The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) has advocated for a voluntary accreditation model, which it says was developed by Australia’s rural freight sector and claims it could could save the economy up to $1.1 billion annually .
The industry says it is urging national action to make it happen, and has said so in its submission to the Federal Government’s upcoming Economic Reform Roundtable,
ALRTA says it has championed a Six-Star trucking model, which it claims is a practical, industry-led framework, that will reward operators who go beyond baseline standards in fatigue, maintenance, animal welfare, biosecurity and training.
Based on data from the NHVR, as well as the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) and Austroads the association reckons the conomic modelling indicates potential national savings of between $422 million and $1.1 billion per year.
ALRTA president Gerard Johnson said the model offers exactly what the Treasurer is looking for: productivity gains that are specific, scalable and budget positive.
“This is not theory; it’s real-world reform,” Johnson said.
“We’re talking about safer roads, lower premiums, fewer crashes and stronger supply chains,” Johnson said.
“The Six-Star model has been designed by industry with real-world conditions in mind and what we need now is national support to put it into action.”
According to ALRTA the submission also calls for, a national high productivity vehicle (HPV) framework to replace fragmented access rules, a co-designed national truckwash and biosecurity infrastructure plan, as well as a rural driver training academy to address workforce gaps and formally recognise rural freight driving as a skilled occupation, and investment in disaster-resilient freight corridors to future-proof food and supply chains.
