Primed for infection

Entering our third pandemic year, owner-drivers and small fleet operators are frustrated and exhausted. The transport industry has carried Australia’s pandemic response, moving essential goods and medical supplies across the country, including during this most recent Omicron wave.

Drivers have put up with extraordinary demand, confusing border changes and little support to stay safe from the virus, all while wealthy retailers, supermarkets and manufacturers at the top dial up the deadly contracting pressures they put on national supply chains.

Yet, despite the odds, drivers have risen to meet the challenges thrown at them because