ESTABLISHING THE BASIS OF REFORM SUBMISSION TO THE TRANSPORT AND INFRASTUCTURE SENIOR OFFICIALS COMMITTEE 21 SEPTEMBER 2018

Transcription

1 SUBMISSION TO THE TRANSPORT AND INFRASTUCTURE SENIOR OFFICIALS COMMITTEE 21 SEPTEMBER 2018

2 1 Table of Contents List of Recommendations... 2 Introduction... 3 Changes in Decision Making Structure... 3 Heavy Vehicle National Law Reform... 5 Telematics... 6 Accreditation... 7 Reform... 7 National Telematics Framework... 8 National Rail Plan... 9 Road Pricing Electric Vehicles Conclusion... 12

3 2 List of Recommendations 1. The current level of industry participation at Transport and Infrastructure Council (TIC) meetings should remain 2. Industry should be provided with the agenda for Transport and Infrastructure Senior Officials Committee (TISOC) meetings in sufficient time to enable proper consideration 3. TISOC should recommend to TIC that the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) review scheduled for 2019 should: (a) (b) Mandate the carriage and use of telematics by heavy vehicles; and Establish a heavy vehicle accreditation scheme 4. A joint industry/government mechanism should be designed to develop a common data set for use in the Australian supply chain 5. The proposed enhancements to Transport Certification Australia s (TCA) Enhancements to the Intelligent Access Program particularly proposed enhancement 4 (streamlining processes for providers to offer applications with lower levels of assurance) should be advanced 6. TISOC consider introducing an Electronic Work Diary Policy Framework and Standards that is consistent with the TCA Data Dictionary. 7. The National Rail Plan should investigate the harmonisation of rail safety laws between states as well as (where economic benefits exist) moving towards a single set of laws across jurisdictions governing: (a) (b) (c) (d) Environmental regulation; Workplace Health and Safety Laws; Workers Compensation; and Drug and alcohol testing for rail operators 8. To enable Heavy Vehicle Road Reform (HVRR) to proceed, TISOC should recommend to TIC that a clear timetable setting out when and how outstanding issues, such as the structure of any forward-looking cost base or community service obligations, will be decided 9. TISOC/TIC provide a national leadership role to influence national consistency in electric vehicle registration schemes. This includes ensuring that heavy vehicles, as defined by the HVNL, are included in any registration system which incentivises the uptake of electric vehicles 10. TISOC/TIC work to develop a national standard for electric vehicle charging infrastructure

4 3 Introduction At its 18 May 2018 meeting the Transport and Infrastructure Council (TIC) agreed a framework for developing a 20 year Freight and Supply Chain Strategy designed to increase the competitiveness of Australian businesses and increase Australia s standard of living. Work is proceeding towards the development of an implementation strategy. ALC fully supports the development of a robust strategy and looks forward to participating in opportunities to actively engage in developing this vital piece of work process throughout the remainder of 2018 and The Transport and Infrastructure Senior Officials' Committee (TISOC) meeting on 21 September 2018 will be otherwise considering a number of other issues that will shape the Australian logistics sector for years to come. Changes in Decision Making Structure ALC understands TISOC is considering changing the way policies are researched, developed and determined by TIC. As Infrastructure Australia (IA) said in a 2012 submission to a review of the National Transport Commission (NTC): Experience also suggests that important transport reforms best take root through a deep and wide debate engendered by public reports. The role of the Commission might include providing the Standing Council with streams of advice on at least: national consistency in regulation and operation across transport modes; a national level view of the current and likely future condition of Australia s roads, particularly local roads; implementation of the national transport plan; implementation of road governance reform. This role would also complement those of Infrastructure Australia, the Productivity Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. In any event the ability of the Standing Council to cover issues would be improved by adopting greater openness for its advisory processes. A positive change in this regard is the decision of the Standing Council to invite industry representatives to attend meetings, and this could be expanded to advisory processes. The Australian Government s approach to developing national shipping policy might provide a model for this. The experience of the predecessor to the Standing Council the Australian Transport Council - with a broad reform agenda suggests that the key risk is not an overlap of

