Truckies split on convoy protest

The peak organisation representing the Australian trucking industry has slammed the Convoy of No Confidence protest, which arrived in Canberra this morning, as naïve and damaging to the industry.

The protesters, who are calling for a double dissolution election, have a multitude of concerns: the carbon tax, the ban on live cattle exports, the Malaysia refugee people swap deal, pokies reform and more.

"We didn't organise the convoy and we don't endorse it," Bill McKinley, spokesman for the Australian Trucking Association, told The Power Index this morning.

He says the convoy "makes it harder for us to present our case and get results."

"We get results through professional lobbying and advocacy. We believe our approach gets the best results for industry."

"Many of the protesters' concerns have nothing to do with the trucking industry," he adds. "Senator Wong's baby news, they're apparently upset about that."

The ATA represents 55 transport and logistics organisations including supply chain giant Linfox.

The two-day rally, which has been compared to Tea Party protests in the US, has been organised by Mick Pattel, president of the breakaway National Road Freighters Association. Pattel was endorsed by the Liberal National Party for the state seat of Mount Isa but withdraw earlier this year after it was revealed that he had supported global warming conspiracy theories.

In the lead-up to the 2009 Copenhagen climate change conference, Pattel said he was a believer in the "New World Order" conspiracy which contends that international action on climate change is a ruse to introduce a new global government and army.

The ATA's McKinley says the protesters' call for a snap election was constitutionally impossible.

"Rule number one of any campaign is to have feasible objectives. The objective of the convoy is that they want a double dissolution election [but] there's not a double dissolution trigger. They're asking the Prime Minister to do something that, even if she wanted to, she could not do."

Mick Pattel and other protest organisers were unavailable for comment this morning.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott joined the convoy yesterday in Goulburn and told the Ten Network's Andrew Bolt that the participants were "salt of the earth Aussies who are hard working and want to see a government that deals fairly with them".

The convoy has had a disappointing turnout today with only 80 or so trucks making the trek to Parliament House. Canberrans have reported a quieter than usual day on the roads.