The livestock industry says current road train access restrictions to Rockhampton abattoirs are hampering productivity, driver safety and animal welfare.
Currently, Type 1 road train operators require a National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) permit to travel directly to Rockhampton abattoirs.
Even with a permit however, there are operating hours and route restrictions, established by Transport and Main Roads Queensland (TMR).
Home to two major red meat processing facilities, Rockhampton has become known as Australia’s beef capital. Together, these facilities employ 1400 people and produce up to two million kilograms of red meat a week, that goes into the global supply chain.
While PBS vehicles including A-doubles and quad quad B-doubles can travel through Rockhampton through the Bruce Highway corridor more freely, livestock operators with Type 1 road trains have restrictions around their movements, including curfews.
The Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Queensland (LRTAQ) held a roundtable discussion about the issue on Friday August 16, at the CQLX Saleyards in Gracemere, calling for a more workable solution – however TMR declined an invitation to attend.
The roundtable was attended by industry delegates. Image: Kent MurrayAt the roundtable meeting, Australian Livestock & Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) vice president Athol Carter told industry stakeholders, “For the past seven years, we’ve been lobbying to gain better access for our high productivity vehicles to the two red meat processing facilities of North Rockhampton with the use of high productivity road trains.
“We have current access from 7pm to 7am but it’s now time to reconnect, rethink and drive animal welfare and driver safety outcomes for an industry that delivers to the world and allow access.”
For this particular route, Carter says livestock road train operators require three permits a year, resulting in significant compliance costs.
Instead of preventing Type 1 road trains from accessing the abattoirs, the current restrictions just mean the combinations have to be split up, leading to more truck movements.
Carter wants authorities to provide livestock operators with better access to improve productivity, efficiency and safety. Such a move would also help to take heavy vehicle traffic out of Rockhampton’s CBD.
As Carter explained, “They still have to arrive here at the CQLX breakdown pads, split those trailers, decouple, and do two trips to deliver those cattle through the CBD of Rockhampton, and come back here and cross load those cattle.”
From an animal welfare point of view, he said: “We’re leaving animals unattended out here at the saleyards, while we double run those trailers, at a time and a cost of 3.5 hours. For every 3.5 hours that we’re taking to do that, it means less time for the drivers to eat and sleep and perform maintenance on their vehicles.
“So we have a huge increase for driver safety, we have an increase in time and cost to industry. We all know what the cost of living pressure is doing to the Australian community at the moment. And this is only just adding to that through the red meat supply chain.
“It’s also meaning drivers are having to go through town when they should be asleep – and they’re having to work in the dark.
“There are PBS high productivity vehicles, 30 metres long, quad quad B-doubles and A-doubles, with two trailers running along the same portion of the route that we do, unrestricted.
“We are professional, conscious transport operators. This is our living. We’re very heavily invested in this industry and acutely aware of what our heavy vehicle footprint does.”
The livestock industry is calling for a more sensible approach to the issue, including allowing Type 1 road train access between the hours of 10am and 3pm, and from 5pm to 5am, seven days a week.
“We won’t be in town during those peak times of traffic in the morning and the afternoon with school. Let us get on with the job and let us deliver the freight like we do professionally, all day, every day,” Carter added.
“We’ve also requested a meeting with the minister’s office and will be preparing a factual evidence-based report.”
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