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Turnbull Pushes For National Trucking Tribunal To Be Dumped If Coalition Wins Election

Coalition Pledges To Scrap National Trucking Tribunal
Truck with iron ore, Port Hedland, Western Australia.
John W Banagan via Getty Images
Truck with iron ore, Port Hedland, Western Australia.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says his government will abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal if the coalition is re-elected at the upcoming election.

The tribunal was set up by the previous Labor government and is responsible for pay and safety in the trucking industry. It was recently responsible for setting new minimum pay rates for owner-operator truck drivers.

Read more about what the tribunal does here.

Speaking on Sunday, Turnbull said the coalition planned to scrap the body, saying its decisions were putting mum-and-dad operators out of business.

"It is designed entirely and was designed entirely by Bill Shorten when he was in government to advantage the Transport Workers' Union," Turnbull said.

"It was a piece of legislation that has had nothing to do with safety and everything to do with getting small businesses ... the family businesses of Australia off the roads."

The Transport Workers' Union argues trucking contractors need better pay to compete and stay safe on the roads.

Turnbull said it was time the tribunal was dumped after a number of critical reports.

"Two reports have investigated it and each of them has recommended that it be abolished," he said.

Funds from the existing tribunal will reportedly be redirected to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

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