Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Those opposite are quick to jump in. But I refer to the comments made by former TWU official Mr Michael Wong. Mr Wong said:

… fundamentally, the union doesn't care about owner-drivers, it cares about its income and the political power it can achieve …

It cares about its income and the political power it can achieve. Contrast this with the government's approach. Safety is at the basis of the government's plan for the heavy vehicle sector. We are working with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator that is in place, and we want to expand its role. We have $50 billion allocated to the biggest infrastructure investment program in Australia's history in safer roads around our nation, with the Black Spot Program being rolled out across the nation, and heavy vehicle rest areas—all practical measures to improve safety in the heavy vehicle sector. Now, the NHVR already has a comprehensive work strategy in place. It is utilising technology to address the issue of fatigue management. It has programs in place for inspections of the heavy vehicle sector and for enforcement across Australia. We acknowledge that there is more work to be done; work on road safety is never ending.

In public life, we all make mistakes. Once in a while we make mistakes, and those opposite can choose to help fix them or they can try and continue to block our efforts to clean up the mess left behind. I urge those opposite to be part of the solution—to help us get behind Australian owner-drivers, help get them back on the road and help them to do the job they do safely, on behalf of the Australian community.

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