Australian Trucking Association welcomes new developments in heavy vehicle law

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has welcomed news from the latest meeting of the nation’s infrastructure and transport ministers regarding the review and development of the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

Last week, the ATA slammed any suggestion it is happy with the progress of the National Transport Commission review, which began in 2018.  Then, on Friday, 11 February, the infrastructure and transport ministers announced they’d had a productive discussion about the review and emphasised the importance of close engagement with industry.

The ministers agreed there needs to be further consultation before bringing back more detailed policy work for consideration at their next meeting.

ATA Chair, David Smith says it’s a step in the right direction.  “We welcome this announcement because it shows the ministers understand the need to consult with industry. Quite honestly, we’ve been very unhappy about the slow pace of this review, so let’s hope this latest development will speed things up,” Mr Smith said.

“We believe it’s vital that the new Heavy Vehicle National Law delivers a safe and productive working environment for the delivery of goods and services across Australia. It’s also very important that truck drivers are able to understand and abide by these laws.”

“We want to thank the ministers for intervening at the meeting on Friday, especially the leadership from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and
Regional Development, Barnaby Joyce”.

“Maybe now, we’ll see some real progress. We will continue to develop a common sense version of the Heavy Vehicle National Law for the Ministers to consider.”

“The heavy vehicle drivers have continued to deliver for Australia no matter what’s been thrown at them, including COVID-19, bushfires and floods. We need this review to deliver for them.”