Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008 and the Road Charges Legislation Repeal and Amendment Bill 2008. I will support the proposed amendments to the Road Charges Legislation Repeal and Amendment Bill 2008 by the shadow minister, given that I live in and represent an electorate of 21,000 square kilometres that relies very much on the heavy transport industry. It is an electorate that is based on mining, resources, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, manufacturing and retail. As we all know, over 70 per cent of domestic freight in Australia is delivered by road, and much of that in the heavy transport sector.

The Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008, which will increase the road user charge from 19.633c per litre to 21.3c per litre, is one that I have concerns about. I want to talk about what these increased charges will mean to a gentleman by the name of Preston Gardiner, who owns a plantation logging transport business in my electorate of Forrest in the south-west of WA. Preston is the owner of one of the businesses that have been so badly affected by the Varanus Island gas explosion on 3 June 2008. It was an explosion which has had far-reaching economic and social consequences—a lot of them in the heavy transport sector, and many of which are continuing to be felt to this day.

Full gas supplies will not be restored until at least December of this year. The WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry has modelled the costs to the WA economy at between $2.4 billion and $6.7 billion. Much of these costs will be felt in my electorate. And for Preston Gardiner, the economic consequences will be exacerbated by the increase in the road user charge contained in this bill. The Varanus Island explosion removed 30 per cent of gas supplied to Western Australia. Between 40 per cent and 45 per cent of all of the gas from Varanus Island is used in my electorate of Forrest in the south-west. And there was, and continues to be, a disproportionate effect on the south-west businesses, which were completely without gas.

Many independent contractors servicing these businesses were put off immediately or in the immediate aftermath. Preston Gardiner was one of those. Preston was pretty much a local bloke. He was born, raised and educated in the Donnybrook area, growing up on an orchard and beef cattle property on Beelerup Road. Preston grew up around trucks and heavy machinery. He helped his family to transport their fruit from the orchard to markets in Perth and pulled wood from the bush for fence posts with his grandfather, who had bulldozers and earthmoving equipment.

In what was a natural progression, Preston completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic, working throughout Western Australia from Port Hedland to Kalgoorlie, putting in long hours and at times driving trucks and heavy vehicles on an interstate run, as well as working as a leading-hand supervisor at a mine site at Cockatoo Island, with part of this time on a fly-in fly-out basis. He started his own mechanical contracting and did contract supervision for a number of earthmoving contractors around the state, travelling extensively. He also bought a house in Donnybrook and married his wife, Melinda. He then became involved in the plantation logging industry through the servicing of the equipment as well as running a civil earthmoving company in Newman, working on the BHP extension and throughout the Pilbara. When his daughter contracted a rare virus, Preston decided to go back to the south-west permanently to be close to his family and not have to work on a fly-in fly-out basis. Back in Donnybrook, he needed to find another venture in addition to his Gardiner Mechanical Services business. He bought a truck that had a pine haulage job contracted to a regional logging company. Preston and Melinda call this trading business Donnybrook Logging Services. Both of the Gardiners’ businesses are in the plantation pine industry—one a subcontract log haulage operation and the other a mechanical repair operation for log-harvesting and transport equipment. His truck was a 1995, 500-horsepower Western Star, a pocket road train with a flat-tow trailer.

For the past 2½ years, the Gardiners employed a total of eight full-time employees. With the local council’s daylight-to-dark curfews and not being allowed on the roads with a road train until daylight, Preston was losing one trip a day. So he looked at other opportunities and efficiencies. Gardiner Mechanical Services was going well and the trucking business was quietly ticking over, but he needed to improve the efficiency of the log haulage by using fold-up, stackable trailers. Preston did his homework and researched the options for six months. He went to Tasmania to look at the logging industry there. In March 2006, Preston took delivery of a new 500-horsepower Western Star prime mover and took the truck to Tasmania to have it specially fitted with an EZ Loader type trailer system. With this combination, when the trailers are empty the dog trailer loads onto the lead trailer, reducing the length of the unit—if you can imagine that in the bush—improving manoeuvrability and access to the bush tracks. This type of stackable combination increases the weight on the prime mover’s drive wheels, which along with accurate onboard weighing systems has less impact on the environment, improves fuel efficiency, is more productive, does less damage to the haul roads and helps to manage the steep country. When the prime mover and trailer combination are working well at full capacity, Preston believes it is the best thing ever for his business. The flat-tow road train increased his turnover by 30 per cent, while costs stayed the same as operating a standard road train.

