The government’s decision to move to a floating carbon price has been welcomed by the trucking industry who said doing business in the sector would become more ‘bearable’ under the plan.
Chairman of the Australian Trucking Association, David Simon, said under the plan trucking operators would pay an extra 1.6 cents per litre as opposed to 6.858 cents a litre, based on a floating carbon price of $6/tonne.
“The Government’s original plan would have had a devastating effect on many trucking businesses. Its decision to move to a floating carbon price twelve months early would still see an increase in the fuel tax paid by trucking operators, but it would be much more bearable,” Simon said.
Simon repeated the ATA’s call for the Government to exempt the fuel used in trucks and trains from the carbon tax permanently.
“As far as transport is concerned, the scheme still targets fuel use in sectors – road and rail freight – where tax increases won’t change behaviour,” he said.
“For example, the Government expects trucking businesses to respond to the tax by switching to alternative fuels like biodiesel. The industry cannot make this switch, because many truck engine manufacturers recommend against using fuel with more than five per cent biodiesel in their engines.”
Simon also called on the government to focus on policy reforms that would increase productivity in the sector.
“As a first step, the Government needs to work harder with the states to enable the industry to use high productivity vehicles like B-triples and super B-doubles,” he said.
“A B-triple is a prime mover with three trailers linked by turntables. A trucking business that switched from using semitrailers to B-triples could reduce its fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 31 per cent.”