george57 wrote:

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I'll bet you a dollar tonyd that if you were pulled over and had a roadworthy done(I mean a real picky faultfinding one) your car, no matter how new will get a sticker. I am not a cowboy, I do not work for cootes, but yes, I am a truck driver. I also do not jump to conclusions nor base opinion on emotion. I base my opinions on facts. Are all the facts about Cootes on the table. I don't think so.

George

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There's a big difference between real experienced drivers who take responsibility for their vehicles and those who leave it to others. No chance of any of our vehicles getting a sticker, unless a light has gone and as they are all LED, not much chance of that happening between my daily full inspections and do all repairs myself.  I make sure all running gear is in first class condition every day. Spent to many years trucking and travelling to not know what the difference is between a well driver maintained and safe rig, compared to a corporate or expert serviced one. That goes for heavy transport, cars and vans.

Agree the majority on the road only think they are safe, because they put their faith in supposed qualified experts, but the viewable facts are as you say, the average motorist/caravan driver, drives unsafe and unstable vehicles.

Doubt I've ever driven for a corporate transport company that doesn't use second rate rigs and prime movers at times, trying to get things fixed can lead to dismissal. Which is why over the last 30 years, have only driven for small conscientious businesses, who treat their rigs like gold, expect the driver to do the same and be able to fix anything that may go wrong.

Native pepper" and ''Cloak'' ???

Both your comments are well founded, and spoken from Real Experience, from within the Industry, I to am heavily involved, with the supply side to transport companies, And you would probably agree ?/ That If ALL THE MAJOR CARRIER COMPANIES , Especially in the Fuel transport were put under the same inspection criteria, that  Cootes  Tpt have been subjected to,   Then it is Most probable, ?? that everyone of those Companies would also be grounded ??

Then People who complain that they have to wait in que for fuel, because of a grounding of ONE supplier, would really have something to complain about, ??

OK, no comments. Just the facts:

McAleese will axe about 540 jobs including truck drivers and workshop staff from Cootes Transport after deciding to halve the size of the beleaguered fuel-haulage business in the wake of what it described as relentless government scrutiny.

The transport company will also sell about half of the trucks and trailers in Cootes fleet after losing contracts with Shell and BP, and withdrawing from supplying 7-Eleven in several states.

McAleese said the jobs would be gradually lost over the next six months as the contracts ended. The company has set aside about $13 million for redundancies at Cootes this financial year.

About 1250 of McAleeses 2000-strong workforce nationwide are employed at Cootes, which the company bought about two years ago from private equity firm CHAMP.

The job losses will primarily include truck drivers but also workshop and clerical staff.

Two people were killed and five injured when a Cootes fuel tanker lost control on a bend in the northern Sydney suburb of Mona Vale and burst into flames on October 1.

Since then, NSW and Victorian transport authorities have issued Cootes with hundreds of defect notices.

The defects have included ineffective brakes, oil and fuel leaks, steering, axle, suspension and exhaust failures, broken engine mounts and tread peeling from tyres.

In the wake of what the company described as relentless inspections by authorities, McAleese said it had been forced to half the size of the capital-intensive Cootes business.

McAleese chairman Mark Rowsthorn said the repercussions from the Mona Vale accident, including the intense scrutiny on its trucking fleet, had caused credibility and reputational damage that it had not had an opportunity to defend give the intense government scrutiny.

It is a business that unfortunately, due to this tragedy at Mona Vale, has forced the governments hand into inspecting our vehicles relentlessly and it has had a negative impact on us, he told Fairfax Media.

Its pretty tough with negative press, which the government officials react to and feed. Quite frankly, we have done everything we can we have accommodated every one of their requests.

McAleese warned on Tuesday that it will take a $47 million hit to its full-year earnings from the crackdown on the troubled fuel-haulage business.

Shares in McAleese slumped more than 32 per cent to 74.5 cents on Tuesday after the company emerged from a trading suspension and revealed the magnitude of the impact from Cootes woes.

About $239 million has now been wiped from the transport companys market value over the last month.

With authorities in NSW and Victoria heavily scrutinising Cootes fleet, McAleese also revealed that the head of its bulk and liquid transport division, Chris Keast, has handed in his resignation.

Mr Rowsthorn, who owns almost a third of the company, will also assume the role of interim executive chairman.

The company said the reshuffle would allow chief executive Paul Garaty to focus on sorting out the problems at Cootes and operational management.

The company said it expected the $47 million cost of the Cootes restructure $33 million of which will be taken in the first half would be offset by selling trucks and trailers.

McAleese has put the value of its surplus trucking fleet at $21 million.

It leaves the slimmed-down Cootes to haul fuel for Caltex and LPG for Origin Energy.

