Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Lousie Bilato from the Transport Association chats about the transport issues crippling supply of goods into the NT

Transcript

Lousie Bilato from the Transport Association chats about the transport issues crippling supply of goods into the NT · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is Louise Belato,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: the chief executive of the Northern Territory Transport Association. Good
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: morning to you, Louise. How are you.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Thank you, thanks so much for your time again this morning, Louise.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: How are things going on the Stuart Highway at the moment.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Is there any sort of end in sight when we
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: talk about the rain and flooding.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Well, certainly the rain events in South Australia have eased
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: up dramatically and we are hoping that all the efforts
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: that the South Australian Government are making to ensure that
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: the road at Glen Dambo is passable. Will know very soon,
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: you know, in the next coming days whether it is
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: going to be opened at least one lane to heavy
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: air goal traffic. We're urging obviously the South Australian government
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: to look at every contingency in terms of traffic management,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: whether it's singles, lighter loads across that one kilometer section
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: of five culvits that have been potentially compromised, although we're
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: hoping that they aren't, but that we'll do. The road
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: transport industry will take whatever we can efforts to get
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: the trucks moving, and if those measures have to be
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: put in place for a week or two until it
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: drives out further or until some other contingencies can be
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: put in place, we will do so. But in the
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: meantime everything's still coming via New South Wales and Queensland.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: And Louise can you talk us through. I know on
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Monday when you and I spoke, he gave us some
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: numbers of you know, how many, like how many freight
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  Speaker 1: vehicles we would usually have coming into the Northern Territory
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: delivering things like our groceries a week, and the numbers
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: that we're at sort of at the moment. Can you
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: talk us through those numbers now? On Friday a few
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: days later?
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, well right now, Darwin, the essentials are at
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: eighty percent capacity. So whilst you might see some gaps
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: on the supermarket shelves, there is a bulk of the
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: food stuffs that come through. There are more dry goods
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: that are coming up. So initially with the closure, obviously
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: the perishables and the frozen foods were prioritized, and now
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: the dry goods that would normally come up via rail
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: freight also coming up on trailers from Adelaide. So as
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: soon as I said, the East Jeet Highway reopens, we'll
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  Speaker 2: see a lot more of that dry goods freight being moved. Obviously,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: the rail is still telling us that they are expecting
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: to open by the seventeenth and there will be some
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: restrictions there and it could be up to six or
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: eight weeks before they are able to clear backlogs on
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: the rail. So there will be a lot more freight
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: coming up through the center as soon as the Glen
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  Speaker 2: Danbo section of road is opened.
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  Speaker 1: And Louise talk us through, you know the route now
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: that they are having to take. So they're having to
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  Speaker 1: go up through Queensland, now, are they.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Well, the route from South Australia is up towards Burg
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: in New South Wales and then you know normally through
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: long Reach and Mount Isa into the Northern Territory through
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: the Berkley and again you know earlier in the week
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  Speaker 2: when we were seeing all those weather events through Queensland
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  Speaker 2: and into the territory. We're very concerned about the Barkley
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  Speaker 2: Highway holding up at this moment. It's good, but what
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: we know is that there are no other alternative sealed
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: routes that those road trains can take through New South
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Wales and Queensland easily, you know, the detours, some of
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: them are unsealed or they're not triple road train rated.
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  Speaker 2: So it's really important that that alternative route that they
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: are taking at the moment stays open if the Stuart
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Highway isn't reopened. Our highest priority is to get the
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Stuart Highway opened again as quickly as possible.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: And I understand, and please correct me if I'm wrong.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: I thought i'd read somewhere that there is actually some
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: you know, some work sort of happening there at the
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: moment at the Stuart Highway that they're doing. They're actually
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: looking at options to pump water away and things like that.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: I think there was that there's been plenty of road
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  Speaker 2: engineers out there doing the inspections. One of the things
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: that they are doing, I think right now today is
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: looking at a drainage solutions by digging some trenches. So
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: they weren't able to get heavier moving equipment on site
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: to actually do that until the water levels reduced further.
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  Speaker 2: But what we're asking for is even whilst those you know,
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  Speaker 2: remedial road works are occurring, if it's possible to move
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  Speaker 2: road trains or trucks through whatever, you know, reduce configurations
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: and weight limits. Please allow that to happen. So as
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  Speaker 2: soon as the road is able to take you know,
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  Speaker 2: vehicles through you know, five kilometers an hour with lots
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: of traffic controls, We're very happy to have all of
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: those things applied. But it will make a huge difference
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  Speaker 2: to the time that you know, the freight can be
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: delivered into the territory, and also the the impact on
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: the workforce because you know, this is a huge additional
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: time burden. And also then the equipment is freed up
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: more quickly to be able to move more freight.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and we did talk just a short time ago
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  Speaker 1: as well to one of the supermarkets who said that
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  Speaker 1: obviously their freight costs are going up, as you would
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  Speaker 1: imagine at this point in time, while these different measures
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: have been being taken. Louise, how are our truckes going
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: you know, those people that are out on the roads
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  Speaker 1: having to deal with this, I know it must be
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  Speaker 1: a pretty tough time at the moment.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: Well, yes, absolutely, Katie. And it's exactually making me really
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: furious to hear these suggestions that the road transport industry
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: is taking advantage and putting their freight prices up. Fuel,
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  Speaker 2: as I understand today, has gone up six cents a
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  Speaker 2: liter between the second and the fourth of February and
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: is likely to go up another six cents a liter
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: before the eleventh of February. That's across the board, but
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  Speaker 2: it's particularly impactful on the road transport industry. The road
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: transport industries add blue costs are an additional three one
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: hundred and fifty percent over what they are paying in
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: the first week in December, and none of those prices
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: have been pushed have been able to be pushed back
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: onto the customer at all. We've had major costs with
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: COVID in terms of administration rat tests now PCR test
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: time that truck drivers have been doing it for the
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: last two years. And so this suggestion that the road
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  Speaker 2: transport industry is hiking up prices, I mean, I just
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  Speaker 2: find that really deeply offensive because they have pivoted so
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: quickly to ensure that supermarket shelves are filled, and yet
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  Speaker 2: people aren't at home when they normally would be because
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  Speaker 2: they're on the road delivering strate.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: But has there I guess, has there been an increase
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: so in the freight prices just as a result of
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  Speaker 1: people having to work longer hours and those delivery you know,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: like the delivery routes changing.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: Absolutely there has because as we're saying there, the truck
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: drivers are on the road. So where as something that
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: would have normally taken five days, it's taking seven days.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: You know that that's time that those drivers are needing
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: to be paid. Absolutely, that's you know, a significant impost.
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  Speaker 2: But more than that, it's it's in this perfect storm
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: of all these other expenses, and the problem is that
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: we just don't have an easily accessible workforce to allow
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: people to have you know, there's their time off easily
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: as well. It's it's just not there.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, No, Look, the supermarket wasn't critical of the fact
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: that those freight prices were going up. They were just
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: saying that it is like that, you know, it's going
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: to be passed on obviously at the like when people
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: go to buy their their their goods in some ways, Yeah.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: I understand that, and certainly I know that there are
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: you know a lot of additional vehicles that don't normally
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: move supermarket food stuff that and have long term contracts
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: with those you know, whether it's I g A or
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: Independent Grosses or you know some of the other food
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  Speaker 2: chains that potentially are putting the corrects traits rates to
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: them during this period of time. And if you've got
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: a longer term contract in place, you can negotiate prices
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: because you've got confidence that you're going to be getting
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: the work ongoing. And so these are exceptional times and
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: exceptional circumstances. But that's also why we're desperate to see
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: that the National Highway network is treated like a national
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  Speaker 2: highway network in the Territory and South Australia for flood mitigation,
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  Speaker 2: because well, it could be a once in a two
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: hundred year flood at Glendambo, but it could happen again
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: next year. So that's what we're urging ye done long term.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Well and Louise, you know, as a federal election approaches,
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: we know that there's always plenty promises from political parties,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: but is that something that you know from your perspective
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: that realistically we need to look at doing. I know
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: I spoke to you about this on Monday as well,
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: but there does need to be that floodproofing happens there
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: so that we don't wind up when We're in a
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: situation where a capital of Australia here in Darwin, you know,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: I mean of the Northern Territory, one of our Australia's
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: capital cities doesn't have food on the supermarket.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Shelves exactly, Kagie, And I mean I made the point
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: to someone else that's the one Hercules that dropped twenty
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: tons of freight into Cooper pet That's one pantech or
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: one freezer van of a truck that would have been
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: in excess of one hundred thousand dollars that little exercise
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: has cost the federal government. So if you think of
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: what is needed here throughout the territory to deliver freight
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: at the moment, it's very substantial. So we must have
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: a national highway network that is robust and that can
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: withstand flood events well.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Louise Belato, the chief executive of the Northern Territory Transport Association.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Before I let you go, someone's text through, and this
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: is on a very different note. I know that your
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: evil lawless sister, but someone's text through and said that
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: you're her twin sister and they went to school with
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: you at Darwin, at a Darwin High school in nineteen
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: seventy five, Is that right.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: Louise, Yes, after cyclone, Tracy, we were there. And yes,
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: see the Laula is my twin sister, and we both
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: do the disclose that relationship because we sound alike. You.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, no, I know. I definitely knew you were sisters,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: but I didn't realize you were twins. So there you go,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: and obviously one of your old schoolmates listening to the
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: show there as well.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Hello aol mate.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Good on your Louise. Thanks for your time this morning,
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: No doubt we'll talk again very soon.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Katie, thank you