Open letter lays bare trucking crisis tipping point

I am writing as a small transport operator in the Blue Mountains to call for urgent federal action in response to the current fuel supply and diesel cost crisis.

Small operators are being hit from every angle at once. Fuel must be paid for either immediately or on account, while many of us wait weeks or longer to be paid ourselves.

At the same time, finance repayments, insurance, wages, registration, maintenance and every other fixed cost keep rolling in regardless of whether the work is profitable or even still there. It does not take long for that kind of pressure to become unsustainable.

This is not just a trucking issue. If small operators start falling over, the impact will move through the entire supply chain. Farms, manufacturers, importers, regional towns, supermarket shelves and ordinary Australian families will all feel it. Trucking is not a side issue in this country. It is a critical service.

We often see the slogan plastered on the back of many trucks: Without Trucks, Australia Stops. At the moment, we are on the verge of coming to a grinding halt.

I am calling on the federal government to urgently implement the following emergency measures:

An immediate temporary pause on diesel excise.
A mandated six-month repayment moratorium on truck and trailer finance for small operators.
Emergency early access to superannuation, in the same spirit as the Covid period.
A $25,000 emergency disaster grant for small transport operators.

These measures would provide immediate breathing room and help keep freight moving while the wider market stabilises.

Without real intervention, many owner-drivers and small fleets will simply run out of road. Personally, I am mere weeks away from collapse.

Already, there have been a multitude of small operators either park up, or close their businesses entirely. We simply cannot sit idly by and allow the most important industry in the country to fail.

I also call on industry bodies including the TWU, NatRoad and the ATA to publicly back these measures and push for immediate implementation. This is the time for united action, not cautious observation.

To the media: this is not an abstract economic story. This is a developing frontline crisis for the people who physically move the country. The longer meaningful support is delayed, the greater the damage will be.

Freight keeps Australia alive. If government can recognise emergencies in other sectors, it can recognise this one too.

I urge you to act now.

David Bailey is the Managing Director of Bailey Brothers Haulage.