etruck.com.au

The Australian Government is now able to fund truck rest areas on Australia’s major highways, with the passage of the AusLink (National Land Transport) Amendment Bill through Parliament.

The new law gives the Government the legal power to fund truck rest areas under the $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.

In the past, the Government’s ability to fund road projects under AusLink was limited to the roads themselves, traffic signs, traffic control equipment, bridges, tunnels, and bike paths.

The new law does not provide any extra funding for rest areas, and 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 heavy vehicle charges legislation.

The new law also implements the Government’s commitment to extend the Roads to Recovery Program until June 2014. Roads to Recovery provides extra road funding to local councils. The Government will spend $1.75 billion on the program from 2009 to 2014.