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Speaker 1: Our Scott's Refrigerated Logistics, one of Australia's biggest trucking firms,

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Speaker 1: which supplies all of the major supermarkets including Woolly's, Cole's,

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Speaker 1: IgA and well Aldie. It's plunged into receivership earlier this week,

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Speaker 1: shocking many in the industry. But I guess the question

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Speaker 1: that lots of people are wondering is is there going

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Speaker 1: to be any impact to the Northern Territory. And joining

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Speaker 1: me on the line right now is Louise Belato, who

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Speaker 1: is the chief executive of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Louise.

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Speaker 2: Morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time. Louise. Were you surprised

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Speaker 1: by this news?

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Speaker 2: There had been rumors for a little while that the

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Speaker 2: company may go into voluntary administration, so it wasn't entirely unknown.

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Speaker 2: It's always a shock when any company does do that, though,

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Speaker 2: because obviously we know the road transport industry has thin

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Speaker 2: margins and when a multi national operator goes into voluntary

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Speaker 2: receivership it sends shutters through the rest of the industry.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it must, because you know, I would imagine when

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Speaker 1: you look at a companies such as this one that's

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Speaker 1: been operating in Australia for such an incredibly long period

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Speaker 1: of time. It makes you kind of question, or it

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Speaker 1: it makes me who hasn't got the insight that you

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Speaker 1: and certainly those in the industry do, But it makes

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Speaker 1: you question just how tight some of those margins are

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Speaker 1: and how tough it is for some in the industry.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, and that's why we, especially the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: Road Transfer Association, strongly supports our small and family owned

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Speaker 2: business operators because they understand our conditions and how important

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Speaker 2: it is to be able to charge accurately and correctly,

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Speaker 2: but also to have the right equipment for the job.

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Speaker 2: Because yes, it's very very easy to go backwards because

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Speaker 2: of all the running costs, the expenses. In answer to

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Speaker 2: your question with the company that's gone into voluntary administration,

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Speaker 2: they didn't do a lot of business in the territory.

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Speaker 2: Most of their contracts were pointing onto the Eastern Seaboard.

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Speaker 2: But we have very very reliable refrigerated freight contractors ABC Transport,

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Speaker 2: Gilbert's previously assures and mantles that come into the territory

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Speaker 2: very very consistently. Our only concern at the moment is

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Speaker 2: depending on whether that company gets on sold quickly or not,

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Speaker 2: is to how long their specialized equipment is parked up,

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Speaker 2: and if it is for an extended period of time,

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Speaker 2: obviously those big companies you mentioned, the retailers will all

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Speaker 2: be looking at other options, even on an interim basis,

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Speaker 2: And so obviously we don't want to have a knock

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Speaker 2: on effect of yeah, that's happening for the territory. But

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Speaker 2: I'm confident that won't happen.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, hopefully not. I suppose that's always a concern, isn't

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Speaker 1: it for us here in the territory that we just

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Speaker 1: don't want that flow on to reach us.

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Speaker 2: No, and we saw that even when our roads have

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Speaker 2: been a closed for extended periods previously, just just that

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Speaker 2: process of scheduling and refrigerated vans are a specialized piece

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Speaker 2: of trailing equipment. And whilst this company, I think had

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Speaker 2: you know, four hundred of their own and you know,

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Speaker 2: hundreds more trailers belonging to their smaller owner drivers, that's

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Speaker 2: a huge amount to take out of the pool, even

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Speaker 2: if it's for you four weeks or six weeks or

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Speaker 2: you know, slightly longer. Whilst this process of you know

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Speaker 2: on selling occurs, so yeah, we will. We're taking it

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Speaker 2: very seriously and are looking and watching very carefully. The

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Speaker 2: big issue we've got in the territory right now in

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Speaker 2: terms of stocking our shelves is the one hundred and

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Speaker 2: eighty eight they notices on our road report. Yeah, road

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Speaker 2: report in Tea here we've got a lot of road

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Speaker 2: clothes and flooded.

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Speaker 1: But that was going to be my next question, Louise,

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Speaker 1: how are we looking when it comes to all of

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Speaker 1: this flooding that we've got around the northern territory at

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Speaker 1: the moment In terms of our industry trying to you know,

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Speaker 1: trying to make sure that we've got all of our goods,

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Speaker 1: particularly things like our groceries.

