Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the requested amendments be made.

A number of amendments have been made to the Road Charges Legislation Repeal and Amendment Bill 2008. They go to a number of issues. One would remove the capacity to index charges by regulation. This was a proposition recommended by the National Transport Commission which would have removed the regular raising of issues in a political way when it came to the road user charge. The second ensures that it will be adjusted by ministerial determination, which would be a disallowable instrument. That will be upon recommendation of the National Transport Commission. The third amendment is to review the $70 million safety package after three years and to report to the parliament and the fourth is for only one determination per financial year.

This legislation will deliver equity in transport charging. It is important to note that the trucking industry itself has argued that it wants to ensure that it pays its way for infrastructure costs. It is important to recognise that the trucking industry does not pay fuel tax. What it gets is a rebate and this legislation will increase the charge from 19c to 21c. That is the result of a determination by the National Transport Commission, which looks at the costs that have been incurred in building roads and the use by trucks and heavy vehicles of those roads—that is, it is a payment by the trucking industry to recoup the money that has been expended by government. It ensures that there is a level playing field when it comes to the trucking industry compared with rail, shipping and other forms of transport.

In conjunction with this bill, we amended Commonwealth legislation earlier in this parliament to allow for funding for rest stops. As a result of the passage of this legislation, the government will provide $70 million for rest stops and productivity measures over the forward estimates. We had to amend Commonwealth legislation because the Commonwealth over the previous 12 years did not provide funding for safety and rest stops. This is a major step forward which the Commonwealth and the Rudd government are prepared to make, even though the amendments to the legislation made by the Senate will result in a significant fall in expected revenue as envisaged by Treasury over the forward estimates. The fact is that this government is one which takes road safety seriously. (Extension of time granted). This is the first time that government at the Commonwealth level has taken such action.

It is significant that the determination of the increase in the road user charge was not made by the current government. I give credit where credit is due for the increase in these charges, because the process was begun and overseen by the former Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Leader of the National Party and member for Lyne, Mark Vaile. The increase in the charge completes the process which was begun under the former government—except for the change in recommendation, which would have depoliticised this issue by allowing for indexation. The government moved amendments in the Senate to make sure that we had an absolutely transparent process.

At the Australian Transport Council ministerial meeting back on 29 February this year we agreed to the determination to essentially adopt the former government’s position with two exceptions. One of those was that we agreed to delay the starting date for the road user charge increase until 1 January 2009, whereas it was envisaged that it would begin on 1 July this year. We were asked for that by the trucking industry and we complied with that. The second request by the trucking industry was for a safety and productivity package. The government listened to the trucking industry and we put in place a commitment in the budget papers for a $70 million road safety and productivity package. The government will still pursue that, in spite of the fact that there will be potentially less revenue as a result of the changes that the Senate has made.

This is important legislation. It is important that the trucking industry pays its way, and the industry acknowledges that. It is also important that we take action on the issue of road safety, particularly for the trucking industry, not just for truck drivers and their families but also for other families who are on our roads. In recent times there have been considerable negotiations over this legislation. When these changes were put up, along with the changes to registration that have now been accepted by the Senate, they were opposed by the other place prior to the 1 July changeover. That meant that all the states would have increased their registration charges but that the Commonwealth through either FIRS, the federal scheme, or the ACT, which is covered by the Commonwealth scheme, would have had a lesser charge. I am pleased that that legislation has been approved because opposition to it was, quite frankly, irresponsible and absurd. But this legislation going through does allow for some progress.

I thank the senators who have participated in discussions. (Extension of time granted) I thank Senator Nick Xenophon from South Australia, a strong advocate for his state. I thank the Greens, who were constructive in their arguments, particularly on the issue of safety. I thank Senator Fielding for the fact that he was prepared to engage in constructive dialogue. I find it extraordinary that the opposition did not engage more constructively, given that this was essentially legislation that originated under their government in 2007. During the break I think the opposition need to have a real think about their role as a responsible political party, because you cannot go out there and argue about fiscal policy whilst you are prepared to tear holes in budgets and vote against proposals even when they have originated from your own side of politics—and that is what we have seen with this.

