Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The government is strongly committed to supporting the trucking industry and owner-drivers. The government, with the support of its crossbench colleagues in the Senate, moved urgently to abolish the disastrous road safety remuneration system established by Bill Shorten. The government will never re-establish the RSRT or create discriminatory rates of pay that force owner-drivers out of the market under the guise of safety. While it is not possible for the government to commit to all the measures proposed in this motion, the government has already established a financial counselling hotline for impacted owner-drivers and is working with relevant government agencies to identify real and tangible measures to support owner-drivers who are struggling to recover from the economic devastation wreaked by Labor and the Greens. The government's message to owner-drivers has been very clear from the beginning: we back you, we back your business and we want to see you on the road.