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Speaker 2: I think everyone has their eyes glued to the road

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Speaker 2: reports and to the viewerau of Meteorology websites continuously in

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Speaker 2: the industry and ducking and weaving and waiting patiently and

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Speaker 2: going quickly just to take advantage of these rivers going

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Speaker 2: up and down. The good thing I mean, like the

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Speaker 2: Victoria Highway we saw earlier in the week with Calinara

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Speaker 2: shells being empty, was that some of these creek crossings

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Speaker 2: are going up and down very quickly, so we do

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Speaker 2: have to take advantage of the windows where there's a

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Speaker 2: period of drying out. But even the Stuart Highway today

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Speaker 2: I'm having reports of a huge amount of water. Obviously

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Speaker 2: we've seen the evacuations that Calca, Indian Darbaragu but all

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Speaker 2: of that. But central area has been very very wet

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Speaker 2: and south of Tenna Creek very wet well since before

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Speaker 2: Christmas time, so the road hasn't had a chance to

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Speaker 2: dry out underneath, and there's been a lot of you know,

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Speaker 2: short repairs, short term repairs occurring. But yeah, it's a

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Speaker 2: wait and see I think where the big drainfalls are

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Speaker 2: going to go again.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, So Louise, which areas of the Stuart Highway are

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Speaker 1: we currently concerned about in terms of that ware around

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Speaker 1: the place?

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Speaker 2: The regulars south of Tenant so Gilbert Swamp and Warlock

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Speaker 2: Ponds are always a bit risky. The area around Whyeliff Wells,

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Speaker 2: it's rained through to Tea Tree at the moment, has

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Speaker 2: been pretty heavy in the last twenty four hours, so

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Speaker 2: again any of those smaller creeks. But the Department of

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Speaker 2: Transport or Infrastructure Planning and Logistics people are out there,

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Speaker 2: so those road reports are very accurate at the moment.

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Speaker 2: We've also got quite a lot of water on the

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Speaker 2: Berkeley Highway, but not to a point where it's impassable.

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Speaker 1: Well, that is good to hear, because Louise, you and

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Speaker 1: I spoke a lot at the beginning of last year,

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Speaker 1: didn't we as those roads were flooded and then really

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Speaker 1: quite badly damaged.

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Speaker 2: Yes, well, and I mean we know that there's a

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Speaker 2: lot more longer term work that needs to be undertaken

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Speaker 2: on the Barkley Highway. However, we're really encouraging the federal

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Speaker 2: government to step up around the entirety of the National

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Speaker 2: highway network. The impacts of the Fitzroy Crossing bridge, you know,

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Speaker 2: being wiped out really only starting to be felt. I

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Speaker 2: think that there will be a whole lot more businesses

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Speaker 2: from Catherine through to Harse Creek and Fitzroy Crossing that

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Speaker 2: will struggle longer term with the long, long term closures.

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Speaker 2: We know that there's subs, these freight subsidies now available

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Speaker 2: for businesses who have to pay you know, forty more

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Speaker 2: than they were because the freates having to come such

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Speaker 2: long distances to them. But yeah, it's still early days

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Speaker 2: really and twenty five a new bridge. We'll be lucky

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Speaker 2: to see it in that time. Personally, I think.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right, well, Louis, we might keep in contact with

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Speaker 1: you and just see how things are tracking over the

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Speaker 1: coming days. We know that there's still plenty of wet

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Speaker 1: weather around and keen to keep an eye on how

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Speaker 1: those roads are going and potentially what it could mean

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Speaker 1: for all of us around the territory. So I really

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Speaker 1: appreciate you having a chat with us this morning, and well,

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Speaker 1: let's see whether we'll be talking to you a little

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Speaker 1: bit more often. Hopefully we don't see any of that

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Speaker 1: flooding like we did early last year.

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Speaker 2: Four weeks at a time for sure. Well, certainly the

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Speaker 2: Tanamie Road has reopened temporarily and that was closed for

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Speaker 2: eight weeks, so that had a huge knocking effect to

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Speaker 2: those communities beyond you and the move they're on unsealed areas,

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Speaker 2: and also to the Newmont mine. But again, as I said,

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Speaker 2: everyone is doing their bit, and I'm certainly very grateful

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Speaker 2: to the positive attitude that our truckies have around trying

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Speaker 2: to do the right thing by everyone and their customers.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, I know plenty of them listen to the show

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Speaker 1: when they're when they can, so a big shout out

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Speaker 1: to them. Thank you so much, Louise for your time

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Speaker 1: this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie, thank you