Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I join my colleagues Senator Macdonald and Senator Williams. I am inspired to jump up by Senator Williams. A former truck driver himself, he knows only too well the costs and the pressures upon truck drivers—made up not just of the big transport companies but of owner-drivers, median operators who own up to six trucks. This is an industry that really reflects some of the best entrepreneurial elements of the economy of Australia, of Australians. This is a fine industry. There are so many people who can make their way and build and feed their family unit via this industry, particularly the single owner-drivers. These single owner-drivers are also vulnerable to the brunt of the changes in the economy—more so now than ever—to interest rates and to costs and charges put onto them by the government. Senator Williams finely represents them in this chamber.

The Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008 and the Road Charges Legislation Repeal and Amendment Bill 2008 are in fact, in short, an increase of the costs and charges of these drivers and the industry. It ought to be made clear from the start: this is not just legislation that increases costs and charges on big operators, the big end of town—and some of those do make up the industry; they always have—this is really legislation that increases costs and charges on the owner-operators, who make up, I dare say, the majority of the industry.

That is why I would like to reflect on the history of these bills. In another form, not much different, they came into the parliament in February. That date is very significant because the Rudd government was elected only some three months earlier, so you would assume the cabinet met in January to approve these bills. So, just two months into the Rudd government’s term, they make a decision to increase costs and charges—classic Labor. One of their first decisions is to increase the costs and charges upon the owner-operators, the truckies. What a classic Labor decision that is. What is more, they sought to bring back the old Hawke-Keating indexation of fuel. This is in January of the brand-new government’s term. They did not hesitate. They returned to their instinctive nature.