John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

What I am saying is that those days were extremely dangerous because we did not have the regulations. We would go into Adelaide after being up a rough track for 500 kilometres and half the lights on the side of our trailers would not be working because the globes had fallen out. We would just clean up and put the globes back in—we just wanted to get there and get the stock unloaded. There was a case where you did not have to abide by your logbook while carting livestock—you were excluded. We drove too long, we got too tired—they were crazy days.

I make the point that Labor and their partners, the Greens, have already done enough damage to the Australian transport industry. The carbon tax was due to start in July next year with the fuel tax credits to be cut by 6.8c per litre. Thankfully the Australian people threw them out in September. Putting another $500 million cost on our truckies and our diesel will achieve what? I will tell you what. The best comment that came out of the Senate inquiry was that of Mr Tony Sheldon, the Transport Workers Union boss. He said two words: death tax. That is how he described an extra $500 million tax on our truckies—a death tax that would sweat the trucks and sweat the drivers. Thankfully it is not going ahead.