Agmates Editor Steve Truman writes:
Lazy & arrogant legislation making by an all powerful QLD Labor Government will create a huge flow on of bureaucratic costs that will pass all the way from food producers to consumers. This is an example of poor government in any form.
Last week saw the passing of the Transport Amendment Bill in the QLD Parliament. The passing of this bill Bill in Queensland will now pave the way for it to be legislated in every state of Australia.
The legislation due to come into effect in September this year means that all those involved in the food chain from farmers, agents, processors, wholesalers, retailers and private citizens will face fines and court action if they cannot correctly read a heavy transport drivers log book.
Considering that a large number of the states police cannot comprehend a truck Drivers log book this is a bizarre law by any standard.
The cost to industry and the state tax payer to incorporate the duplicate layers of systems and documented procedure will be millions of dollars. Those cost will either be borne by producers (who have no ability to pass them on) or in the end by consumers in supermarkets.
Passing this legislation with these flaws and prohibitive costs is just lazy out of touch governing by a party that due to its huge majority of seats, treats the opposition and the good hard working people of Queensland in the food - production / transport/ processing and retail sectors with contempt.
Despite well researched and impassioned pleas from the opposition benches Transport Minister John Mickel (pictured) and his Labor colleagues rammed this costly and impractical legislation through the parliament.
Not only did Labor use its huge majority in the Single House State Parliament to pass the bill, it also used it to cut short the debate.
With plain bloody mindedness, Mr Mickel the member for Logan (no food producers there to trouble himself with) and his Labor colleagues ignored numerous concerns voiced by Liberal, National and Independent Members on behalf of all Queenslanders involved in the food production chain.
On reading the Hansard of the day those concerns had been expessed on behalf of Queensland farmers by Agmates and AgForce and various members of the Livestock trucking Industry. Click here to read an extract from the evenings proceedings up to the final vote.
Agmates feature article last week “Log Book Legislation could See farmers Jailed” brought to light many of the difficulties that this legislation would impose on food producers.
Independent Member for Gladstone Liz Cunningham (pictured) read the Agmates article in its entirety to the house and asked the minister to respond directly to the questions we raised in his reply.
Minister John Mickel failed to address those issues in his reply and was bought to task my Liberal the Deputy Leader:
.
Tim Nichol:
“A number of people have referred to a report released by Agmates, which I also have looked at. The Agmates report refers to a consignor being held responsible for manslaughter.
As I read the legislation, the chain of responsibility—and for the sake of clarity I would ask the minister to say yes or no to this—only relates to offences under this legislation.
Mr MICKEL:
“I will clarify it. The member is asking a fair question that he should take back to his constituents. The advice given to me in relation to that offence is that that would not happen.“
(Agmates: Is that a yes or no? That was government legal advise. It is not difficult to obtain differing legal opion on any range of legislation. I’m guessing that no one will really know until it’s tested in the courts.)
Tim Nichols:
“Clause 61 is one that has excited considerable comment and has been the subject of a number of releases and comments by AgForce in particular which seeks to remove section 150AB(1)(d)(v) and (vi). Subsection (1)(d)(v) and (vi) states—
rules requiring any or all of the following persons to ensure drivers of fatigue regulated heavy vehicles comply with a regulation under this part—
(v) consignors or consignees of goods in the vehicles;
(vi) loading managers of goods in the vehicles.Effectively it is a regulation-making power that enables the government, through a regulation, to set rules about what a consignor or consignee or a loading manager must do in order to ensure compliance with the fatigue management rules.
I would like the minister to clarify that that is, in fact, the purpose of it…..
John Mickel:
The member has asked three questions. I am advised that the answer to the first question that the member asked is yes.
In relation to the example that the member gave, as part of the education process we will be giving advice to people in the industry on the codes and procedures to assist them.
This is very much part of the education process…….
In essence if you now are the consignor (sender / loader) or the receiver (unloading) you are required by legislation to take all reasonable steps to ensure the truck driver is compliant with his Fatigue management hours. The only way to do this is too check his log book.
