Late on Thursday, the Federal Court of Australia dismissed an application to stop the introduction of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal Payments Order, which changes the conditions of self-employed truck drivers and threatens to put thousands of owner-drivers out of business.

The Government intervened in support of the application to the Court and is disappointed at the outcome.

The Court’s decision means the Payments Order will now come into effect. It is essential that the Senate pass the Government’s legislation to delay the commencement of any Payments Order until 1 January 2017.

The Government shares the widespread concerns about the impact of the new laws on owner-drivers and the threat the Payments Order poses to all those who rely on an efficient and competitive road transport industry.

It is now imperative that non-Government members of Parliament support the Government’s legislation to protect owner-drivers.

This is a mess created by Bill Shorten, who as Minister for Workplace Relations created the RSRT in 2012. The Coalition is determined to fix it.