5 4 advisory roles, but that advisory work does not fully address the relevant issues. The key issue for this review is: what advisory structure would best serve the Standing Council in this task? A Transport and Infrastructure Senior Officers Committee does assist the Council however: its members have a duty to represent their Governments; its reports are not routinely made public. 1 (emphasis added) ALC agrees with the rationale of IA. Industry participation at the TIC level is unique amongst Ministerial Councils. It is a process which ALC believes works well and enhances the quality of outcomes. ALC also believes that given the role of TISOC in the decision-making process, it is important that industry be informed of its meeting agenda in sufficient time for due consideration. This will be particularly important as TIC considers the development of the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy and Heavy Vehicle Road Reform during Recommendation 1 The current level of industry participation at TIC meetings should remain Recommendation 2 Industry should be provided with the agenda for TISOC meetings in sufficient time to enable proper consideration. 1 Infrastructure Australia Submission to the Review of the National Transport Commission and Other Bodies (2012): 14 chk

6 5 Heavy Vehicle National Law Reform An important outcome from the May 2018 meeting of TIC was: Council agreed to progress a number of initiatives including examining a national approach to heavy vehicle accreditation schemes, improving the uptake and capacity of telematics for business and regulatory purposes 2 A decision was also made to advance the following: 1. TCA will examine improving the Intelligent Access Program (IAP). 2. NTC will develop national guidelines to assist agency decision-making when assessing new IAP applications. 3. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) will develop a compliance and enforcement policy for regulatory telematics. 4. NHVR will monitor the implementation of Electronic Work Diaries (EWDs) and report on their effectiveness. 5. NTC, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, will develop a best practice model for regulatory telematics and assess whether the best practice model should be legislated and included in the HVNL. Throughout 2018 ALC has conducted different industry forums including: (a) (b) (c) (d) ALC Forum on 6-7 March. ALC Supply Chain Technology Summit on 10 May. An Inland Rail Conference jointly hosted with the Australasian Railway Association on July; and The ALC & ATA Supply Chain Safety & Compliance Summit on 5-6 September. ALC has also participated in several different consultation processes conducted by the NSW and Commonwealth Governments. A common theme ran through these events: 1. A clear demand from industry and government to collect information electronically using a common data set; and 2. Heavy vehicle accreditation is required to ensure that an operator has the financial capacity and the management systems necessary to maintain the safe operation of a vehicle. 2 See TIC Communique (10 May 2018) -

7 6 Telematics ALC has consistently advocated for the mandatory use of telematics in heavy vehicles. The Telematics Data Dictionary maintained by TCA already contains common data set forms to ensure inter-connectivity and inter-operability for technology designed to assist compliance with heavy vehicle legislation. ALC believes this could be used as the starting point for the development of an industry wide common data set that can then be used for regulatory, planning and business purposes. 3 The Data Dictionary is also aligned with ISO 15638, which establishes the Framework for Collaborative Telematics Applications for Regulated Commercial Freight Vehicles (also known as TARV). 4 This would be an open standard that could be used by any platform provider, with information collected capable of being received in a usable form by any party with authority to access the data. ALC is concerned that as technology becomes more dynamic and cheaper, different jurisdictional regulators will require heavy vehicles to use multiple pieces of hardware to capture data fields that may be identical to information required by other regulators. For example, there is an expectation noted in the Queensland Transport and Main Roads Heavy Vehicle Telematics Strategy 2016 that EWDs will be compulsory in the next couple of years. 5 It follows that if EWDs are made compulsory, technical specifications should be developed with a view to be consistent with, or be incorporated within, the National Telematics Framework managed by TCA, which closely reflects the TARV. This is so operators who purchase a EWD do not need to buy one unit complying with one technical government standard and then a second unit complying with a different standard if that is prescribed for other statutory purposes. More generally, if an operator can use any platform adopting the standard for compliance or other purposes the possibility of monopoly forcing that is, where principal contractors force a smaller operator to use a specific platform, would be reduced if not eliminated. This is because the operator can use any platform utilising the prescribed standard. Telematics can also be used for road pricing, planning and road maintenance purposes Telematics-Strategy-2016

