2016 election report cards have been released
- Liberal-National Coalition: three ticks out of three
- Labor: two ticks out of three
- The Greens: one tick out of three
In its national report card for the 2016 election, the ATA awarded the Coalition three ticks out of three, and the Labor Party two ticks out of three. The Greens receive one tick out of three.
The ATA’s report cards are attached to this page.
The cards assessed political parties and candidates against three issues: no Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, practical measures to improve road safety, and supporting stronger trucking businesses.
Fact sheets about these issues are also available below.
Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal
The Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) was a disaster for truck owner-drivers.
Small trucking businesses subject to the RSRT’s price-fixing order found that it increased costs by 20-30 per cent. They could not compete, and their survival was at risk. Two independent reports found no proven link between price fixing and safety.
During the election campaign, the trucking industry called on political parties and candidates to confirm they would not re-establish the RSRT or any similar price-fixing mechanism.
The Coalition abolished the RSRT and has pledged not to re-establish it or anything like it. In contrast, the Labor Party would have brought back a forum to fix prices in the industry. The Greens supported the RSRT and voted against its abolition.
Practical measures to improve road safety
The Coalition, the Labor Party and the Greens showed a commitment to road safety.
The Coalition committed to spending extra money on key road programs, and an extra $4 million a year for truck safety measures.
The Labor Party has a long record of investment in better roads and has emphasised its support for strong chain of responsibility laws. These laws are needed to hold the industry’s customers to account.
The Greens supported an audit of truck driver training providers.
During the election campaign, the ATA released authoritative new figures showing that the rate of fatal articulated truck crashes fell 80 per cent between 1982 and 2015.
Supporting strong trucking businesses
The ATA awarded the Coalition and Labor a tick for their support for stronger trucking businesses.
The Coalition advised they would reduce the fuel tax for trucks from 1 July 2016, as well as the company tax rate for businesses earning less than $10 million per year.
Labor Leader Bill Shorten confirmed that Labor would continue the fuel tax credits system, despite the views of some of his caucus members. The Labor Party said they would also deliver tax cuts, but for businesses earning less than $2 million a year.
In contrast, the Greens want to take away the industry’s fuel tax credits, even though truck and bus operators are already overtaxed
State specific report cards
The ATA released state-specific report cards for Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.
These report cards awarded three ticks out of three to Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Glenn Lazarus Team), Bob Day AO (South Australia, Family First), Nick Xenophon (South Australia, Nick Xenophon Team) and Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network).
Information sources
Liberal/National: Coalition policy statement; ATA media release; 2016-17 Budget
Labor: ALP questionnaire response; ALP small business tax policy; media reports
The Greens: Senate Hansard, 20 March 2012, 18 April 2016; Senate road safety inquiry report, recommendation 15; PBO report
Glenn Lazarus: Senate Hansard, 18 April 2016
Bob Day AO: Family First questionnaire response
Nick Xenophon: Senate Hansard, 18 April 2016
Jacqui Lambie: Jacqui Lambie questionnaire response
