The harmonised rules for transporting fodder across state borders during the drought should be expanded and made permanent, ATA Chair Geoff Crouch said today. 

Mr Crouch was speaking after attending the National Drought Summit in Canberra. 

“The drought summit was incredibly positive, and I want to thank Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack for bringing us all into one place. 

“To make Australia more drought resilient, governments need to remove the unnecessary barriers that stop the efficient and productive movement of stock and feed over large distances,” Mr Crouch said. 

“Governments have taken an important first step by harmonising the rules for transporting baled commodities like fodder. 

“The message I got from the summit is that governments now need to consider further rule changes to help in both this drought and future droughts.” 

Mr Crouch said that governments should: 

• harmonise and free up the rules for loading and transporting livestock across state borders
• enable fodder and feed to be transported at higher mass limits in NSW without the need for IAP vehicle tracking.
• review the fit to load rules, because drought affected livestock may be in poor condition
• subject to a safety assessment, continue the harmonised transport rules after the drought to increase the productivity of the farm and road freight transport sectors and eliminate delays in responding to future droughts. 

He said that ATA member associations like NatRoad and ALRTA, as well as the NSW Livestock, Bulk and Rural Carriers’ Association, were doing a great job representing rural transporters through the drought. 

“I urge every trucking operator to join an ATA member association,” he said.