8 7 Accreditation ALC considers there is a compelling case to develop a heavy vehicle accreditation scheme as set out in our position paper, Improving Heavy Vehicle Safety the Australian Way. 6 ALC believes that operators in a growth stage, running 5-9 trucks, can sometimes fail to develop Safety Management Systems or maintain sufficient liquidity to run a fleet in a safe and compliant manner. To complement the operation of the Chain of Responsibility provisions contained in the HVNL, ALC believes a heavy vehicle operator should: 1. Maintain a Safety Management System certified by an accredited auditor as being compliant with standards specified in an instrument made under the HVNL; 2. Demonstrate the financial capacity to provide a carriage service through satisfaction of requirements similar to section 10 of the Passenger Transport (General) Regulation 2017 (NSW); and 3. Carry telematic equipment, meeting necessary technical standards, capable of recording safety and other data as required by law (see above). ALC understands from both the government and the relevant NSW industry association that the passenger vehicle accreditation scheme was working, fortifying the view that this is a model that should be broadly adopted for heavy vehicles. Reform The Heavy Vehicle National Law is scheduled for review during TISOC should recommend to TIC the HVNL be amended to: 1. Mandate the carriage and use of telematics by heavy vehicles; and 2. Establish a heavy vehicle accreditation scheme. It would be likely that any change to the HVNL will come into force in This date should be chosen as the target date for the commencement for these new provisions as this will allow regulators, industry and service providers time to get ready for the new provisions. Any model selected would of course be tested through a standard consultation/decision Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) process. Recommendation 3 TISOC should recommend to TIC that the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) review scheduled for 2019 should: (a) (b) Mandate the carriage and use of telematics by heavy vehicles; and Establishes a heavy vehicle accreditation scheme 6 Way.pdf

9 8 National Telematics Framework The National Telematics Framework is administered by TCA and provides the infrastructure and rules designed to support an open marketplace for telematics and other intelligent technology. 7 TISOC should also consider several recommendations to improve the National Telematics Framework. Recommendation 4 A joint industry/government mechanism should be designed to develop a common data set for use in the Australian supply chain Recommendation 5 The proposed enhancements to Transport Certification Australia s (TCA) Enhancements to the Intelligent Access Program particularly proposed enhancement 4 (streamlining processes for providers to offer applications with lower levels of assurance) should be advanced Recommendation 6 TISOC consider introducing an Electronic Work Diary Policy Framework and Standards that is consistent with the TCA Data Dictionary 7 See

10 9 National Rail Plan ALC welcomes the development of a National Rail Plan, which should focus on the harmonisation of regulations that govern rail freight operations. As ALC said in its submission on the Draft Discussion Paper Australian Government s Freight Rail Policy Objectives 8 : Progress to Date on Safety and Infrastructure Standards Harmonisation A number of recent reviews (for example the Productivity Commission 2013 review into the National Access Regime and the Harper Review) have highlighted ongoing concerns with differences in railway gauge, interoperability and regulatory fragmentation. For example, it has been estimated that complying with multiple environmental regulatory regimes costs the Australian rail industry $29 million per annum, a third of which is estimated to be a direct or indirect result of unnecessary regulation... The multi-jurisdictional regulatory frameworks and variations between them are a key driver of these avoidable costs. To address these concerns, Ernst and Young suggest that a further stage of national reform work focused on freight rail could prioritise: Harmonisation of all aspects of rail safety laws between states, and providing additional support to the ONRSR to drive the implementation of the Rail Safety National Law in Queensland. Where economic benefits exist, moving towards a single set of laws across jurisdictions governing environmental regulation, workplace health and safety, workers compensation, and drug and alcohol testing. It is inferred from the insertion of these observations that the Commonwealth is testing whether to take full leadership for the administration of freight rail in Australia. 9 ALC believes it is appropriate for the review proposed by Ernst & Young be conducted during At the same time, consideration could also be given towards expanding the remit of the Office of National Rail Safety to incorporate issues beyond safety. Recommendation 7 The National Rail Plan should investigate the harmonisation of rail safety laws between states as well as (where economic benefits exist) moving towards a single set of laws across jurisdictions governing: (a) (b) (c) (d) Environmental regulation; Workplace Health and Safety Laws; Workers Compensation; and Drug and alcohol testing for rail operators 8 Australian-Government-Rail-Policy-Objectives-December-2015.pdf 9 Page 13

