Opinion: The Kill Bills

The Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal is as good as gone and with it the RSRO. Bruce Honeywill takes a look at the fallout

The Turnbull Government didn’t waste any time getting the two legislative Bills to kill off the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal and stall the RSRO through Parliament and the Senate, all on the first day of Parliament’s recall. Head spinning.

The first legislation, the ROAD SAFETY REMUNERATION REPEAL BILL 2016 will, when passed, see the trashing of the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 and the on-flowing execution of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal.

The second Bill is the ROAD SAFETY REMUNERATION AMENDMENT (PROTECTING OWNER DRIVERS) BILL 2016 which will see the contentious ‘Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016’ suspended until 31 December 2016.

Both Bills achieved second readings (in the Senate) yesterday (April 18) which makes them both ready for final debate and going to the vote.

It’s a long time since we’ve seen quite as many high profile pollies mixing it with the nation’s truckies with all the right words being thrown about.

Michaelia Cash (pictured) has been elevated to the pin-up minister for owner-drivers and Malcolm and Barnaby were luxuriating in the accolades coming from the truckies.

And the media, well some of them at least, are starting to get it, a refreshing step forward from the not-a-bloody-clue reporting of only a few days ago.

Turnbull, Cash and Barnaby all starting to refer owner-drivers as small business folk.

The other camp is in crisis management with Sheldon and the TWU crew in disarray throwing out the road death toll in a last ditch effort to get support to save the Tribunal and the RSRO.

Shorten is between a rock and a hard place, stretched between loyalty to the union and the groundswell from the road transport industry that tells even the thickest onlooker that with the RSRO, things ain’t good in Dodge.

Sheldon and the TWU had a good thing going with the Tribunal, working for benefits for paid drivers, sorting out the pain of the unloading slots and waiting time with the supermarket duopoly.

They had plenty to fight for, using the Tribunal to work on safety with truck drivers, keeping that minority of fleet operators who still wear driver-skin boots.

Contract drivers working on an ABN make fertile ground for the Union to fight for change, achieving decent working conditions and employer support for these poor buggers up to a par with drivers on PAYE conditions.

But no, Sheldon must have got the smell of power and totally ignoring much repeated history, set out to bring owner drivers into the fold using stealth and the Tribunal.

Wake up Tony, the owner-drivers are never going to come into the union flock. They are independent, conservative-voting and those of us who have observed the industry for a third of a century know that has always been the case.

Now with the imminent demise of the Tribunal, Tony Sheldon and the TWU have tossed the baby out with the bathwater.

Christopher Pine, Minister for Industry, speaking for the repeal legislation yesterday said the delay of the implementation of the RSRO was the last straw.

"The government is not prepared to let small business operators and families be punished just because they decided to buy a truck instead of a corner store," he said.

Minister for Employment, Michaelia Cash rounded up the second reading speech with:

“A vote for this Bill is a vote for for a real solution to the issue of road safety in the trucking industry.

“A vote for this Bill is a vote for the thousands of Australians who rely on this industry.

“A vote for this Bill is a vote for the viability of mum and dad small businesses, which are so vital to the Australian economy."

And speaking of votes, Senator Cash’s political leadership in this issue will no doubt bring votes flying her way in a couple of months’ time.

Opinion: The Kill Bills

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