THE Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA (LRTAWA) was left scratching its collective head last week after the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) forum.
The forum was supposed to ease the concerns for people in the industry but LRTAWA president Grant Robins said he was still unsure as to what benefit the new regulator would bring to WA.
"It was clear a significant amount of detail is yet to be worked out and industry is being asked to take a leap of faith," Mr Robins said.
"One of our concerns is whether the regulator will be prepared for the workload involved in dealing with appeals against decisions.
"If there is a flood of appeals how will the regulator prioritise them and ensure there is some equitable process for managing them."
Mr Robins said he did not want to see WA's transport industry take a backward step.
"WA is renowned for having the most productive and efficient heavy vehicle transport sector in Australia and this should not be put at risk with vague promises that things could get better under a national regime," he said.
Mr Robins said he believed the bureaucrats were under pressure to deliver the new heavy vehicle laws by January 1, 2013 and said it would be better to move the implementation date further back.
"The bureaucrats are under obvious pressure to meet the deadline," he said.
"This is a major change with some inherent risks for industry and it is important we get it right first time."
Mr Robins would like to see more forums for industry to give feedback.
"If this current round of consultation results in significant changes there should be another chance for industry comment," he said.
"But I doubt the time frame will allow for any meaningful exchange of information beyond the formal submissions to the Regulation Impact Statement (RIS)."
The NHVR project office has only given until May 6, for the consultation period to finish.
Mr Robins said WA already had strong transport laws and there were only a few areas that would actually improve WA's industry.
"WA has some non-negotiable items such as retaining all local productivity variations, retaining our fatigue regime, improving road access and ensuring there is an efficient permit process," he said.
"In our view local productivity variations not only include vehicle configurations but also the ability to gain local road access.
"We need more clarity on how local productivity is determined.
"Although we have been told the regulator will be able to provide greater road access by dealing more effectively with local government, it appears the State road authority will retain the ability to override local governments rather than the regulator.
"Main Roads has always been reluctant to override local government on access decisions so industry will not be gaining greater access through this process."
Mr Robins said while there was a number of questionable parts to the NHVR, there were some positives that could improve WA's transport industry.
"The copy of Queensland's system where a farmer can apply for access permits, would obviously help us over here," he said. "And neutral recognition throughout all States will help WA transporters particularly getting past Port Augusta."
Mr Robins said it was important industry was informed before the regulations came into place.
"We need to be reassured about these issues long before the regulator opens its doors for business in January 2013 and at the moment there is still a lot to be decided," he said.
"A longer time frame for implementation or a transitional approach would provide a better chance for getting the right design and not subject industry to costly and unnecessary system revamps."
Mr Robins said he was confident the Transport Minister Troy Buswell would stand by his word and not take on the NHVR if there was no benefit for WA.
