The truckie of two decades who grew up in Dubbo is making a determined defence of a road safety watchdog that has controversially set new pay rates for drivers.

He said the order by the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal contained the minimum safe rate that would achieve cost recovery and the driver award payments.

But not everyone sees it the same way, with truck drivers who own and operate their own small businesses saying they will be forced out.

Mr Corcoran has headed to Canberra where both supporters and opponents of the tribunal have gathered to pressure the country's leaders as they decide its fate.

The Turnbull government wants to abolish the tribunal - a creation of the Gillard government - when Parliament returns this week, and appears to have the numbers in the Senate to do so.

It's the crossbench senators Mr Corcoran hopes to sway during his time in the nation's capital, which will also include turning out to a pro-tribunal rally being organised by the Transport Workers Union (TWU).

TWU secretary Tony Sheldon last week warned the tribunal's aim was to save lives and protect the welfare of truck drivers and its abolition could "kill people".

On Friday while visiting Dubbo Mr Corcoran contacted the Daily Liberal to enter the debate and continue the safety campaign he began in the wake of the death of his truck driver friend, David Barrett, on the Bruce Highway in 2012.

The Gold Coast-based man warned if the tribunal and its order were abolished the market "would drop the rates and put more people's livelihoods in jeopardy".

"I'm very concerned," Mr Corcoran said.

"The amount of truck drivers killed - over 700 in the past 10 years - is not being addressed at all if we remove the safety watchdog," he said.

"It does not honour the fallen men and women - it will increase the numbers of them."

Mr Corcoran, who said that although he was a TWU member he was speaking as an individual, told of having an application to the tribunal.

In it he is pushing for payment of "danger money" to be extended to employee drivers such as himself.

He said at the moment it was only paid to contract drivers.

"If the tribunal goes, that's it, there's nowhere for me to take this issue," he said.

On Sunday a convoy of several hundred truckies circled Parliament House and sounded their vehicles' horns to protest the pay rates.

Some of the trucks had home-made signs saying "Let owner drivers keep carrying Australia" and "Save owner drivers' jobs".

Parkes MP Mark Coulton wants the tribunal abolished and says he is hoping to speak on the legislation on Monday or Tuesday.

He said the tribunal was "ill-conceived" and owner-drivers were going to be "greatly disadvantaged".

The MP said it was called a safety program, but the formula it was forcing owner-drivers to use meant they had to charge more, while employed drivers did not have to follow the same rules.