ATN #418

NEWS
Inside the Industry
WA CATTLE PROBE HITS TRANSPORT
Recent Western Australia Police
action against criminal networks
involved in the theft and sale of cattle
in the state has extended to a local
transport operation.
Operation Topography is the
Rural Crime Squad’s probe into
"individuals and companies linked to
the business of cattle including aerial
and ground musterers, livestock
trucking companies, truck drivers
and stock agents", WA Police noted.
Its most recent round, in Moora,
saw a 41-year-old man charged with:
three counts of property laundering –
engaged in transaction; one count of
receiving; and one count of attempt
to pervert justice.
A 42-year-old woman was
charged with one count of accessory
after fact to an indictable (principal)
offence.
Additionally, a 49-year-old man
was charged with one count of
possession of stolen or unlawfully
obtained property.
Western Australia media reports
identify two of the accused as
Clint and Emma Spong of livestock
transport operation Sponghaul.
This marks the third phase of
Operation Topography, which came
to the fore in February 2021, when
two individuals were charged with
offences relating to the theft and
sale of 803 cattle valued at about
$800,000.
In the second phase, a 64-year-old
man was charged with similar
offences as part of a syndicate that
stole over 186 head of cattle valued
between $130,000 and $200,000; a
37-year-old man was arrested for
allegedly stealing cattle and selling
them for about $60,000; while a
41-year-old was also arrested for
allegedly using his position as a
stock agent to sell stolen cattle.
Above: WA Police
images from the
operation
PRIMARY PRODUCER TRUCK REGISTRATION CHANGES IN NSW
New South Wales amendments to laws
governing the Primary Producer Vehicle
Registration Scheme look set to change what
are seen as a rort harming rural trucking while
cashing up the undeserving.
Penalties will rise from $2,200 to $11,000 for
corporations that attempt to register a vehicle
by making a false statement.
The Road Transport Legislation Amendment
Bill 2021, introduced by state regional transport
and roads minister Paul Toole, proposes
amendments to the Road Transport Act 2013
and the Motor Vehicles Taxation Act 1988.
"The increase is necessary as the value
of the primary producer concession can be
almost $10,000 for a heavy vehicle, creating
a large financial incentive for ineligible
customers to seek to exploit the concession,”
Tool said in his second reading speech.
"A new offence with equivalent penalties
will also be created for falsely claiming a
registration concession."
Amongst other things, such as removing
"inconsistencies and red tape to better serve
the needs of New South Wales farmers",
the changes aim to "rectify a longstanding
legislative anomaly caused by a drafting
error which incorrectly applies a monetary
cap on heavy vehicle primary producer
registration charges".
"The objective of the amendments is not
designed to reduce the number of eligible
primary producers; rather, it is to ensure
that genuine primary producers receive the
concession while preventing exploitation or
gaming of the concession, which could give
some road transport operators an unfair
business advantage over others," Toole told
NSW Parliament.
"The current requirement that primary
producer vehicles cannot be used for let or hire
will remain in place to maintain a level playing
field, so as not to disadvantage road transport
companies that are not entitled to receive the
primary producer concession.
"Penalties for breaching such a condition,
including registration suspension, currently
exist under road transport law."
The amendments will provide a single point
of reference for all heavy vehicle registration
charges and consolidate the minister's
exemption powers within the Road Transport
Act by removing duplicative provisions in the
Motor Vehicles Taxation Act.
12 ATN July 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU