NFF wants RSRT scrapped

The Turnbull government has pledged to repeal the RSRT after recent legal action in the Federal Court failed to resolve concerns about cost increases to sectoral interests like agriculture.

Riverina MP and senior National Michael McCormack said many owner-drivers in his sparse farming electorate would be put out of business by the Court’s dismissal last week of an application to stop the RSRT’s order on minimum wage payments.

“This is such a bad outcome for so many family businesses, many of which are mum and dad operations across the regions,” Mr McCormack said.

“It is essential the Senate passes the legislation which will defer the start of the payments order until January 1, 2017 to give owner-operators time to adjust and also hopefully to allow a new government to fix this mess created by Bill Shorten when Labor was in power.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the RSRT was designed entirely by Mr Shorten to advantage the Transport Workers Union had produced an order which would “drive owner-drivers out of business” and make them uncompetitive with other larger businesses.

“It was a piece of legislation that has had nothing to do with safety, everything to do with getting small businesses, self-employed people, the enterprising family businesses of Australia off the roads,” he said.

“Now they've made that order and we are seeking to get it revoked.”

NFF Workplace Relations and Legal Affairs General Manager Sarah McKinnon said her group had always said the Tribunal needed to be abolished and last week’s events had made it clear “we’re never going to get a good hearing, in that forum”.

But Ms McKinnon said more importantly though, the economic costs were too significant to ignore and “it can’t be in anyone’s interests for owner drivers to be sent to the wall”.

She said now that the Tribunal’s orders were in full force, and Federal Court proceedings to stay the orders had been exhausted, legislative action was the best way forward.

“We’re working with government through their consultation process on what should happen with the Tribunal,” she said.

“We would like to see really a repeal of the Act that establishes the Tribunal.

“If we need to have an interim arrangement which stays the effect of the Tribunal’s orders until we can get to that point, then we would support that, but really we think that the only viable option is to get rid of the tribunal.”

Mr Turnbull said federal parliament resumed next week to specifically debate the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Bill - a potential double dissolution election trigger - and after it was dealt with, the government would seek to get a bill passed to ensure that the RSRT order was set aside until next year.

He said the government had also committed to abolish the RSRT, if re-elected, as it did nothing effective to do with safety but it undermines owner operators and small family businesses.

“Two reports have investigated it and each of them has recommended that it be abolished,” he said.

“We’re going to carry that out, it will be abolished if the Turnbull Government is re-elected at the election this year.”

Ms McKinnon said the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator already had a “very strong” road safety focus and was doing evidenced based work, had a bipartisan approach and engagement through trucking associations and unions.

She said, importantly the NHVR cooperated with work health safety regulators where the two safety remits overlapped.

“There’s already a lot of work going on in relation to road safety; we just don’t need another tribunal whose only job is to push up prices,” she said.

Ms McKinnon said the biggest impact of the RSRT’s order on minimum pay rates would be higher transport costs and farmers would have to pay “full tote odds”.

“It seems like the cost of sending a couple of bulls up the road will be the same as sending a full cart of stock so there will be no concessions for pack loads or part loads or multiple hires,” she said.

“Full tote odds will apply and that could increase costs in some cases by up to 350pc so we’re very worried about that.”

Ms McKinnon said the impact would be felt across the board by farmers in varied geographic locations.

“Anyone who is reliant on road transport to service their farm and needs contract transporters to move stock or bring in feed or fertiliser will be affected,” she said.

“The dairy industry will be affected and the grains industry will be affected along with any agricultural operation which relies on road transport.”

Ms McKinnon said the NFF understood parliament had other urgent matters to deal with but wanted to see an outcome on the RSRT reached as soon as possible.

“Parliament resumes on April 18 and we know they have a full agenda but really this has to be given priority because we’ve got a lot of people very worried about their future,” she said.

“I think there is no option for improvement.

“After Friday’s decision the Tribunal has made it very clear that they won’t listen to sector concerns about the impact of its decisions.”

Ms McKinnon said the Coalition seemed convinced about getting rid of the Tribunal and Senate crossbenchers were “starting to get there”.

But she stressed it was import all politicians looked at the legislation’s potential impacts and decided for themselves, “Did they get what they voted for, when this legislation went through?”

“The Labor party can be confident that the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator is there and that’s where we should be concentrating our road safety efforts,” she said.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the government wanted want to see owner drivers stay in business and the Tribunal was “always put together under the guise of safety” in a deal between Mr Shorten and the TWU.

She said abolishing the RSRT would save 4$ million per year and be given over to the NHVR which was “the appropriate body to deal with the safety issues in the transport industry in Australia”.

“We currently do not have the numbers to abolish the tribunal, but I believe that we can get the numbers to delay the order,” she said.

But Shadow Employment Minister Brendan O’Connor said the Coalition government’s decision to try and remove the Tribunal was “extraordinary and extremely dangerous given the body of evidence that links pay and safety on our roads”.

“It is customary for governments to support decisions of the independent umpire, but in exceptional circumstances a government might intervene in the matter and make a submission before the tribunal determines the outcome,” he said.

“The Turnbull Liberal government has gone from seeking to delay the decision by legislation to now recklessly trying to kill off the tribunal, simply because Malcolm Turnbull doesn’t like its decision.

“Labor believes the government should convene a meeting with all affected parties – employers, workers, unions, owner operators to reconcile where possible outstanding differences.”

Mr Shorten said Labor's position was based upon making roads safer and getting better minimum conditions for truck drivers.

“Labor's up for sensible compromise and the pace in which new overdue minimum conditions are rolled out - but what you don't do is then, if you don't like the decision, just abolish the whole system,” he said.

“Too many truck drivers, too many representatives, too many owner drivers, too many widows and families have seen the toll the heavy vehicle industry of that lack of safety in terms on Australia's roads.”

But Queensland LNP Senator Barry O’Sullivan said the PM’s decision to axe the RSRT was “a win for common sense”.

“This decision demonstrates the Prime Minister has listened to the concerns of owner-drivers across the nation and is prepared to take decisive action to defend the interests of small business in Australia,” he said.

“I now call on my federal colleagues of all political persuasions to support this plan to give real certainty to our owner-drivers.”