Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Road Transport Association Chief Executive Louise Bilato expects only minor flow on effects following the collapse of major freight company Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics

Transcript

NT Road Transport Association Chief Executive Louise Bilato expects only minor flow on effects following the collapse of major freight company Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Our Scott's Refrigerated Logistics, one of Australia's biggest trucking firms,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: which supplies all of the major supermarkets including Woolly's, Cole's,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: IgA and well Aldie. It's plunged into receivership earlier this week,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: shocking many in the industry. But I guess the question
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: that lots of people are wondering is is there going
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: to be any impact to the Northern Territory. And joining
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: me on the line right now is Louise Belato, who
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: is the chief executive of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Louise.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Morning Katie.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time. Louise. Were you surprised
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: by this news?
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: There had been rumors for a little while that the
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: company may go into voluntary administration, so it wasn't entirely unknown.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: It's always a shock when any company does do that, though,
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: because obviously we know the road transport industry has thin
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: margins and when a multi national operator goes into voluntary
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: receivership it sends shutters through the rest of the industry.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it must, because you know, I would imagine when
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: you look at a companies such as this one that's
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: been operating in Australia for such an incredibly long period
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: of time. It makes you kind of question, or it
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: it makes me who hasn't got the insight that you
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: and certainly those in the industry do, But it makes
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: you question just how tight some of those margins are
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: and how tough it is for some in the industry.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, and that's why we, especially the Northern Territory
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Road Transfer Association, strongly supports our small and family owned
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: business operators because they understand our conditions and how important
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: it is to be able to charge accurately and correctly,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: but also to have the right equipment for the job.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Because yes, it's very very easy to go backwards because
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: of all the running costs, the expenses. In answer to
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: your question with the company that's gone into voluntary administration,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: they didn't do a lot of business in the territory.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Most of their contracts were pointing onto the Eastern Seaboard.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: But we have very very reliable refrigerated freight contractors ABC Transport,
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Gilbert's previously assures and mantles that come into the territory
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: very very consistently. Our only concern at the moment is
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: depending on whether that company gets on sold quickly or not,
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: is to how long their specialized equipment is parked up,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: and if it is for an extended period of time,
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: obviously those big companies you mentioned, the retailers will all
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: be looking at other options, even on an interim basis,
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: And so obviously we don't want to have a knock
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: on effect of yeah, that's happening for the territory. But
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I'm confident that won't happen.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, hopefully not. I suppose that's always a concern, isn't
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: it for us here in the territory that we just
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: don't want that flow on to reach us.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: No, and we saw that even when our roads have
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: been a closed for extended periods previously, just just that
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: process of scheduling and refrigerated vans are a specialized piece
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: of trailing equipment. And whilst this company, I think had
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: you know, four hundred of their own and you know,
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: hundreds more trailers belonging to their smaller owner drivers, that's
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: a huge amount to take out of the pool, even
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: if it's for you four weeks or six weeks or
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: you know, slightly longer. Whilst this process of you know
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: on selling occurs, so yeah, we will. We're taking it
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: very seriously and are looking and watching very carefully. The
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: big issue we've got in the territory right now in
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: terms of stocking our shelves is the one hundred and
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: eighty eight they notices on our road report. Yeah, road
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: report in Tea here we've got a lot of road
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: clothes and flooded.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: But that was going to be my next question, Louise,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: how are we looking when it comes to all of
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: this flooding that we've got around the northern territory at
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: the moment In terms of our industry trying to you know,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: trying to make sure that we've got all of our goods,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: particularly things like our groceries.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: I think everyone has their eyes glued to the road
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: reports and to the viewerau of Meteorology websites continuously in
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: the industry and ducking and weaving and waiting patiently and
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: going quickly just to take advantage of these rivers going
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: up and down. The good thing I mean, like the
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: Victoria Highway we saw earlier in the week with Calinara
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: shells being empty, was that some of these creek crossings
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: are going up and down very quickly, so we do
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: have to take advantage of the windows where there's a
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: period of drying out. But even the Stuart Highway today
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: I'm having reports of a huge amount of water. Obviously
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: we've seen the evacuations that Calca, Indian Darbaragu but all
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: of that. But central area has been very very wet
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: and south of Tenna Creek very wet well since before
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Christmas time, so the road hasn't had a chance to
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: dry out underneath, and there's been a lot of you know,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: short repairs, short term repairs occurring. But yeah, it's a
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: wait and see I think where the big drainfalls are
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: going to go again.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So Louise, which areas of the Stuart Highway are
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: we currently concerned about in terms of that ware around
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: the place?
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: The regulars south of Tenant so Gilbert Swamp and Warlock
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: Ponds are always a bit risky. The area around Whyeliff Wells,
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: it's rained through to Tea Tree at the moment, has
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: been pretty heavy in the last twenty four hours, so
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: again any of those smaller creeks. But the Department of
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: Transport or Infrastructure Planning and Logistics people are out there,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: so those road reports are very accurate at the moment.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: We've also got quite a lot of water on the
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: Berkeley Highway, but not to a point where it's impassable.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Well, that is good to hear, because Louise, you and
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: I spoke a lot at the beginning of last year,
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: didn't we as those roads were flooded and then really
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: quite badly damaged.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Yes, well, and I mean we know that there's a
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: lot more longer term work that needs to be undertaken
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: on the Barkley Highway. However, we're really encouraging the federal
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: government to step up around the entirety of the National
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: highway network. The impacts of the Fitzroy Crossing bridge, you know,
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: being wiped out really only starting to be felt. I
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: think that there will be a whole lot more businesses
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: from Catherine through to Harse Creek and Fitzroy Crossing that
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: will struggle longer term with the long, long term closures.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: We know that there's subs, these freight subsidies now available
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: for businesses who have to pay you know, forty more
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: than they were because the freates having to come such
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: long distances to them. But yeah, it's still early days
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: really and twenty five a new bridge. We'll be lucky
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: to see it in that time. Personally, I think.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, well, Louis, we might keep in contact with
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: you and just see how things are tracking over the
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: coming days. We know that there's still plenty of wet
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: weather around and keen to keep an eye on how
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: those roads are going and potentially what it could mean
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: for all of us around the territory. So I really
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: appreciate you having a chat with us this morning, and well,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: let's see whether we'll be talking to you a little
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: bit more often. Hopefully we don't see any of that
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: flooding like we did early last year.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: Four weeks at a time for sure. Well, certainly the
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Tanamie Road has reopened temporarily and that was closed for
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: eight weeks, so that had a huge knocking effect to
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: those communities beyond you and the move they're on unsealed areas,
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: and also to the Newmont mine. But again, as I said,
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: everyone is doing their bit, and I'm certainly very grateful
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: to the positive attitude that our truckies have around trying
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: to do the right thing by everyone and their customers.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, I know plenty of them listen to the show
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: when they're when they can, so a big shout out
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: to them. Thank you so much, Louise for your time
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: this morning.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie, thank you