I believe the amended legislation is a step forward. I am pleased that the House will adopt the legislation with the Senate amendments and that we can then progress these issues, particularly so that we can progress the issue of improving road safety for the trucking industry.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Road Charges Legislation Repeal and Amendment Bill 2008 introduces another series of Labor taxes—tax rises, new taxes. That is what Labor is about in government. It is part of its $19 billion tax grab out of the budget. This adds additional costs to every Australian family. The legislation before the House will put up the price of food in every supermarket around the nation. Make no mistake: this is not some isolated slug on the trucking sector that will not have an impact on the economy overall. The reality is that this is a tax increase and it will affect every Australian.

The amendments that the government are putting before the House tonight are basically a rewrite of amendments the coalition moved in this House, so those two amendments will not be opposed by the opposition. However, we did move two other very important amendments to this legislation, amendments that would have put some performance criteria on the government to ensure that they actually deliver on stated commitments to provide road stops and deliver a safety package. We also wanted the government to start delivering on their empty rhetoric about harmonising regulations and laws between the states. Through our amendments we would have guaranteed that there were road stops built with the $70 million package that is being provided and that, in fact, if they were not built, there would be no further increases. It would put a lock on the government putting in another tax increase. Our proposals would have guaranteed some performance.

States have been promising for years to deliver common regulations and they have failed. In my speech on the second reading I highlighted scores of examples of inefficiencies and unnecessary costs in the system because successive governments have failed to reach agreement on the issue of common standards. Containers have to be two foot shorter in one state than in others and bales a couple of inches narrower. All of this kind of nonsense needs to be stopped. The government, with this legislation, is under no obligation to actually deliver on what it says.

The minister said in his earlier comments that the government had to change the legislation to fund rest stops because the previous government had not funded rest stops. That is simply not true. It is a dishonest statement. The previous government funded many rest stops. If he goes and has a look around he will be able to find them quite easily. There is one in my electorate.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of course there is—under Regional Partnerships!

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, they were not. They were funded under the national highway program. There is one not very far from my own town. There are scores of them across the country. I do not have Fort Street High School in my electorate, which gets all this special treatment. But I do know that there are federally funded rest stops around the country. The amendment was made to the legislation. The minister admitted, when he brought it in, that it was a technical amendment to ensure that expenditure in that regard was covered by the legislation and to clarify any doubt in that regard.

So we will not be opposing these amendments, but we will be opposing the bill in the upper house. This is still a tax increase, and the government has refused to give any commitment to honour its promises. As a result of the Labor Party’s unwillingness to accept our amendment, there is no guarantee that a single rest stop will be built. There is no guarantee that any of the mishmash of state laws will be harmonised. The government is walking away from its responsibility. When those opposite were in opposition they demanded transparency and performance all the time. They were continually demanding that there be transparency in decision making. Now that they are in government they will not have a bar of it. They will not have any performance criteria. They do not want anybody looking over their shoulder.

While we cannot on our own defeat these tax increases in the upper house, what we can do is give the government a guarantee that we will not allow any further increases unless they have actually delivered on the rest stops, unless they have actually delivered on the transport reform. Do not come in here again and ask us to vote for legislation like this unless you have actually delivered on your promises. Frankly, I have no confidence that the government are ever going to deliver on their promises. It has been a year— (Time expired)

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What an extraordinary performance from the Leader of the National Party.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the question be now put.

Question put.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Even Cuba was more successful at generational change than the National Party. They went from Fidel to Raul and the National Party have gone from Mark Vaile to Warren Truss—and we just saw evidence there. Of course, this was National Party legislation. In a speech given in June 2007 entitled ‘The coalition government’s transport reform agenda’, the then federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services and Leader of the Nationals said:

The National Transport Commission will develop a new heavy vehicle charges determination to be implemented from 1 July 2008.

The new determination will aim to recover the heavy vehicles’ allocated infrastructure costs in total and will also aim to remove cross-subsidisation across heavy vehicle classes.

It is pretty clear where this legislation originated. The government listened to the trucking industry and made changes to the program in the recommendations to the Australian Transport Council meeting held on 29 February. In terms of this legislation, the Leader of the National Party has told the parliament tonight that they will not vote for any further decreases unless various conditions are met—but they are not voting for these, even though the trucking industry indicates that it wants to pay its own way. This is an important reform. It is significant that for the first time we have engaged with the industry in making changes to allow Commonwealth funding for rest stops. That is about safety for truck drivers and their families and for other families on the road. I commend the amendments to the House.

Question agreed to.