CRT News Podcast

CRT News Podcast Host, Peter Shields, sat down with Simon O'Hara, CEO of Road Freight NSW, for a candid industry conversation. From pressures on small operators to the political realities influencing freight policy, O'Hara lays out exactly what's broken and what needs to change. In this episode, O'Hara unpacks the decade‑long battle over ports and containers, the future of toll reform as well as a critical safeguard for productivity at Port Botany. He also dives into the looming loss of generational knowledge and the urgent need to attract new talent into trucking. His insights into Covid‑era collaboration with government reveal how fragile, and how essential, the freight network truly is. We also explore O'Hara's push for community engagement and his support for Senator Glenn Sterle's crackdown on sham contracting.

What does genuine safety leadership look like in the road transport industry? Leigh Smart, CEO of Formula Chemicals, in conversation with our host Peter Shields, joins the CRT News Podcast to discuss the realities of managing Dangerous Goods transport in a highly regulated environment. He reflects on his experiences dealing with multiple regulators, implementing new compliance technologies, training drivers and building a culture where safety is everyone's responsibility. Smart also shares why proactive engagement with regulators delivers better outcomes than confrontation, and what the industry can do to improve standards while remaining commercially competitive.