Both of his log trucks were working to capacity even though operating margins were tight, particularly with constantly increasing fuel costs. The log trucks were carting between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of pine and blue gum a week—that is, until 3 June and the explosion at Varanus Island. Within two weeks of that explosion, he was simply told that his services were not required. There was no gas to process the timber he was carting. One of his trucks was parked in the yard, and it has not moved since. It is still sitting in the same spot. His earnings on the second truck have virtually halved. And this bill seeks to increase his road user charges.

What assistance did the Western Australian state Labor government offer Preston Gardiner during or following the gas crisis? The answer is none. What assistance did the federal Labor government offer Preston Gardiner during and since this crisis? The answer is none. There has been absolutely no practical help or assistance in any way whatsoever. He has been on his own, like so many other independent contractors and small to medium businesses in the south-west of Western Australia. They have been left to their own devices during the gas crisis. These same businesses contacted me in absolute desperation because they needed help. They were utterly in the dark; they were not getting any practical assistance or information from government departments or gas suppliers during the crisis.

What is the state of Preston’s business now? His driver has gone on to a job in Karratha and Preston is driving the truck himself. Where was he the day before yesterday? He was up at the crack of dawn, in the bush with his $400,000 road train, which he has to pay off, waiting to load logs to get as many trips as possible done during the daylight hours. If the harvesting contractors are not efficient and prepared for the daily operations, Preston’s business will be the first to lose.

Preston himself is very angry that the new road charges will apply to him. He understands the need to pay his way, but at this time this is just another straw. He is very well aware that this is a tax increase, but he questions whether any of the additional tax will actually be spent in WA. He is also angry at the state of the roads in the south-west of WA—and, believe me, he like most other heavy truck drivers has firsthand experience of the five worst highways in Western Australia, which are in my electorate, as identified by last year’s RAC report. He also wants to know where the truck stops will be built in WA, and particularly in the south-west. Where will they be built and when? There is nothing in this bill that gives him that confidence. Where in the bill are the benchmarks? How many roadside facilities will be built, where will they be and when will they be built? How can operators like Preston Gardiner be sure they will actually get the benefits of these proposed tax increases? Where are the checks and balances? Where are the measures?

Preston says WA truckies believe that they contribute enough and that right at the moment—in his words—they ‘are stretched to the max’. He also commented that, if costs increase any further, freight costs will go through the roof, and basically the transport industry will become unviable. He has constantly sought new contracts; he has not sat around and waited for something to come to him. He has been quoting on every job possible since the explosion at Varanus, hoping there will still be light at the end of the tunnel. He is a doer. The current financial crisis gives him no confidence, and margins are very tight in the transport sector, as we hear constantly.

The Gardiners’ plantation contractor has advised that it does not appear that the subcontractors used to cart pine will be back to work until after January or February 2009. But he is a battler and is always hopeful that more business will come his way. To him and his family, it is a matter of survival. He needs to and is chasing every contract, which means he will have to commit more financially or exit the industry. To set up new equipment will cost between $150,000 to $200,000, with no guarantee of work. He cannot sell the business, because there is nothing to sell at the moment. Yes, he has his equipment, but he has no work for it.

Preston tells me that, before the gas explosion, Gardiner Mechanical Services had $200,000 worth of work booked; after the explosion, there has been a complete downturn. Companies have said they are not carrying out maintenance and they are putting their work on hold. But Preston still has wages and overheads to pay. He still has the commitments, but the work has dried up and he has had to let workers go. Preston went to Centrelink to seek help. There was no help at Centrelink for Preston. He was told that, because he had assets and was a subcontractor, there was no help at all available for him. Where was the crisis-specific support for those affected by the Varanus explosion, particularly those in the transport sector? This bill will increase his road user charge, increasing the tax on his business. This is not the first time the government has attempted to implement this tax increase. There are other subcontractors like Preston Gardiner in my electorate, and they will be affected in the same way. As I have explained, those involved in the forestry sector in the south-west have been suffering significantly since 3 June.

Adding to this is the lack of action from the Labor government on its election promises to the industry. Senator Colbeck has said that, after nearly a year in government, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has nothing to show for the country’s forestry communities. At estimates hearings two days ago, Senator Colbeck asked questions about the progress of all of the government’s election commitments to the forestry sector. Responses to questions show that none of the various forestry funding programs, nearly 12 months into the government’s term, have delivered any funding to the forestry sector. ‘Guidelines to be developed’ was the standard answer, with the ‘preparing forest industries for climate change’ $8 million commitment at draft paper stage. In Senator Colbeck’s words, ‘This can only be described as woeful progress after almost one year in the portfolio by the minister.’ And if this is not sufficient, a report in Tuesday’s West Australian newspaper showed that Perth diesel prices are up to 20c per litre more than diesel prices in the eastern states despite the wholesale price being almost 2c a litre cheaper in WA. Motor Trade Association of WA chief executive, Peter Fitzpatrick, is quoted as saying:

You might expect a 5c difference between unleaded petrol and diesel prices but not 20c ... Motorists are paying too much for diesel in Perth.

