Carbon Tax and the Trucking Industry, Further Developments

In a recent Liberal Party Press Release, Nationals leader Warren Truss states that more than 100,000 businesses using diesel or petrol will feel the force of the carbon tax.

47,000 trucking businesses and 60,000 other businesses that rely on fuel and the bus industry will have to pay under the new tax regime, he says. This is a drastically different figure from the “500 polluters,” the Gillard Government claimed would be affected.

Under the carbon tax, the fuel tax credits scheme for heavy vehicles will be reduced by almost 7 cents per litre from 1 July 2014.

“But the planned changes to the fuel tax credits system will impose an effective carbon price on every one of Australia’s 47,000 trucking businesses.

Mr Truss said the Minerals Council of Australia’s submission showed that the carbon price on fuel would apply to more than 60,000 businesses from 1 July 2012, among them tens of thousands of small businesses, covering 22,500 in construction; 5,350 in manufacturing; 5,305 businesses in retail and wholesale trades; thousands of tourism operators, including accommodation and food service businesses; 1,500 mining operations; several hospitals and large healthcare providers; and 775 education and training sector bodies.

 “When factored into a five-year rolling plan for State Governments this is an added increase in operating costs of bus public transport of more than $200 million, which will need to be recouped from users or made budget neutral through reduced spending on new and more vehicles in the fleet and worse still a reduction to existing services and no new services,” the Bus Industry Confederation said in its submission.

Mr Truss explains that the carbon tax is “a rolling attack on the transport sector, slugging businesses – big and small – and inflicting mass casualties on the Australian jobs they support.”

“But, clearly, it’s also a tax on families. With the bulk of goods transported around this country coming via on-road freight, families will inevitably feel the squeeze as those higher running costs hit the tills at checkouts.”

“These reverberations will be most severe in regional areas, where families, businesses and entire communities will carry a disproportionately higher burden.”

This suggested tax will have far reaching effects on the cost of living but a major blow to the trucking industry who have continued to buy newer, safer and more environmentally friendly trucks and equipment to meet new emission standards and cut the already increasingly high costs of fuel. The Trucking Industry hardly needs any more incentive to cut fuel consumption.

Cannon Logistics are trialing new technologies, thanks to a Government Grant from the QTLC. These trials so far have seen savings in fuel of approximately 15% which will achieve payback on investment within 24 months. More details will be provided at the conclusion of our trials.