Delegates at the ATA’s new event, Trucking Australia 2013, will be able to make their voices heard and change the future of the industry, the Chief Executive of the ATA, Stuart St Clair, said today.

Trucking Australia 2013 will be held at Hamilton Island on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 June. The ATA released the full program for the event today.

Mr St Clair said the ATA’s feedback from previous conventions showed that delegates wanted more opportunities to make a difference to the industry’s future and more discussion.

“Trucking Australia 2013 is structured as an open meeting with sessions where delegates will contribute to the industry’s approach to the carbon tax and road charges, safety, and getting more women and young people involved,” Mr St Clair said.

“In a vital closing session, our delegates will then plan how the industry can turn their ideas into results, with the help of two leading Canberra insiders, Jannette Cotterell and Glenn Milne.”

The first session at the event will deal with the extension of the carbon tax to trucking and road charges. It will begin with a presentation from Steve Fieldus, the Managing Director of Australia’s first carbon-neutral heavy transport business, Transforce Bulk Haulage.

Delegates will then contribute to the industry’s response to the tax and charges, led by a panel consisting of Mr Fieldus, Noelene Watson from Don Watson Transport, Liz Schmidt from Schmidt’s Livestock Transport and ATA Chairman David Simon.

In the safety session, Owen Driscoll from National Transport Insurance will brief delegates on the findings of NTI’s 2013 Major Accident Investigation Report. The report examines 461 major truck crashes that occurred in 2011.

Delegates will then build a new safety action plan for the industry, led by Mr Driscoll, Mike Almond AM from Mountain Industries, Doug McMillan from D&P Haulage and Steve Shearer from SARTA.

Mr St Clair said delegates would then focus on recruitment and workforce issues.

“Almost 90 per cent of the people in the trucking industry are men, and the trucking industry’s workforce is getting older. The industry will need to look beyond its traditional sources of workers, recruit more women and younger people, provide better training and do more to keep and motivate its staff,” he said.

Sonya Adams, National Dealer Channel Manager at BP Australia, will talk about how BP deals with recruitment and training and what trucking operators can adopt from BP’s approach.

Andrew Garrety from Chess Moving Canberra; ATA director Kathy Williams; Geoff Crouch from Ron Crouch Transport; and the President of Transport Women Australia, Pam McMillan, will lead the discussion.

 
In the final session, delegates will map out how to turn their ideas into results through grassroots lobbying, the media, and the ATA and its member associations.

The session will be led by two leading Canberra insiders, Jannette Cotterell and Glenn Milne.

Jannette Cotterell is the Managing Director of Executive Counsel Australia, a non-politically aligned advocacy firm that is highly regarded by all sides of politics. Glenn Milne has covered Canberra politics for more than two decades, including as the political editor of The Australian, the Seven network and News Ltd’s Sunday newspapers.

After their keynote presentation, Ms Cotterell and Mr Milne will join Queensland Trucking Association CEO Peter Garske to run breakout groups where delegates will plan how to get action from the key ideas raised during the event.

Trucking Australia 2013 will include a trucking business masterclass led by Brendan Richards, transport and logistics partner at Ferrier Hodgson.

Mr St Clair said delegates would work together to develop a turnaround plan for a trucking business, Fictitious Transport Pty Ltd.

“Fictitious Transport has a snappy logo, but it’s struggling. Its major customers have insisted on a rate cut and its costs are rising. Its costs will go up even further if the Government extends the carbon tax to trucking from July 2014,” he said.

“Delegates will work in teams to save this business and the jobs of its hundred employees. They’ll leave the masterclass with their own best practice plan to make a trucking business more successful. Because it’s a team exercise, delegates will be able to contribute regardless of their business background.”

Trucking Australia 2013 will also include the presentation of the 2013 National Trucking Industry Awards at the ATA Foundation Sponsors Awards Dinner, the famous Kenworth Legends Luncheon and a poolside barbecue hosted by BPW Transpec.