ROAD RELATED IMPACTS ON THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
BRUCE MCCLURE, CMPA General Manager reports on the discussions had with the Minister for Public Transport and Roads.
TIM Bird Chairman of the CMPA, Garry Cranny Management Committee member and Bruce McClure General Manager of the CMPA met recently with the Hon Terry Mulder Minister for Public Transport, Minister for Roads to discuss a number of concerns of CMPA members that fall within the Minister’s portfolios.
The Minister was very receptive to the CMPA comments and he did indicate that he would consider these further. The following are details on the issues discussed:
Registration of primary producer vehicles
The issue of the disparity between the registration of farm trucks and quarry trucks when both are used to cart quarry product as a commercial activity.
A number of primary producer registered trucks have been carting material for contractors, shires, etc. but have the major advantage of cheaper registration. Advice is that the trucks are considered unregistered and therefore uninsured when carting products on a commercial basis.
Development of a publically available database of vehicle’s legal tare weight
The CMPA has suggested that there should be a publically available data base of vehicle registration and their tare weights. This would aid Weighbridge operators who rely on the truck drivers with respect to information on legal loads for their trucks.
Safety and legal release loads is the issue. The Chain of Responsibility legislation may have some impact on this issue.
Better forward planning by VicRoads
The CMPA maintains that there is an urgent need for forward planning by VicRoads (particularly with their sprayed seals and asphalt works), to allow for quarry sites to have sufficient stone on the ground for works. There is insufficient forewarning of the quantity of stone required on the ground around Victoria. It has been suggested that VicRoads needs a five year programme of works which is updated regularly.
The approaching shortage of extractive products in Victoria
VicRoads needs to be looking at and managing extractive resources, planning well in advance. There will be a general shortage of products generally across Victoria. Some areas are already experiencing problems in sourcing stone and sand, for example, Mildura and the Latrobe Valley problems with sourcing hard rock for aggregate, whilst Melbourne is experiencing sand shortages.
Better management of performance based standards process
It is currently taking considerable time to obtain the relevant permits to use vehicles that come under the national Performance Based Standards (PBS) process. A number of members have experienced difficulties in obtaining the permits required from the authorities involved in a timely manner.
Local Government standards for purchase of extractive products
Many CMPA members have expressed concern at the very poor standard of documentation and/or in appropriately worded specifications being used by a number of municipalities across Victoria. In some instances the vagueness of wording in the contract documents has resulted in unfair advantage being given to in house project teams. It has also resulted in poor quality products being used in other instances.
Future of product and specification development by VicRoads
Many CMPA members have expressed concern at the downsizing of the extractive products development and specification section of VicRoads. This is an area which VicRoads has been very active in the past and it has served Victoria very well in terms of its infrastructure around the state.
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