National transport regulations going off track - ALC

The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) has released its policy on National Transport Legislation, which calls for the national transport regulators commencing in January 2013 to be national in both practice and name.

“ALC supported the decision by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 19 August 2011 to sign the Intergovernmental Agreements on national regulators for heavy vehicles, rail safety and maritime safety,” said ALC CEO Michael Kilgariff.

“But it is imperative these regulators are truly national to maximise the productivity, efficiency and safety benefits promised by this important national reform.

“The freight logistics industry is committed to seeing this critical microeconomic reform delivered, but we are equally determined to see a system put in place which delivers the intended economic benefits.

“For this to occur, we need single national regulators ‘with teeth’ to ensure national laws operate in a uniform fashion nationally.

“We cannot let this historic opportunity slip and allow a quasi-national system to be established that fails to significantly reduce the regulatory burden currently faced by industry,” he said.

The ALC policy on National Transport Legislation identifies three keys to success that are critical to maximising the economic benefits from this reform.

The policy states the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, the Maritime Safety Regulator and the Rail Safety Regulator must:

Replace the 23-state based regulators with current responsibility for administering transport laws.

Have full responsibility for policy and legislation development.

Receive adequate funding in the form of transferred funds from the state jurisdictions, with powers to use these funds to administer all elements of the national laws.

“ALC members are concerned that the transport regulators will not have the authority or resourcing necessary to delivery on the anticipated benefits of this reform,” Mr Kilgariff said.

Mr Kilgariff said the policy also reflected ALC members’ concerns in relation to the draft Heavy Vehicle National Law and called for the process to be handled by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

“The content of the latest draft provided to industry differs significantly to the original draft bill, leaving industry to question whether the significant economic benefits anticipated under this reform can be achieved under current legislation,” he said.

“ALC is committed to working with government in a constructive and collaborative fashion to maximise the economic benefits from this reform.

“It is now time therefore for full responsibility for legislation development to be transferred from the National Transport Commission to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator,” he said.

Source: http://www.tandlnews.com.au/