The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association is hoping other states follow South Australia’s lead, after the Weatherill Government last week announced it will hand back at least $1100 to each regional and rural road train operator across the State.
The SA Government announced as part of its State Budget that it will provide a 100 per cent concession on all registration charges for ‘road train converter dollies’, commencing from July 1.
A converter dolly is a small trailer, fitted with a turntable. It allows two, or more, semi-trailers to be joined together so as to create the classic ‘road train’ used in regional, rural and remote Australia.
“The rural trucking industry is delighted by this decision,” National ALRTA President John Beer told BeefCentral.com, a free online news and market intelligence service dedicated to the Australian beef industry. “In recent months, we’ve been quite horrified by a national plan to increase registration charges for road trains by a massive 21 per cent in a single year.”
According to BeefCentral. Beer said road train operators provided an essential freight service that supported farmers, cattle producers and rural and regional communities. “We were able to show the State Government that the proposal, from the National Transport Commission, contained substantial economic errors,” he said. “The Government’s responded to our concerns with a very responsible, balanced decision.”
Beer added that even with the concession, road train operators would still more than pay their own way and would be making a very strong contribution to State revenues.
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