Opposition MP’s Tim Nichols, Vaughan Johnson, Mike Horan, Liz Cunningham and Shane Knuth all spoke at lenght on behalf of Rural & Regional Queenslander’s.
They raised many issues of the impracticality of parts of the legislation from caretakers & junior Jackeroos receiving cattle late at night, to city people loading a furniture removal van etc. They may as well have saved their breathe.
Mr Mickel’s response was that the government will train us all and as long as we can prove in court we have taken resonable steps, there will be no convictions.
Mr MICKEL:
I will try to take the members through a couple of things in my non-legal way. I guess the defence is ‘reasonable steps’. (The minister is talking about defending yourself in court) —
Where a person did not know—would be a defence of a reasonable step.
There is no capacity to influence the outcome, so that would be a reasonable defence.
If an offence under standard hours could have been avoided if the driver had taken a short break, it is a defence if the driver can prove that at the time when the driver was required to take the short rest there was no suitable rest place. I think that covers what both members were saying—that the park was full, the guy was not there, whatever.
It is also a defence if the driver took the short rest break at the next suitable rest place available after this time on the forward route of the driver’s journey. In a situation where he goes to pull in and it is full or unsuitable, it is a defense if he can prove that.
There has to be an attempt to influence illegal behaviour or a breaking of fatigue management—or to reasonably know that what you were doing was in defiance of the fatigue management.
It was apparent from the number of Labor MP’s that spoke in favor of the Bill that constituents with grave concerns only speak to opposition MP’s as not one of the Labor MP’s who spoke raised a single negative issue with the Bill.
What QLD Labour has created with this legislation is that each and every producer, agent, processor, wholesaler, retailer and private citizen will now have to be a sudo Main Roads Traffic cop.
Every business in the State will have to have a system / code / procedure in place for the loading and unloading of all heavy transport vehicles (anything over 12 tonne) and checking drivers log books.
With those systems in place when the driver of the truck you just loaded or unloaded gets booked for a log book infringement and your infringement notice automatically arrives in the mail (as the last person to check the log book), you’ll be able to head off to court with your documentation under your arm to demonstrate to the magistrate that you should not have to pay the fine.
You’ll need to be able to prove to the magistrate with documentation that you took ‘reasonable steps’ to ensure the drivers log book was correctly completed.
Heavy haul truck drivers are one of the most heavily policed professionals in the state. They are regularly pulled over and fined for mistakes as simple as a spelling error in log books. Would I be cynical to think that the government will now be able to double dip on the fines. They get the truckie and now they get the Consignor or Consignee as well.
Link to complete Hansard recording from the day.
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Update 27th July 2008.
Our prediction that this legislation in it’s current form will impact on food prices as truckies arcoss Australia lead by owner driver Mick Pattel stay at home for 2 weeks in the National Transport Shutdown.
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Tell us what you think. Have your say!
Related Posts
- Log Book Legislation Could See Farmers Jailed
- Labor Transport Bill Bureacratic Nightmare
- Farmer asks “What’s so bad about Higher Food Prices”
- Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
- Labor State Premiers Up in Arms Over Rudd’s ETS.
Tags: Food, Mick Pattel, Transport
Hello Agmates,
This may be the start of the EU system. Having just returned from a trade trip from France We asked our guide where all the trucks were as the big motorways seemed bare.
The system of the transport over there is simple ie. NO trucks run over the weekend, Drivers must also take a rest break after 2hrs of driving. This would have a major effect in Australia.
John
G’day John,
Thats a very interesting comment. Hmmm I wonder if that is where this is heading?
What was the trade delegation you were on? Was there anything else you saw or learnt from trip that you think would be interesting / informative for Agmates readers?
Hi AGMATES,
What a terrifying thought.What if the consignor has a beef with the driver ,The response could be used from iether side of the argument.It all has smells of THE NEW WORLD ORDER.with references to the UN-UNITED NATIONS. I wonder which treaty was signed in, some time ago,[as is their traditional trademark].Time that us sheeples took time out to follow what these trecherous pollies and beurocrats are up to and to take action accordingly.The next crucial move will most likely be to establish the OSSIE REPUBLIC then these “one worlders” will control all including what is left of our private property rights and certainly our “Crown land” together with all facets of our working civilation.Then the sheeples will only have to line up to the knock box for their medicine.Kevin J
G’day Kevin,
Mate I don’t know about all that ‘New World Order Stuff’ but I do know that it was just lazy of the Labor party to pass this legislation.
