WHAT YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR IN THE 2016 ELECTION CAMPAIGN

July 2 is looming and if you are involved in the road transport industry there are a number of things we should all be looking out for, most importantly, the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal.

What We Already Know:

On December 17, 2015, the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal issued the Road Safety Remuneration Order (RSRO) to address the issue of minimum payments for contractor drivers.
The RSRO was due to take effect from Monday, April 4 2016, but the Tribunal was abolished by the Government.

This has resulted in the scrapping of both the 2014 and 2016 Orders previously made by the Tribunal. 

What Will Happen Now?:

The Australian Trucking Association and Natroad have both predicted that one of the key issues for the 2016 election campaign will be the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, and the need for practical measures to improve road safety and support trucking businesses. 

The Australian Trucking Association is the peak body for representing the trucking industry whilst Natroad is the peak association representing road transport operators. Both the ATA and Natroad have supported the Federal Government’s decision to abolish the RSRT.

The Transport Worker’s Union has supported a campaign in favour of the return of the RSRT Sentiment within the industry itself is still deeply divided on the issue of the RSRT and its functions.
 

Our Thoughts:

It will be interesting to see the outcomes of the election and if there will be stronger support to implement more practical measures to improve safety or whether a new Labor Government will reinstate the RSRT as it has publicly stated that it will do if elected in July.

If the RSRT was to be reborn from the ashes much would need to change in the way the Tribunal consulted industry, and developed and implement its Orders.

The previous iteration of the Tribunal merely confused and alienated the very members of the community whose interests it was supposed to be championing.