Windsor backs Labor’s Road User Charge hike
18th September, 2012
“YESTERDAY Tony Windsor backed Labor to ramp up truckers’ on-road costs by a staggering 10.4%,” Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Warren Truss said today.“The people of New England depend on road freight. This price hike for truckers will be reflected in the cost of all the goods they buy. But we’re hardly surprised, Mr Windsor has voted for Labor’s big tax agenda, previously supporting the carbon tax and mining tax.
“The Gillard government’s new cash grab at the expense of truckers and consumers passed the House of Representatives 65-65, with the Deputy Speaker using her casting vote to decide in favour of the government. Had Mr Windsor stood up for his electorate this new cost would have been killed-off.
“Anthony Albanese is unashamedly robbing truckers of their hard-earned money to stuff Labor coffers, and Tony Windsor is his partner in crime.”
In June, Mr Truss wrote to Transport Minister Anthony Albanese calling on him to see reason and slash the massive increase in the Road User Charge from 10.4% to the 5.7% agreed to by the industry. This was the figure under discussion during the public consultation period on this year’s Road User Charge.
“The compromise I put to the Minister was fair and reasonable,” Mr Truss explained. “I flagged that if he didn’t do the right thing by truckers the Coalition would move to disallow these exorbitant new charges to protect drivers from unfair increases in registration and fuel excise costs.
“At the hands of so-called Independents our bid to relieve truckers of these unjustifiable costs was defeated. Minister Albanese’s glib response was to shrug and say truckers have benefited from road funding so must cough up.
“Truckers should, of course, pay their way, but the Minister is syphoning hundreds of millions of dollars from truckers’ wallets even though he knows this huge increase is in dispute.
“The trucking industry has been up in arms since the National Transport Commission (NTC) decreed a 10.4% rise in the heavy vehicle charge, effective from 1 July 2012. It was a shock as the consultation process has never countenanced a figure so high.
“The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) mounted a strong case that the NTC’s formula was flawed, based on out-dated truck numbers that inflated the amount drivers must pay and overstated road building and maintenance calculations.
“Instead of counting the actual number of registered truck on our roads, the ATA says the NTC took registration figures from 2007 and applied costs to a theoretical fleet. The end result forces drivers to fork-out $700 million more in 2012-13 than they are liable for.
“The Australian Livestock and Road Transporters Association advises that the impact of the NTC’s pricing model would see road trains overcharged by $27.9 million per year – a 40% gouge – and that the principle of cost recovery by vehicle class has not been honoured.
“Again, this Labor-Greens-Independent government proves there is no dodgy depth to which it will not stoop to fill its $120 billion budget black hole. None of them can be trusted.”
[ENDS]
Note: The Road User Charge is collected through the fuel excise system and truck registration fees. The charge costs the road transport industry almost $2.5 billion a year and is intended to cover road maintenance and construction costs attributed to the industry.
