Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor says thousands of transport company owner-drivers – and road users in general – will benefit following the scrapping of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal in Parliament on Monday night (18 April).

“Common sense and fairness prevailed, with the Coalition Government’s Bill to abolish the ill-conceived and highly destructive Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal passing through the Senate,” Mr Taylor said.

“The dirty deal done between the Transport Workers Union and the then-Labor Government should never have resulted in a situation that drove mum and dad owner-drivers off the road.

“Despite voicing their concerns and appealing for assistance, owner-drivers were ignored by the Labor Party, ignored by the Greens and ignored by the TWU. This Government listened and this Government delivered.”

Mr Taylor said the hundreds of small transport operators in Hume will benefit from less red tape and more road safety initiatives.

He said the Turnbull Government will always stand up for enterprising small businesses who dare to take a risk and invest in themselves and their families to get ahead.

Owner-operator of Orangeville-based company On Road Transport (Australia) Pty Ltd, Theresa Attard, said working under the Tribunal meant excessive red tape and duplication of regulation.

“I’ve been in the industry all my life and the Tribunal was slowly suffocating us. Now that it’s been abolished, it will mean we can get on with our business with a sense of security, and we are already looking at employing another sub-contractor,” she said.

The Turnbull Government will re-direct more than $4 million a year to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator to implement targeted heavy vehicle safety initiatives, including developing one of the most high-tech network monitoring systems in the world.

“National visibility of vehicle movements across state boundaries will allow the NHVR and its partner agencies to identify drivers and operators that systematically flout fatigue rules. This will improve safety for all motorists,” Mr Taylor said.