Just when you thought we already had enough industry lobby groups in the transport sector another has appeared on the road with a new advocacy group for the heavy haulage sector.
ATA CEO Mat Munro announced last week that the Association has launched a new and independent advocacy group for the heavy haulage industry.
Munro said at in Melbourne that the ATA welcomed the formation of the Australian Heavy Haulage Association as what he describes as ‘an important boost to the profile of a small but significant sector of the transport industry’.
Nick Simpson was announced as the inaugural president of the Heavy Haulage Association and said that the purpose of the new organisation was to improve the heavy haulage industry’s operating environment.
Simpson said the AHHA would advocate for over-size over-mass (OSOM) carriers who operate under permit and often with pilots or escorts.
“We’re here to represent the people who move those challenging loads that don’t fit neatly inside the box,” Simpson said.
the new president said a lack of strong representation had resulted in inertia in the OSOM regulatory environment, stagnating heavy haulage productivity at a time when other parts of the industry had seen huge efficiency gains.
The question Truck and Bus News has , if the AHHA is a part of the ATA, then why was it not already advocating on behalf of the Heavy operators, and why is a seperate lobby group required?
“The productivity boost that Class 2 vehicles have enjoyed in the last 30 years has been astronomical, whether you’re talking about prescriptive changes or performance based changes, freight-carrying vehicles are delivering more freight with fewer trips,” Simpson said.
“Heavy haulage has not seen any of those improvements, partly because no one notices us and partly because we haven’t made enough noise, but that’s about to change,” the new president confided.
Simpson said the key role played by heavy haulage in aiding the expanding renewable energy industry offered opportunities for growth as well as for reform.
We are told that the launch of the AHHA was accompanied by a forum that included presentations by the NHVR and Freight Victoria.
Issues raised by attendees included accelerating the permit process, harmonizing mass and dimension limits between states, simplifying third-party approvals, and greater consistency in the application of Heavy Vehicle National Law.
“We’re not just about having a say in changing the rules, we also want a say in how the rules are applied – because how those rules are interpreted and enforced matters just as much as how they are written,” Simpson said.
“We want a regime that promotes safety, not rules.”
He said one of the tasks of the Association would be to create an accreditation system.
“We’re one of the few sectors in the transport industry that doesn’t have an accreditation scheme that delivers benefits to operators who participate,” Simpson added.
“We all agree that we’re over-regulated, and one of the solutions is to develop a greentick-style system where we’re audited in the depot in our own time rather than out on the road by the NHVR on the customers’ time,” he said
“I see accreditation as a win-win, the heavy haulage industry lifting its level of professionalism, and the heavy hand of regulation is lifted.
“Heavy haulage is an exciting industry that I love being part of, and I look forward to what the AHHA can achieve,” Simpson concluded.
Australian Heavy Haulage Association is based in Queanbeyan on the NSW side of the ACT border and can be contacted by phone on 0421 029 650 or by email at info@ausheavyhaulage.com.au ausheavyhaulage.com.au