They know there are problems and ‘gray areas’ with the legislation that could have been sorted with some amendments before it was passed. The opposition did there best to bring real live examples of those problems to their attention.
The opposition made it plain that they supported the Bill, but wanted to sort out these problems with the legislation before it was set to law.
But that was just to hard for them to even try. Easier to just pass it and let the courts sort it out later.
This is not unusual for them though. The QLD Justice system is in crisis at the minute because of the incredible work load thrown onto it by Lazy legislating on behalf of the QLD Labor government. Why bother with it when you have a 59 to 30 majority in a single house parliament.
With that sort of majority as a government you can do anything you like. Even pass vague, dodgy and overly bureaucratic legislation like this one and let everybody else worry about it. As long as the Courier Mail does not kick up a fuss - there no drama for them.
ISN’T IT AMAZING HOW PREMIER GOSS PULLED UP THE RAILWAY IN QUEENSLAND AND EVERYONE FORGOT ABOUT IT???
HOW ABOUT WE START THINKING ABOUT TRAINS INSTEAD OF TRUCKS??
WITH ALL THIS ENVIRONMENT TALK AND WE THINK WE SHOULD IMPORT BEEF (AS RUDD WARNED US WE MAY HAVE TO CONSIDER) BECAUSE COWS FART.. AND WE’VE GOT ALL THE TRANSPORT ON THE ROAD..;
IS THAT NOT VIABLE BECAUSE THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES DON’T HAVE GOOD RAILWAY SYSTEMS!!
ANGRIER WITH EACH PASSING DAY
G’day Lorena,
Welcome to Agmates. Thats really interesting, where did you see Rudd warning we may have to import beef? I have not seen it. can you let me know where you saw that please, I’d like to follow up on that.
Cheers - Your Agmate Steve
Their is only one way to hurt governments and that is to take money off of them . Use their laws to cost them money .
In the cases as mentioned above . Yes we are all now in control of the drivers actions and we will be fined if he or she breaks the law . And yes you will be charged under these acts and it will cost you thousands of dollars to defend yourself in court .
Now if you want to cost the government money and show that you will not be stood over here’s a few hints . Firstly Email me at jamfig@austarnet.com.au and I will give you documents to spread around your area .
The first one will be a request for a review of an infringement notice form . You contest every fine issued with these forms . For each one you send in it costs the government around $ 650.00 to investigate .
Secondly , Every time you see one of them break the law report them . That costs the government to do internal audits . Also if you see one of them breach work place health and safety laws report them to work place health and safety . Example .
Every police camera car is a work place and under the act all work places have to have toilets and hand washing facilities . If you see a camera car on the side of the road without those facilities report them to work place health and safety take a photo and send a copy to me. Just give me the details of where when and the time .
If a police officer pulls up a car in a place that you consider to be unsafe take a photo and report him or her to work place health and safety . If a police officer pulls you up for any offense Insure that before they touch your property that they wipe their hands with the alcohol wipes that are provided by the department and that they put on their surgical gloves . Their is a reason for this . If the driver that they had pulled up before you has used their licenses to make lines of drugs the drugs could transfer from the police officers hands to your license . If they do a drug test on you it could come up that you have touched drugs.
All of the above costs them time and money . There are miles of other things you can do to them to cost the government money . And money is all that these new laws are about . They are on a revenue raising raid and why .
Well ask the government if they have forward sold the profits off of the government owned corporations to a finance company . In other words they ran out of money and forward sold the profits to get some and now they have no money coming in so up goes the fines .
The price of your electricity and any thing else they can think of to make money out of you . ( Politics - Poli in Latin I believe means many . Ticks are blood sucking parasites . ) what does that make politicians