‘Tax on trucks’: State Member for Shepparton Kim O'Keeffe, Kreskas Brothers Transport general manager Adam Katsoutas and Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell say potential increases in heavy vehicle charges could hit the region hard and further inflate prices for household items.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell has urged the Albanese Government to reject what he is describing as a “$2.6 billion tax on trucks”.
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Mr Birrell says an increase in heavy vehicles charges is being considered by the government, which he says will hit consumers and transport companies alike.
The National Transport Commission provides advice to the Council of Australian Governments through the Transport and Infrastructure Council, and at the Infrastructure and Transport Minister’s Meeting in December, ministers agreed in principle to changes to heavy vehicle charges.
One reform is replacing the current annual road user charging cycle with a three-year cycle to provide the industry with a longer-term view of costs.
The NTC has also proposed two options for increasing heavy vehicle charges and the Road User Charge.
One would see a six per cent increase applied to the roads component of registration charges each year from 2023-24 to 2025-26 and the alternative scenario would increase it by 10 per cent per annum over the same period.
Mr Birrell said a 10 per cent annual rise would amount to a “$2.6 billion tax on trucks”.
He said given the Goulburn Valley’s status as a food bowl and manufacturing centre, with dozens of freight operators and a quarter of Victoria’s registered heavy vehicles, any increases would hit the region hard.
General Manager of Kreskas Brothers Transport, Adam Katsoutas.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
“Transport companies and supply chains are still recovering from the disruption of the pandemic and dealing with higher fuel prices and operating costs,” he said.
Mr Birrell said the Australian Trucking Association submitted that the charges should be frozen for 2023-24 to be followed by modest annual increases of 2.27 per cent.
“Not one submission in response to the implementation options paper supported the 10 per cent cost recovery model,” he said.
“Another option to increase charges by 18 per cent over three years would also have widespread negative impacts.
“The feedback to me from local transport companies, and those who need transport companies to move their produce to the Port of Melbourne or to other places, is that it would just be extremely difficult and the tax increase would generally be passed on, and in some cases the farmer is unable to pass it on, and in many cases it will end up meaning people will pay more at the checkout for their produce and that will have an inflationary effect.
“The producers are telling us that it would just be impossible for them to withstand, so they’re asking for something a lot more moderate, and we’re calling for that as well.”
Every heavy vehicle that uses Australian roads pays a vehicle registration fee and operators also pay a road user charge on diesel fuel.
State and territory governments use the money to maintain and improve roads for heavy vehicles.
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