The NSW Government must begin the process of reopening businesses by first opening toilet facilities for truck drivers, ATA CEO Ben Maguire said today. 

Responding to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s call for businesses to reopen and ‘have a go’, Mr Maguire demanded the reopening of truck driver toilet facilities, after seeing first-hand the impact of the closures while travelling along the Hume Highway today. 

“When stopping at the Partridge VC rest area today, I was astonished to see a Transport for NSW sign posting that the toilet facilities were not being serviced,” Mr Maguire said. 

“At a time when the community is expecting toilet paper and food to be on supermarket shelves, trucking is having a go and working hard to get it there, but the NSW government is not even willing to clean the toilets on Australia’s major freight route. 

“How can we possibly expect businesses to reopen and ‘have a go’, if the trucks that carry their supplies can’t get the basic support needed to deliver goods? 

“Truck drivers have no other choice but to use these facilities, and to see them closed is unacceptable. 

“If Gladys Berejiklian is going to call on businesses to ‘have a go’, her government needs to as well. They need to walk the talk and make the opening of truck driver facilities a priority,” Mr Maguire said. 

The ATA’s calls come as part of the Keep them Open campaign, which urges businesses across the country to ensure their facilities are accessible to truck drivers.  

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.