Two weeks left to make a submission to the NSW chain of responsibility legislation review

Alena Titterton writes:

Along with the review of the activities of the National Transport Commission which we reported on 5 February, the New South Wales Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety has recently commenced an inquiry into Heavy Vehicle Safety.

According to the Staysafe Committee, this is an appropriate time to review the operation and effectiveness of the legislation and measures which have been progressively introduced in NSW since 2006 to address heavy vehicle fatigue and safety management in the NSW transport industry.

The StaySafe Committee has called for submissions to the inquiry into Heavy Vehicle Safety. Geoff Corrigan, the Chair of the Staysafe Committee stated:

“Heavy vehicle safety is a critical part of road safety management and an area the Committee takes very seriously…The Committee would appreciate a submission from every individual and organisation with an involvement or direct interest in this area of road and traffic safety”.

The Staysafe Committee’s Terms of Reference include inquiring and reporting on heavy vehicle safety, with particular reference to:

• the adequacy of implementation of the NSW Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Long Distance Truck Driver Fatigue) Regulation 2005 and the Transport Industry – Mutual Responsibility for Road Safety (State) Award, particularly in relation to heavy vehicle driver fatigue management and safe driving plans;
• the integration of NSW OHS and industrial relations legislation governing heavy vehicles to ensure consistency and conformity with that applying in other States, as part of the national reform agenda;
• the adequacy of the Government’s provision of infrastructure to support the implementation of heavy vehicle driver fatigue management and safe driving plans in NSW; and
• responses to heavy vehicle driver fatigue management and safe driving plans in other jurisdictions, further proposals and any other related matters.

Written submissions are due by 27 March 2009. Further evidence is expected to be called at public hearings which will commence in the second quarter of 2009.

For more information, see the Heavy Vehicle Inquiry terms of reference.

Got something to say about how Chain of Responsibility Model Legislation is affecting you?

Alena Titterton writes:

Significant work has been done in the area of transport regulatory reform, with much of the effort led by the National Transport Commission (the NTC).

The NTC’s brief since its establishment in 2003 has been to “develop, monitor and maintain uniform or nationally consistent regulatory and operational reforms relating to road transport, rail transport and intermodal transport”.

Since its inception, NTC has been busily implementing a reform agenda which has included:

• ‘Chain of Responsibility’ laws to target the cause of heavy vehicle speeding, mass and loading, driver fatigue;
• Model Rail Safety legislation and an associated reform package;
• Compliance and Enforcement model legislation;
• Maintenance of National Australian Road Rules;
• Maintenance of National Australian Vehicle Standards Rules; and
• National Heavy Vehicle Safety Strategy.

The Australian Transport Council (the ATC) has appointed a Committee to review and report on the future of the NTC to be provided to the Transport Ministers who comprise the membership of the ATC.

A Review Steering Committee has been appointed by the ATC to undertake the review and prepare a report for the ATC to allow the ATC to provide recommendations to Transport Ministers on the future of the NTC.  The National Transport Commission Act 2003 requires that a review of the NTC be conducted no later than the sixth anniversary of the NTC Act which explains the timing of the review.

The Committee is chaired by Bruce Wilson, AM who was Chief Executive of Queensland Transport for 12 years. The other members include a Linfox Logistics President Commercial, Tania Whyte and Adam Lewis, a Director of McKinsey & Company, the management consultancy which has an interest in travel infrastructure logistics.

As part of a public consultation process, the Committee has called for submissions to the Review from interested individuals or organisations. 

Matters to be canvassed include:

• progress on the reform agenda by governments throughout Australia and the NTC;
• any changes needed to further drive the reform agenda;
• reform priorities;
• NTC’s role and interactions with government agencies and industry stakeholders;
• effectiveness of the NTC including whether it has struck an appropriate balance in relation to transport productivity, regulatory efficiency, safety and environmental performance;
• effectiveness of NTC’s review processes for reform implementation; and
• the relevance of the NTC reform agenda in relation to the major issues facing the transport industry and the community at large.

This is a real opportunity for industry affected by the reforms to provide preliminary feedback on the effectiveness of those reforms to improve road, rail and intermodal transport, how the reforms are affecting the industry and what the industry sees as the emerging transport policy and regulatory challenges.

Submissions to the Review Steering Committee are due by 6 March 2009.

The Committee’s Final Report will be provided to the Transport Ministers in September 2009.

The Call for Submissions Background Paper can be viewed here.