[Peetwo]

Gold Senator Sterle, pure GOLD!  - The voice of a real man.

Slight thread drift but it is still relevant when contemplating the sheer, unadulterated, incredulity, that such tales of aberration invoke in a nanny state society that have vital industries over-regulated, sometimes to within an inch of extinction by an all encompassing, micro-managing bureaucracies.

So for the record here is Sterle's passionately delivered adjournment speech off Hansard:

Senator STERLE (Western Australia) (19:29): I only have 10 minutes, but I could go on all night about this incident. I saw on Twitter, probably three or four weeks ago, a picture of a truck jackknifed on a major highway in Sydney. The exact date was 5 February 2016. It was a semitrailer—so, Mr Acting Deputy President Gallacher, you know exactly what I am talking about—

Senator Nash: So do I.

Senator STERLE: And you, Senator Nash—fantastic. How many tonnes was it? Got ya! It was a 42½-tonne semitrailer—a bogie drive tri-axle trailer. I have great respect for Senator Nash because she understands the issue of road safety and the importance of our drivers being fully trained in handling these monsters running up and down our highways. I say 'monsters' with affection, because they are what I played with for many, many years of my life...

...Clients of Scott's Transport or any other transport company who are using these people: I am coming for you. And I am not saying it lightly. I am wound up like a clock. I am not going to sit back when there is a responsibility, as a legislator in this country, to have that side of parliament doing everything it can to tear down our Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal. The beautiful thing about this is that the coalition senators that I spoke to on my committee are 100 per cent behind me.

God help us! You can find a truck driver in this country with one phone call. (Time expired)

    
And here is the Sterle speech in pictures, unfortunately there is a lag between the audio & the video that suggests a glitch off the Parlview webpage :

IMO whatever kool-aid Senator Sterle is drinking, someone needs to distribute it, preferably via IV, to every member of Parliament - bucket of chocfrogs for Sterlo

Sterlo & the RRAT committee getting up a head of steam - "..I am coming for you. And I am not saying it lightly. I am wound up like a clock..." 

In what has to be regarded as ominous signs, yesterday in Parliament Sterlo delivered a short but direct adjournment speech which IMO indicates that he and the committee are hunting for bear in this the 45th Parliament... :

Senator STERLE (Western Australia) (19:25): I want to talk about some fine work that is being conducted on the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee. Before I do, there is something that Australians really have to understand about what is going on in this nation. Through our road safety inquiry, we have uncovered the exploitation of foreign workers, predominantly Indians, through a corrupting of the visa system. What has come out—and it is on the Hansard record—is that there are scumbags in this fine country that are bringing Indians into Australia on student visas and then the students are being employed as truck drivers. I am not having a go at Indians. Let me just get this clear. Everyone is welcome in this nation. What I am having a go at is exploitation, through the visa system—and God only knows what they are being paid, at the expense of Australian jobs. This is where I have a real problem—

Senator Williams interjecting—

Senator STERLE: and Senator Williams has been working very closely with me on this. We will continue to delve into this disgusting behaviour that is being conducted in this nation.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection are well aware of it, because they are the ones that gave us the information. We finally sucked it out of the department, in a hearing, what the hell visa these drivers were on. This was the B-double. I made a mistake. I just saw a tweet and I thought it was a semi. It was a B-double. So to all those passionate truckies out there that cannot wait—good old truckies!—to tell me I got the wrong configuration: well done, boys. Yeah, I get it. Now put the effort into your fingers and start dobbing in these so-and-sos for exploiting these people. That would be a far better use of your energy.

These students were employed with Scott's transport. I do not know what they do during the week. Maybe they are studying medicine. Maybe they are doing some fantastic work to become great citizens and help out kids with cancer. Maybe they are studying nuclear medicine. I do not know. But on that side of the chamber do they seriously believe that those of us who have a trucking background, who actually are passionate about Australian jobs and Australian apprenticeships, believe that these students on Friday night pack up their schoolbooks, put them into a case or put them into the locker at uni, then jump into a B-double and do a two-up operation between Brisbane and Sydney and back? Pull the other leg—seriously.

I am going to read some excerpts from correspondence I had on behalf of the Queensland government Department of Transport and Main Roads. They were fantastic. They had taken information from us. We said that we had a real problem. We found out there is an RTO in Tweed Heads—and I will give you the name of the RTO. I am not going to rush, because I am going to come back into this chamber every week and do a speech on this and keep everyone updated with what is going on. There is a twisted, bent, corrupt RTO in Tweed Heads who was bringing the Indian students from Queensland into New South Wales. They were doing their training there. He was assessing them, then he was ticking off and saying that they were fit to drive, and then they were going back to Queensland. The Queensland government—thank goodness for the Queensland government—issued 113 'show causes' to these 113 people who came through this corrupt provider of heavy vehicle transport licensing: 'Why should you have a licence?'

The result of that was that 60 licence holders have had their heavy vehicle licence downgraded to a car licence. Six have passed the Q-SAFE class heavy rigid practical driving test, demonstrating their competency to hold a class HR licence, and 47 have been granted an extension of time to undergo further testing. Mr Acting Deputy President Marshall, I know your commitment to young Australian workers through your previous life and how you were successful in gaining an apprenticeship and became a tradesman. If this were happening in plumbing or electrics or house building—and it might be for all I know—there would be an absolute uproar. Why is there not an absolute uproar from that side of the chamber that Indian truck drivers are being brought into this nation, corruptly trained in Queensland and given licences and then going out on the roads and being exploited?

God only knows how dangerous these blokes can be. So what I am asking on the website—my Facebook page that I have started, where we have had 216,000 people contacted, 37,000 views and 1,012 shares—is: dob them in. I will be proud to stand up here and dob in, and relay your words of, every corrupt employer of transport, or user of transport, that is exploiting Indian drivers and exploiting the visa system.

Senator Williams: And trainers.

Senator STERLE: Senator Williams and I will continue the good work. We have only just started scratching the surface. This is going to be fun.

 

In other news from the Senate, apparently a resolution/motion was passed in the 1st sitting week that all outstanding QON from previous Estimates (i.e. from 44th Parliament) will be answered and passed into the respective committees by COB today.

It will be interesting to see if Murky and his motley crew manage to meet this deadline; or will he once again thumb his nose at the good Senators...    

On another bit of RRAT committee news, I note that Senator (Bazza) O'Sullivan has been selected to fill the very big shoes of the Heff, as Chair (Legislative) & Deputy Chair (Reference). If his questioning of CASA on the Jabiru embuggerance was anything to go by, I don't think the good Senator will broker much bureaucratic bollocks or Hoodoo Voodoo weasel words...    

Much..much..MTF - P2

Ps Having developed a recent interest in the Joint Parliamentary committee for treaties - see HERE &..

...I was pleased to note that the membership in this parliament of JSCOT also included Senator Sterle.

I also noted with interest certain lapsed inquiries from the 44th Parliament were carried across and reinitiated for inquiry - see top 2 & No. 6 HERE.

Pps Due to the very relevant content the No.6 reinitiated inquiry will be taken as being actively monitored by PAIN and all previous records, submissions, Hansard etc. plus any updates will appear on the AMROBA thread...