Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will come to an agreement: I will ignore Senator Mason’s interjections and I will not talk about his legs that I have to confront each morning in the gym. You should see him in a pair of shorts, Madam Deputy President. I know it is a frightening thought.

It has been well known in this country since the evolution of the round wheel that there is a very close association between rates of pay for truck drivers in the long-distance transport industry and safety on the road. I want to quotes some figures that were supplied to me. They are well known as they have been around for all this year. In the year to June 2008 there were no fewer than 263 fatalities as a result of heavy truck crashes, an increase of approximately 8.7 per cent over the previous year. Over the three years to June 2008 the average annual number of deaths involving truckies or other road users increased by, unfortunately, five per cent per year. Any death is regrettable. We have to do everything we can to diminish the number of deaths. Doing everything we can to diminish the number of deaths is going to take some maturity from the trucking industry. I say that with my hand on my heart. I stress that not only are there some fantastic Australians employed in the road transport industry behind the steering wheel but there are also some very honourable employers. There are employers who put their family home on the line to achieve the best outcome they can to improve not only their lives and those of their children and grandchildren but also the lives of working Australians.