‘Truckie tax’ to be death knell for freight industry

The nation’s peak trucking body says freight operators are teetering on the brink of collapse after a six per cent increase to the road user charge was announced.

The nation’s peak trucking body has accused state and federal transport ministers of giving freight operators teetering on the brink of collapse the ‘final push’, after they announced a six per cent increase to the road user charge. Picture: Adam Yip

The nation’s peak trucking body has accused state and federal transport ministers of giving freight operators teetering on the brink of collapse the “final push”, after they announced a 6 per cent increase to the road user charge.

The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) said the decision sounded the “death knell” for many freight businesses operating on tight profit margins, and many in the industry were “bitterly disappointed” with the decision, to come into effect on July 1.

Transport Minister Catherine King and her state and territory counterparts announced the hike on Monday, saying the increase of 6 per cent per annum for the next three years “struck the right balance” between cost-recovery and minimising financial pressure on the freight industry.

The decision has been criticised by the freight industry and the opposition for increasing costs for operators, which will be passed on to consumers.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie estimates it will cost the industry $1.6bn over the forward estimates. “Every product in your shopping trolley, every single online purchase, every tonne of wheat, every product that is marketed and sent overseas, (the cost) is going to be passed on,” she said.

NatRoad chief executive Warren Clark said many trucking businesses operated on profit margins as slim as 2.5 per cent, and the increase would see average registration costs for a six-axle articulated truck go from $6530 this financial year to $7621 in three years.