THE MONTH IN REVIEW

5th November – NT Road Transport Committee Working Group

*  Truck Parking Bay names of Territory trucking identities submitted to the NT Place Names committee. 
*  Digital Tachograph trial NOT going ahead.
*  Distance charging NOT going ahead either.
*  NHVAS – NT Govt has one application for entry into the Basic Fatigue Management scheme.  Auditors   require 8 weeks of records prior to Desktop audit.  6-months later Entry Audit.  NT companies operating across State borders (SA, QLD, NSW, VIC) encouraged lodging applications and drivers must have the new Work Diaries.  Remember: NT drivers must fill in their work diary from the last ‘long break’ (7-hours) when travelling into the 4 States operating under the NHVAS fatigue management system.
*  QLD approved a trial outside AFM for the livestock industry.
*  In the NT steer axle permit fees will be increased to $100 for up to 6.5 tonnes and $100 for every 100kg up to a maximum of 7.0 tonnes.  E.g. permit for 6.7 tonnes will cost $300

07th November – National Road Safety Action Plan 2009 2010 (www.atcouncil.gov.au)

*  Be aware that the plan focuses on:
-  Improvement in enforcement of heavy vehicle speed limiter compliances
-  Development of in-vehicle technologies to promote road safety including digital tachographs and GPS-enabled solutions to support the implementation of speed and fatigue management reforms
-  Upgrade of rest area network with Federal government funding commitment
-  Implementation and monitoring of National Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue Management reforms.

15th November - 30th Anniversary Dinner and Auction
*  A successful evening supported by 125 members and guests, a lively auction and historical reflections on the Association’s past 30 years by Life Member and inaugural member, Jim Cooper. 
* The Association sincerely thanks the following businesses for their generous donations and sponsorship.

Airpower, South Pacific Tyres, Beaurepaires, Bridgestone Tyres, Mack Trucks, IOR Petroleum, AusFuel, Cummins Diesel, Western Diesel, Chemtrans, Free Spirit Resort, SKYCITY Casino, Mick Murray Welding, Hastings Deering, Health for Industry, Auto Smart, Dimet Tools, Hall of Fame, Tyres R Us, Boss Fluid, Perkins Shipping, Moogully, WeldPower

19th November – NT Critical Infrastructure Forum

* The 9 identified critical infrastructure sectors include transport, health, communications, emergency services, mass gatherings, energy, food chain, banking and finance.
*  The national Infrastructure Advisory Group has developed a National Organisational Resilience Framework and the NT Critical Infrastructure framework falls out of the national framework.
* Information on levels of threat alert can be found at www.nationalsecurity.gov.au. The Department of the Chief Minister is responsible for coordination of the ‘whole-of-government’ preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response and recovery in relation to issues or incidents that may affect the security of the NT.  More information can be found at www.nt.gov.au/dcm/security.
*  The Critical Infrastructure Protection Modelling and Analysis Program (CIPMA) were demonstrated.

21st November – Parliament House function

* The President and Executive Officer had the opportunity to meet with the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Delia Lawrie and her Advisor, Sonia Peters prior to a farewell presentation for Peter Goed at Parliament House.  The meeting flagged critical issues of importance to the government and ATA-NT members including consultative processes to ensure planned legislative changes to implement the NHVAS fatigue management system are workable in the NT.  Peter Goed was farewelled from the job in style, although a reminder that Peter is not leaving town and remains active in transport and logistics circles.

*   Giving way to pedestrians when turning at intersections – a driver must give way to a person who is partly crossing the road, e.g. walking to a safety zone or median strip) and/or a person (crossing supervisor) holding a hand-held stop sign but not actually crossing the road.
*   Rule 143 Passing or overtaking a vehicle displaying a “do not overtake turning vehicle” sign - remove an anomaly in the Rules to allow vehicles to pass a vehicle with such a sign on the left while on a multi-lane road.
* Rule 159 Marked lanes to be used by particular types of vehicles – vehicles displaying the “do not overtake turning vehicle” sign are permitted to make a left turn from a lane next to a left lane, however it was unclear whether this was also the case for trucks in lanes to which the trucks must use the left lane applies. Additional words have been added to the Rule to remove any doubt that trucks must use the left lane does not prevent trucks leaving the lane to take up an appropriate position from which the driver can make a turn to leave the road or a u-turn.
* Rule 299 Television receivers and visual display units in motor vehicles – new technology now has GPS available through phones or as handheld devices. The amendments proposed that these devices can be used but only if the GPS device is an integrated part of the vehicle or secured in a fixed mounting.  
* Rule 300 Use of Mobile Phone – the original proposal has been amended to allow a driver to pass a phone to a passenger. This allows a driver who has the phone on his/her person or in the driver’s side door to pass a phone to a passenger to answer if need be.

*  The new fatigue laws introduced in NSW, QLD, SA and VIC on 29 September require all parties in the supply chain to take reasonable steps to manage driver fatigue.  For information on the National Logistics Safety Code go to www.austlogistics.com.au

04th December – Workforce Planning and Skills (NT)
*  Formation of a NT Transport & Logistics Workforce Advisory Group endorsed by the Australian Transport Council Ministers.  The aim is assist with identifying and addressing labour & skills issues within the NT.  Acknowledge a growing skills and labour crisis in the T & L industry due to difficulty competing with mining and construction.
*  A draft intergovernmental agreement for the development of National Road Safety Council will go to CoAG in 2009.  www.ntc.gov.au

*  CoAG has agreed to the development of a national truck driver licencing system.

10th December – NT Business Council meeting with CEO NT Business & Employment
*  Upskills program for small business to assist companies maintain employment levels and business confidence.
*  Acknowledgement that skills shortages will be ongoing even with rising unemployment.
*  NT Government commitment to pay bills within 30-days. If this is not happening tell us about it.

• Disclaimer: The Australian Trucking Association NT ( ATA NT) accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of information provided. Recipients should make their own independent evaluation of statements made by the authors or contributing articles in the ATA NT Bulletin.