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HARD EVIDENCE OF A HARD INDUSTRY
Page 3
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'Stating the bleedin' obvious' is one conclusion many people will draw from the Burns Freight Taxes Inquiry Report, published this week. But before we all jump on the report and say it tells us nothing that a conversation with half a dozen hauliers couldn't have achieved, let's just hold fire a moment. There may be a grain of truth in this argument, but to take this approach is to miss the point entirely.
Prior to Burns, no one (trade associations, the government or the trade press) has ever attempted to quantify precisely how badly the industry is being damaged by the government's current policy if you can describe an almost criminal neglect as a policy. Without hard facts, there's no way to change the government's current belief that the industry deserves no special case. So now we have those facts and figures we've got to use them, and use them effectively.
What's more, it's no good for this report to gather dust or for the government to simply brush it off. Burns, with the backing of the trade associations, has produced a powerful report that gives an insight into this sector —and the government mustn't be allowed to ignore it.
We, like many in the business, will be picking over the report in the coming weeks and contributing to the discussion where appropriate. For now, though, the whole industry must unite and push for its recommendations to be accepted. But even that isn't enough. Once we've convinced the government the road transport industry deserves a special case, we must fight tooth and nail to ensure a policy is implemented to help it.