etruck.com.au

The Australian Government will be able to fund truck rest areas on Australia’s major highways, as a result of a new Bill it introduced into Parliament.

The AusLink (National Land Transport) Amendment Bill 2008 will give the Government the legal power to fund truck rest areas under its $70 million Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. It also opens the way for the Government to provide more money for rest areas under its AusLink land transport program in the years to come.

The Government’s ability to fund road projects under the existing AusLink Act is limited to the roads themselves, traffic signs, traffic control equipment, bridges, tunnels, and bike paths.

The Bill will extend the Government’s ability to fund road projects to include a facility off the road used by heavy vehicles in connection with travel on the road (for example, a rest area or weigh station).

The Bill does not change the Government’s position that it will only go ahead with the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program if the Senate agrees to its planned increase in the road user charge.

ATA Chairman Trevor Martyn welcomed the Bill and urged the Government to immediately fund the 18 priority rest areas identified by the ATA and its member organisations.

“Our priority rest area list sets out the absolute minimum number of new or expanded rest areas we need to cope with the introduction of the new fatigue laws in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia on 29 September,” Martyn said.

The Bill also implements the Government’s commitment to extend the Roads to Recovery program for another five years. It was scheduled to end in June 2009; it will now continue until June 2014.

The Roads to Recovery program provides extra road funding to local councils. The Government will spend $1.75 billion on the program from 2009 to 2014.