11 10 Road Pricing ALC has also long supported the concept of independent price regulation. TISOC will be considering the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement: HVRR Phase 2: Independent Price Regulation of Heavy Vehicle Charges. ALC supports reform option B as set out in the RIS. However, it is a RIS of limited scope, only testing the cost and benefits to governments in moving to a model where road pricing decisions are made by an economic regulator. This means the RIS did not examine: the reform package as a whole; mass distance charging; elements of any forward looking cost base including the valuation of the regulated asset base, cost base allocators or determining the cost of capital; the ambit of community service obligations. These can be called the missing considerations. As noted in the Economic Analysis of Potential End-States for the Heavy Vehicle Reform: However, it is worth noting that jurisdictions will be allowed to determine how far along the supply-side reform spectrum they wish to go. This recognises that there is a level of upfront investment and institutional and technical changes (for example; in terms of better data collection and monitoring system) required to implement the reform and that this investment decision will have to be made at the jurisdictional level. 10 This means that the consideration of the current RIS is appropriate, so jurisdictions can be assured that moving towards a different road funding model will not adversely impact them. However, if the current RIS satisfies the concerns of the jurisdictions, it is imperative that the upcoming TIC reaffirm a clear timetable setting out when and how the missing considerations will be developed. ALC trusts that there will be capacity for industry to fully participate as propositions across these areas are developed. Industry views must be sought and incorporated into proposals well in advance of any Consultation RIS. Recommendation 8 To enable Heavy Vehicle Road Reform to proceed, TISOC should recommend to TIC that a clear timetable setting out when and how outstanding issues, such as the structure of any forward-looking cost base or community service obligations, will be decided 10 (p. 22)

12 11 Electric Vehicles Australian governments are increasingly working towards a regulatory environment that encourages the uptake of electric vehicles. The freight industry has a relatively inelastic demand for transport, and any benefits available to private electric vehicles should also be made available to commercial electric vehicles. In June 2018, ALC formed the Electric Vehicles Working Group. The Working Group has been charged with, amongst other things: 1. Collaborating with government and industry to promote the financial, social and environmental benefits of electric vehicles. 2. Working with government to increase the manufacture and production of electric vehicles. 3. Positioning the logistics industry as a leading sector in the drive for enhanced environmental outcomes by demonstrating positive correlations between reduced environmental impacts, operational efficiency and business profitability; and 4. Engaging with government to explore ways to incentivise electric vehicle use. The first task of the ALC Electric Vehicles Working Group was to prepare a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Electric Vehicles. ALC believes that TISOC/TIC can provide a national leadership role to influence national consistency in electric vehicle registration schemes. This includes ensuring that heavy vehicles, as defined by the HVNL, are included in any registration system which incentivises the uptake of electric vehicles. TISOC and TIC should also begin work to define a national standard for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This is to ensure interoperability between charging stations throughout Australia. Recommendation 9 TISOC/TIC provide a national leadership role to influence national consistency in electric vehicle registration schemes. This includes ensuring that heavy vehicles, as defined by the HVNL, are included in any registration system which incentivises the uptake of electric vehicles Recommendation 10 TISOC/TIC work to develop a national standard for electric vehicle charging infrastructure

13 12 Conclusion The upcoming meeting of the Transport and Infrastructure Senior Officials Committee provides an opportunity to advance important policy areas including: 1. Amending the Heavy Vehicle National Law to mandate telematics and introduce a National Operator Standard. 2. Improving the National Telematics Framework. 3. Progressing Heavy Vehicle Road Reform and the National Rail Plan; and 4. Laying out a vision for electric vehicles. This opportunity should not be missed. Australian Logistics Council September 2018