Promises, promises. Last year it was promised red tape on farmers taking farm machinery on designated NSW roads would be eased, with distance limitations lifted.
It was a well-received announcement by former NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay last December, but judging by a recent NSW Farmers meeting at Illabo, it appears farmers are still struggling with the permit system – and little has changed. (Not, that at times, in his role as minister, Mr Gay didn’t ditch silly regulations).
Farmers and contractors still have a long way to travel down the regulation road when it comes to a sensible permit system for moving farm machinery.
It is all the more harder with three levels of government involved. And time is of essence as the sowing season approaches.
Councils, as the road managers, will eventually, it is hoped, get out of the permit system and it will all be handled by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
But at the moment farmers are still stuck in the council merry-go-round.
The Illabo meeting was told some farmers are waiting longer than the promised 28-day turnaround for permit decisions from councils. A major part of the reason appears to be a lack of resources at council-level.
They don’t have adequate mapping of local roads.
At some stage, councils will have to cede some of their road manager powers to the NHVR. NSW Farmers is working behind the scenes with the Roads and Maritime Services to help make this happen.
It is believed they want the NSW Government to fund councils to get their road databases into order. NSW Farmers business committee chairman Peter Wilson says “we have a way to go yet”.
“There is work to be done to get there (to have a one-stop shop), but that is our aim.”
The NHVR told The Land it recognises the importance of “national harmonisation”, “both for our safety and productivity agendas”. It says a “National Harmonisation Program team” is working to ease the farmer pain with “a National Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle and Combination notice identified as one of the four new national notices to be delivered”.
There’s myriad other minor issues that need to be ironed out such as a ban on carrying tools in the back of escort vehicles, and what will happen when police pull out of the escort role – more cost to farmers?
Somebody at some level of government needs to show leadership on the issue.