I am very pleased to speak to another heavy vehicle bill.

They seem to be as frequent as trains on the Redcliffe line under the new, improved timetable! I am a
bit saddened, though, that I have not yet had an invite by the member for Callide to take a trip on the
old Mack truck. Maybe I just have to ask as nicely as the member for Chatsworth did!
The heavy vehicle national law started in 2014 in the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, South
Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. As the member for Hervey Bay mentioned, it is a shame that Western
Australia and the Northern Territory still have not yet joined, but we can hold out hope. Although the
national law has not commenced in Western Australia and the Norther Territory, it applies equally to
vehicles from those jurisdictions when they cross over into the rest of the country. In some cases, drivers
may also need to comply with certain aspects of the heavy vehicle national law before they cross the
border. One set of laws is administered through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, which is based
in Queensland.

The amendments in this bill were developed with the National Transport Commission and the
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, in consultation with industry and jurisdictions. They were endorsed
by the Transport and Infrastructure Council in late 2018 and early 2019. Some key changes to the
national law in this bill include consequential amendments related to the Commonwealth’s Road
Vehicles Standards Act; amending the regulator’s functions to provide for the giving of advice to industry
on the obligations under the law; improved access for specified semitrailers; and harmonising
requirements for issuing defect notices.
Vehicle modifications approved in nonparticipating jurisdictions are currently not recognised by
the national law. Under proposed amendments, modifications approved by a nonparticipating
jurisdiction that comply with the regulator’s code of practice will be deemed to have been approved
under the national law. That goes back to the issue of how to deal with Western Australia and the
Northern Territory not being part of it yet.

There was only one recommendation of the committee—that is, that the bill be passed. I can
certainly support that. During the hearings I asked about what is coming down the pipeline of the
department and also of the regulator. I was satisfied with the response. It was outlined that the National
Transport Commission is doing a bit of a review at the moment. It started in February this year and ends
in February or March next year. We should expect a bill in late 2020 based on that consultation. We
have passed our feedback through the committee that managing the bills going forward is an important
process—making sure that consultation is done correctly and that we are dealing with it all in a timely
and efficient manner.

At the sittings in Townsville we heard a bit about the road safety bill. That relates to this bill in
that road safety is both a legislative and regulatory issue and an infrastructure issue. I am glad that we
are dealing with a bit more of the regulatory and legislative side with this bill. On the infrastructure side,
new infrastructure was mentioned earlier. For my part of the north side, it is great that we have funding

for Linkfield Road. There is $20 million to match the $100 million from the federal government. It would
be great if they could bring theirs forward. We have funding for the Strathpine Road-Gympie Arterial
Road diverging diamond intersection. It will be a great intersection. It is a really innovative design—the
second one of its kind in the state. I cannot wait to see when that will be moving ahead. We also have
funding for the Beams Road business case and some funding for noise barriers along Gympie Road. I
thank the minister for his help on those matters.
It really is part of the dual approach. That is, you cannot just deal with the regulatory and the
legislative aspects; you have to also deal with the infrastructure side. It was great to see the Toowoomba
Second Range Crossing open recently. I had the opportunity to drive up it last weekend. It really is a
fantastic piece of infrastructure that will bring a lot of safety benefits, particularly for the heavy vehicle
industry.

There are a few minor and technical drafting issues with the bill. Other members will speak to
those. This morning I was pleased to join with the Minister for Police in launching the Spring Break road
safety campaign, which will affect all drivers, not just heavy vehicle drivers. That involves an increased
police presence on the road during school holidays focusing on the Fatal Five—making sure that when
people go on road trips they are not fatigued, not speeding, not drinking and not under the influence of
other substances. It was great to see the police and emergency services presence there this morning
for what will be, I am sure, a very worthwhile cause—that is, reducing as much as possible the road toll
over the spring break.

I commend the bill to the House. I thank my fellow committee members, departmental staff,
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator staff, other witnesses, the minister for his carriage of the bill and, of
course, the committee secretariat.