I would ask: is this additional cost to motorists and truck drivers in any way a result of additional diesel being used for power generation following the Varanus gas explosion? Is this an additional impost on the transport industry and on truck drivers like Preston Gardiner?

If Preston were fuelling up in the south-west at the moment, he would be paying between $1.66 and $1.75 a litre for his diesel. But the Rudd Labor government still believes that a national Fuelwatch scheme will fix this problem in my electorate. Why is Fuelwatch not working for regional areas? In Western Australia we already have Fuelwatch, yet our transport industry and motorists are paying up to an extra 20c a litre for diesel. No wonder the trucking industry, particularly in Western Australia, is concerned about the way the National Transport Commission develops the road user charge. What data and model was used to develop the charge? Why is this information not available to the trucking industry?

I oppose any move to reintroduce the indexation of fuel excise. The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government stated that the road user charge was to be indexed annually to the same road construction formula that was to apply to registration charges. The coalition is concerned that this was an attempt by the Labor government to reintroduce the indexation of fuel excise—and, as I have said, we oppose fuel excise indexation. In fact, when we were in government in 2001, we abolished this Keating government decision. This bill removes the link to indexation and sets the road user charge at 21c a litre. I oppose any attempt by the Labor government to reintroduce indexation by stealth. When elected to office, the government said that it would fix interstate inconsistencies. Where in the transport sector are there nationally consistent transport regulations?

Here is an example. You are a Western Australian truck driver making an irregular trip to the eastern states. Once you get to South Australia, you have to buy a logbook from a police station. If this happens to fall on a weekend, it can be very difficult to find an open, manned police station. The logbook costs approximately $40 and what is written in the logbook is quite ambiguous. The driver then has to work out what time zone he or she is in. Generally you work your time zone on your state of origin. However, if you leave from Queensland and you are a WA driver, how do you work out your times? A solo driver, according to the logbook, can drive for five hours but then has to take a 15-minute break—and fill his logbook out along the way. If this occurs and there are no truck stops available, there is a huge problem. Basically, the driver has to stop wherever possible or take the risk and drive to the nearest truck stop. The driver I spoke to found the best truck stops were in New South Wales and Queensland—certainly not in Western Australia. Very few truck stops are well lit and well serviced. Many are just slight pull-off areas. The total driving time allowed in the logbook is 12 hours in any 24-hour period.

If you are a WA truck driver who is not a regular east-west operator, you fill out the logbook to the best of your ability. The only time you know whether this is correct or not is when you are pulled over by the police and your logbook is checked. One WA truck driver was recently pulled over twice during an interstate trip. Fortunately for him, the New South Wales policeman explained that he had to fill out not only the time he was driving but also the time he was resting over the 24 hour period. Apparently, if this is not done it can be viewed as an offence in some states.

The different physical configuration of trucks can also provide challenges on interstate trips with inconsistent state regulations. For instance, an eight-wheel truck with a 10-wheel dog trailer is quite a common combination in WA. However, it is rarely used or even seen on the eastern seaboard; it is a specific combination suitable for WA. When a truck like this travels interstate, the local police are not really sure which regulation applies to this unit. That causes confusion and frustration for both the police officer and the operator.

I support the shadow minister’s proposed amendments to this bill and I strongly oppose any reintroduction of charges by stealth. The bill should include a transport process and mechanism to apply the road user charge. It should also include a performance guarantee to deliver at least 50 new rest areas each year on the national road network, and I want to see when and where the rest stops will be delivered in Western Australia. The government needs to deliver on nationally consistent transport regulations.

While I am talking on transport I would like to correct the record of the speech I made in the House on Tuesday, 16 September 2008, when I was speaking on the AusLink (National Land Transport) Amendment Bill 2008. I stated:

Tim Eaton, of National Trucking, said on Lateline recently: ‘Woolies are bullies.’

On subsequent checking I have established that the program was an episode of Four Corners. Mr Eaton is General Manager, Safety and Environment, for the National Transport Commission. He did not make this statement. It was in fact said before Mr Eaton was interviewed. I apologise to Mr Eaton for any confusion caused.

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