Long serving CEO of the ATA, Stuart St Clair, officially stood down from his position after a successful nine years to enter into retirement. He is replaced by former NatRoad CEO, Chris Melham, who took the helm at the conclusion of the conference in Hobart at the ATA 25th Anniversary Gala Congratulations Dinner. Noelene Watson will continue as President of the ATA, working with Chris to continue the success and growth of the Association that Stuart St Clair leaves behind. I was also pleased to be reappointed to the ATA Board for a further two years.
At the Gala Dinner event, the 2014 NatRoad Professional Driver of the Year, Aaron Busk of Tytec Logistics, was awarded the ATA’s Professional Driver of the Year Award. This is the second year in a row that the recipient of the NatRoad’s Professional Driver of the Year Award has gone on to receive the ATA’s National Professional Driver of the Year Award, with Tom Scotney of Hardy’s Haulage winning both of last year’s awards. It is a great achievement for NatRoad’s winners, and we hope to continue this accomplishment in years to come.
With various improvements in infrastructure announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, NatRoad will continually work to seek priority investment in road infrastructure that will enhance efficiency, safety and productivity on our roads. The development of new roads and infrastructure is vital to our industry and NatRoad is committed to pushing for these improvements on behalf of its members and industry.
NatRoad welcomes strategic infrastructure investments and urges governments at all levels to deliver the investment outcomes as efficiently as possible following on from the announcements and subsequent approvals. These investments, such as the building of better roads, rest areas, bridges and other such infrastructure, are important to the industry. NatRoad encourages the prompt development of these improvements, as they are vital to our growth and development.
NatRoad also highlights the need for adequate and appropriate investment in various infrastructural improvements that will enable industry to comply with the law. In NatRoad’s view, what is especially important is the provision of adequate and appropriate dedicated heavy vehicle rest stops. These rest stops are important in enabling drivers in the heavy vehicle transport sector to comply with fatigue management regulations that ensure safety throughout the industry and on the roads.
While connecting infrastructure is important and supported by our Association, NatRoad will continue to seek greater access to the road network especially for efficient and low impacting (potentially limiting), heavy vehicle configurations, including first and last mile access.
In moving forward, NatRoad will continue to identify black spots and ‘missing links’ in terms of infrastructure and development, and advocate for their prioritisation in future funding announcements.