Big Rigs

Preparation work has started on the Detention River Heavy Vehicle Rest Area in northern Tasmania. Tree clearing started in May and construction work is expected to begin next month, with completion by December, weather permitting. Detention River is located along the busy Bass Highway about 190km from Launceston and 35km from Smithton and is a busy route for trucks. There is a popular roadhouse at Detention River with limited parking across the road and on one side.

From fuel and industrial gases to chemicals used in manufacturing, dangerous goods are moved across Australia every day. Supporting their safe transport is the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, maintained by the National Transport Commission (NTC). The Code helps ensure these products are transported safely and consistently across the country. To understand how the Code works in practice, the NTC spoke with three people who use it every day in their roles across the dangerous goods network.

For Chris McDonald, getting into trucking was almost inevitable. Based in Albury–Wodonga, Chris drives for Dawson’s Haulage and has spent the past 16 years in the industry. “Like most people within transport, I grew up around trucks. My father, maternal grandfather and uncles were all truck drivers, so it was inevitable I was going to do the same,” he said.

A remote Gulf of Carpentaria hospital running low on oxygen was one of the first to feel the effects after the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) grounded the Hawkins Transport fleet, according to company boss Bradley Hawkins. With his company sidelined by a prohibition notice on August 14, Hawkins said one of his depot managers was forced to load a pallet of oxygen into a four-wheel-drive and deliver it to Normanton Hospital.

Brown and Hurley has supported Legacy Australia through its annual ANZAC Day Trucker Cap Campaign, this year raising $15,590.50. Legacy Australia provides vital funds for an organisation that provides essential support to the families of Australian veterans who have given their lives or suffered injury or illness through their service.

Six tunnel boring machine components will be transported from Bulleen to the Port of Melbourne on OSOM vehicles weighing up to 372 tonnes, and measuring approximately 68 metres long and up to 9 metres wide, following work on the North East Link tunnels. The moves will take place overnight, with the first setting off this week on Wednesday August 19.

Victoria’s new Premier, Ben Carroll, has launched a $50 million royal commission into the state’s construction sector, with a focus on alleged corruption and criminal infiltration of the government’s Big Build infrastructure program. The Big Build has directed about $109 billion into more than 180 projects since 2015, including the Metro Tunnel, West Gate Tunnel, North East Link, Suburban Rail Loop and level crossing removals.

Operators wanting to learn more about their compliance obligations under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) reforms are invited to attend a free information session in Wodonga on September 1. The TruckSafe event is designed to help all transport operators understand how accreditation and safety management systems can help achieve compliance with the new laws that came into effect on August 1. An expert panel will also be fielding questions from the floor.

A truck driver has died in a crash on the Western Highway near Ararat earlier today. Investigators have been told a truck travelling east on the Western Highway crashed into a tree about 500m east of Heath Street at about 4.20am. Police said the truck was engulfed in flames and the driver, who is yet to be formally identified, sadly died at the scene. The Western Highway remains blocked in both directions and diversions are in place. The Western Highway remains blocked in both directions.

ACFS Port Logistics is facing an estimated $112 million in trade creditor claims and a $76 million Australian Taxation Office (ATO) claim, newly filed creditors’ meeting minutes have revealed. The preliminary figures were tabled at the first meeting of creditors on August 18 and included in minutes filed with ASIC the following day. The minutes state that the figures are rough initial estimates, with several assets and liabilities yet to be quantified.