Trucking Australia 2023: It’s on!

Australian Trucking Association Chair David Smith and QTA President Paul Kahlert welcomed over 400 delegates to the event at the Novotel Convention Centre on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

In his opening speech, Mr Smith said that there will be some memorable moments over the next two days of the conference.

“This conference may well be the turning point for our industry,” Mr Smith said. “For example, two key political decision makers will join us. The Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, will deliver a keynote address, as will the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development and Leader of the Nationals, Bridget McKenzie.

“This is the first time they have both spoken at an event since the Federal Election, and I reckon we’ll be talking about their speeches for some time to come,” he added.

Topics to be covered during the conference will be many and varied, covering such subjects as:

In his welcome to Trucking Australia 2023 Paul Kahlert praised the industry for its resilience and stoicism over the past few years.

“The best thing about the trucking industry is that we have a DNA with a killer, can-do attitude and an extraordinary bias for action when the going gets tough,” said Mr Kahlert.

“During the COVID challenge, change across our industry became a weekly, sometime daily phenomenon where quick, decisive action was required as there was no option for failure. I believe that transport is now far more appreciated by the general public and is finally seen as an important and vital part of the Australian economy,” he added.

The trucksales team is at the conference and we’ll bring you updates as we attend its many interesting and informative sessions.