The chairmanship of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has been passed to David Simon, Managing director of Simon National Carriers. Retiring chairman, Trevor Martyn, had served in the post since 2006. Simon was elected unopposed.
He has long experience as part of the Queensland Trucking Association, the ATA General Council, and in recent times, on the ATA Board of Management. He has also served as the chair of the ATA Transport and Economics Policy Committee.
“Trevor has done a tremendous job as ATA Chairman over the past four years,” said Simon. “Under his guidance, the ATA has had many significant victories for the industry. But as important, during Trevor’s chairmanship, the ATA has grown into an organisation which will be there to represent the industry for years to come.”
In his inaugural speech, Simon acknowledged the challenges the ATA faces over the next two years. He identified road pricing and the planned national regulator as two big issues the industry will face.
“The ATA will continue to make safety the highest priority,” said Simon. “We released our new safety policy statement last year and our safety committee is now working to define the safety priorities that will be a focus for the next three years. To succeed we will need to continue to operate in a lean, focused and hungry manner into the future.
“One of our biggest challenges will be getting more people involved in the ATA, on the General Council and on the Board of Management. We need to reinvigorate the ATA, we need young people to stand up and contribute to the future of the industry. We also need to engage better with our member organisations and those in the wider trucking community. Unless we do, we will always be open to criticism.”