A campaign to give Australia’s truck drivers the opportunity to have their say in the national truck law review has reached nearly 190,000 people and gathered more than 110 pieces of feedback.
Launched in August 2019 by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and Big Rigs national road transport newspaper, the ‘Have Your Say’ campaign was aimed at ensuring Australia’s hardworking truck drivers were accurately and fairly represented in the Heavy Vehicle National Law review.
“Truck drivers were telling us they needed more opportunities to provide the National Transport Commission (NTC) with their views,” ATA CEO Ben Maguire said.
“The response we received was overwhelming. The detailed feedback has given us additional insights into the issues drivers are facing on a day-to-day basis and provided practical solutions that could be included in the new laws,” he said.
Via the ATA and Big Rigs Facebook pages as well as a dedicated SMS and email hotline, the campaign reached nearly 190,000 people. Gathering more than 110 constructive pieces of feedback, the responses have now been delivered to the National Transport Commission (NTC) for consideration in the Heavy Vehicle National Law review.
Big Rigs editor James Graham said the collaboration was an enormous success and gave those who were feeling disenfranchised by the process a chance to finally have their voice count.
“The review is one of the biggest things to happen to the industry in a long time, so it was vital our readers had their chance to contribute,” he said.
“We can’t thank the NTC enough for listening and taking all this invaluable feedback onboard. Hopefully we all end up with a better HVNL as a result.”
Mr Maguire thanked the NTC for their flexibility and willingness to accept the crucial feedback although submissions to review issues papers had already closed.
“This feedback is an incredibly important source of information that will be of great value to the NTC as they progress into the next stages of the HVNL review. We are very appreciative of their support for this campaign,” he said.
Together with its members, the ATA also made detailed submissions to the HVNL review focusing on a range of issues affecting trucking businesses and their employees, including fatigue management, access, vehicle standards and safety, and regulation.
The ATA and its member associations collectively represent the 50,000 businesses and 200,000 people in the Australian trucking industry. Together, the ATA and its members are committed to safety, professionalism and viability.
