - important economic link • -Supported submission from Tumut & Gundagai Councils • - A two-lane regional road currently carries an estimated 250 heavy vehicles & 1,250 light vehicles over each weekday. • - Based on the forecast increase in the transport task with expansion of Visy, the number of heavy vehicles is expected to increase to 402 heavy vehicles per weekday.

14. Cannot cope with this 70% increase • - Road never designed forto carry today's and future traffic loadings demonstrates that Gocup Road is inadequate for the freight task. • -The advent of productivity based freight movements through the use of B-Doublesand potentially super B-Doubles • -$50m needed for overtaking lanes, widening, realignment

15. Princes Highway- another vital link • Quoted NRMA assessment in 2005: • The overall crash and casualty rates have decreased but generally the route has a poor vertical and horizontal alignment with insufficient overtaking opportunities • Believes that the Princes Highway between Sydney and the Victorian border is a significant route and questions why the Princes Highway south of Wollongong is not part of the Australian Government's AusLink network.

16. Princes Highway- another vital link • Significant funding injections are needed from both the State and Australian governments for works on the Princes Highway due to the scale of works and limitations such as topography • Also endorsed SEATS previous comments to parliamentary committee about importance of NSW and Victorian sections of highway • SEATS emphasised potential for enhanced export opportunities with upgraded highway eg oysters, flowers

17. Rest Areas • NatRoad has a commitment to heavy vehicle road • safety • NatRoad has been at the forefront of calls to • provide proper rest areas in Australia for heavy • trucks. • Austroads Audit of Rest Areas Against National • Guidelines in March 2008. • Assessed the Rest Areas along the 12,700 km of • mostly AusLink freight routes.

18. Rest Areas • The siting analysis found that none of the audited routes fully met the spacing recommendations of the National Guidelines. • Sixty per cent of the audited routes had substantial deficiencies in the frequency or provision of rest opportunities. • In SEATS area, example of lack of rest areas is • NSW Princes Highway

19. Look forward to working with SEATS members • eg can send our NatRoad News • Identify common interests • We can support your submissions and other efforts • Much to be achieved with roads infrastructure • and other issues in SEATS area • Thank you