But McAleese has told investors that the restructure will be subject to Cootes holding onto the Caltex contract, which is due to expire in March next year, and the Origin deal which is under tender.

Releasing its update on Tuesday, McAleese has warned that it will post a pre-tax profit of $108 million for the year to June, excluding significant items, compared with $127 million forecast in its prospectus.

The company will also report a $38 million bottom-line loss in the first half on revenue of $389.6 million. The results are preliminary and will be reviewed by auditors before its half-year results are released on Monday.

It blamed the fall in earnings on the loss on fuel-haulage contracts with Shell and BP, and its withdrawal from 7-Eleven contracts in NSW and Queensland, as well as the loss of revenue and an increased repair and maintenance bill in the wake of the Mona Vale accident in October.

Authorities made snap inspections of Cootes fuel tankers in Victoria on Friday, which led to the grounding of 25 of the 35 trucks and trailers inspected. Faults included defects in brakes, air bags, loose bolts and oil leaks.

McAleese also faces the possibility of law firms encouraging shareholders to pursue class actions.

 Nice ''copy and paste'' of a companies finance report, Tonyd  However  I fail to see how it addresses your original  post at top of this page ??

It is apparent that you are an ABC supporter,   As if you go back a week or 2 you will find , that it was not ONLY the ABC that was as you say ''Slagged'' It was other current affair type shows as well, ??  However you have chosen to take the Standard ABC stance of Omitting facts and figures, to display a one sided view,

I still stand by what i said earlier , when this situation started with Cootes, Yes, ?? They have some issues with maintenance ?? HOWEVER they are NOT the worst Tanker Mob out there by a Long shot, Every Tanker company out there Yes !! I said ''Every'' Tanker company, would all have Vehicles PUT OFF THE ROAD, !! if they were put under the same Inspection regime that Cootes tpt Have been subjected to ,, a few would fare better than cootes !! But there are some out there ? that would be lucky to keep ONE truck on the road ?/

As to the Finance Reports on those companies though, ''I would not have a clue, and really don't care ?/

Foot note !! Do not despair over petrol queues ?? There a Heaps of Tanker Mobs out there waiting to pounce on the ''Cootes'' contracts, They will probaly be snapped up by Toll or Linfox [ the 2 biggest ] then they will ''Subby'' out some of the work to the abundance of smaller operators out there ??

Scary bit is ??? A lot of their trucks ?? are not as well looked after as the Cootes Fleet,,   

phantom wrote    

Dazren, If you are aware, and know so much, about poor maintenance and dodgy practices within the transport industry and you have not been forthcoming with your concerns to the relevant authorities, then you are as culpable as the negligent companies you have knowledge of, when the next accident and death occurs.

If you are prepared to demonstrate your superior knowledge about the trucking industry in order to belittle a member who posts on a topic he believes is relevant to the Forum members and you do not report your concerns to the relevant authorities then I, for one, are not interested in hearing your opinions.

Report what you know or keep your opinions to yourself.

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Highlight 1/        I did that once !! 15 years ago and it cost me my Job, 

Highlight 3/     Nor I yours !!   This is why we have the ability to just scroll past threads one does not wish to read

On some subjects !! some people, have a little more knowledge than others ?? and in some instances can see and hear Media reports that are not consistent with the real facts ??  IF one does NOT have that knowledge, then they rely on the what the Media is telling them, and ASSUME it must be correct, Hence they are Misleading the public,, This relates to ALL media outlets, ?? not just your precious ABC

-- Edited by dazren on Tuesday 18th of February 2014 11:20:20 PM

Native pepper, wrote  

 Hilarious reply, both I and Dazren posted, complain and you're out of a job. Plus the unions and employers would do all in their power to make sure you didn't get another one. You live in day dream land, lots of the authorities are the problem and as many governments have privatised inspections, it's just added more to the recipe for corruption. There's a big difference between the real world and fantasy land thinking.

You only have to read the daily complaints on this forum from those who have problems with installations carrying compliance plates, but not working or badly installed.

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Agreed and correct again Native pepper, !! But don't waste your words,   As some people Know a lot more than anyone within the industry,    Because they get information from The ABC and other similar Media Organisations,  so they Know they are right !!

I have decided NOT to respond to them anymore ??  on this subject,   Better that I sit back and 'Think' they are fools, -- Than to let them respond, -- and prove they are ??   

Dazren wrote:

It is apparent that you are an ABC supporter.

Well, not at all. I'm actually one of many people who think the ABC needs to be pulled into gear, sorted out, de-politicised or, even better, sold. Or merged with SBS.

That said, Four Corners is one of its better efforts and I stand by my comments on its report about the safety issues in the trucking industry.

I am glad that governments are addressing the safety issues outlined in that report. If this sees shonky operators stopped in their tracks, well and good.

Cheers, Tony