After some welcome drinks sponsored by Penske on Wednesday night in tropical QLD conditions, I was excited about the program on day one of TruckingAustralia23. It started with a talk from Matina Jewell, a former military officer who shared a personal story focusing on messages of resilience and leadership. The audience was in awe of her achievements despite the challenges, setbacks, and adversity that she faced in an extreme situation while stationed in the Middle East.
We heard from Ken Kanofski, independent advisor to government, about the progress on the national truck laws. Kanofski faced a tough crowd expecting more definite answers and action about the review which sounded like a never-ending process.
A highlight of the day was the Kenworth Legends Lunch where Frank and John Bilato from G&S Transport were recognised as the 2023 Legends. It was great hearing about the the challenges of running a transport business in central Australia on some of the toughest roads in the world. They bought their first Kenworth 501 in 1995, and since then they have built their family business around the reliability and toughness of these locally manufactured trucks.
My highlight of the day was the presentations from the Daimler Truck Future Leaders Forum. There were eight great ideas to solve some of the industries biggest issues. Some of the presenters were confident and slick. While other were a little nervous but passionate. The Future Leaders Forum provides a career defining opportunity to develop leadership skills and get an inside look at how government policy is developed and what it takes to make new laws.
The eight great ideas were:
- Using data science to solve environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
- SWITCH – a portal to assist transport companies to transition to zero emission vehicles.
- Making changes to the 189 Visa scheme to find more heavy vehicle drivers.
- Targeting university graduates to join the transport industry.
- Introducing a three year training program for young school leavers.
- Developing new ways to handle effluent when transporting livestock.
- Harnessing the interest of young kids in trucks and equipment to recruit future drivers.
- PBS breakdowns locations outside metro areas to gain more efficiencies for smaller operators.
