November 10, 2015
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington is pressing the State Government to find a new location for “programmed” vehicle inspections in Kingaroy.
Earlier this year the only station in Kingaroy offering the mandatory regular inspections for commercial operators such as transport companies and taxi companies closed.
Mrs Frecklington said she had been contacted by several local transport companies expressing their frustration that this important service could no longer be accessed in town.
“About 430 local operators, such as truck owners, transport companies, motorbike training companies and taxi companies received a letter earlier this year from Transport and Main Roads advising them that programmed vehicle inspections would no longer be available in Kingaroy,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“The service has been moved to Wondai, and while this is excellent for operators in the northern part of our region, given that Kingaroy is a major hub in our region, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect that inspections should also be conducted in Kingaroy.”
Local business owner Col Rogerson, from South Burnett Motorcycle Rider Training, says he must now take his motorbikes to Wondai for annual inspections.
“My bikes must be annually inspected as they are used for training purposes, so I am in the process now of organising to get them all up to Wondai,” he said.
“This will be a lengthy exercise and I’m sure other operators will also find it time consuming and frustrating. I would like to see TMR identify another suitable location in Kingaroy.”
Mrs Frecklington said she had asked Transport Minister Jackie Trad if a concerted effort could be made to identify another suitable location to allow for vehicle inspections to once again be available in Kingaroy.
“I took the opportunity to ask Minister Trad a Question on Notice about this issue and she noted that the Department had certain criteria including accessibility, safety and cost of hire when choosing an inspection location,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“This is an essential service for small business operators in the transport industry and I will be calling on the Department to continue searching for a suitable site in Kingaroy as a matter of priority.”
