Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion moved by the member for Barker. The member never fails to bring about a lively debate during private member's business. As we have come to know, it's all bark and no bite from him at times. Yet we can still reach across the chamber and agree on a number of things across a number of policy areas. In fact, it would be quite easy to agree with the statement in the member for Barker's motion which acknowledges the vital role the Australian trucking industry plays in the transportation of goods along the supply chain. If this was ever a surprise to anyone, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly put an end to anyone's misgivings about the importance of our trucking industry and freight more generally.

Road transport keeps Australia moving. The industry generated a whopping $31.1 billion for our economy in the 12 months prior to June 2022. It's an industry that has been growing year by year, both in what it generates for our economy and by way of tonne kilometres travelled across Australia. The member for Barker, and indeed anyone who knows me well enough, would know my background as a proud member and senior official of the Transport Workers Union. On top of that, I have had more than five years driving in the cash-in-transit industry. Whilst the road user charge is indeed ranked amongst issues faced by those in the industry, I'm sure the member for Barker would agree that there are issues such as adequate rest stops for a truck drivers, dealing with issues around fatigue. I will just correct the record. The member for Wright made a comment earlier regarding Scott's of Mount Gambier. The company that went broke just a over a week ago was Scott's Refrigerated Logistics. The reason I know that is that I've represented those workers for more than half a decade. So I know those drivers, and I know those people that are inside those facilities packing those trucks. I won't take lectures from those opposite regarding my knowledge.

As well as discussing some of those matters and trying to correct the record, I think it's worth noting that, in reference to the figure $31.1 billion which I quoted earlier, I'm aware that at the same time $33 billion was invested in our roads. I can recall the member for Barker moving a motion in this place earlier this year regarding road funding. Despite all else, he pleaded with this chamber to call on the government to spend 100 per cent of what was raised by the fuel excise on roads. However, I know that the member for Barker would have been aware that the heavy vehicle road user charge is set by state, territory and Commonwealth governments cooperatively. The charge is to assist with funding repairs and maintenance from wear and tear from heavy vehicles traversing our roads. As important a job that road transport does in our economy as part of our supply chain, the fact is that heavy vehicles' use of roads will cause a need for repairs over time, and the more funding that goes into pre-emptive repairs rather than repairing large defects to the roads makes roads safer for all road users.

Previous members spoke about this. You're 13 times more likely to die on the road as a truck driver in this country. It's an absolute travesty. We do need roads which are safe and which allow our freight to be delivered around this country in the safest possible way. The member for Barker should also know that the freeze of the charge in 2021—which was done in support of truck drivers, rather than in spite of them—had what I'd like to believe were some unintended consequences. The road user charge does not directly increase the cost of diesel in the way you'd think it would; rather it decreases the fuel tax credit a heavy vehicle user can claim. Logically, knowing this, you can see the consequences this would have on truckies who were, only moments earlier, jubilant to hear of a freeze being put in place. Ultimately, transport ministers in all levels of government and of all political persuasions have asked for an increase to be set over a number of years in the future to allow for certainty in the industry. This is an outcome that everyone from active participants to observers can see is a positive step in the right direction in the industry.

I want to close on one final thing. This is a really important matter and, if it matters so much to the member for Barker, he would have shown some respect and stayed in this chamber until the close of this debate. I thank the House.

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