I’ve much to share with you arising from preparations for the MTA Executive and Board meetings and from my busy round of divisional and advocacy activities.
A new experience for me, and a first for MTA Queensland, is supporting the Tradeswomen in Australia conference at the Salisbury Construction Training Centre. The conference is themed ‘Educate, Empower, Unite’. We are hosting the keynote heavy vehicle mechanic speaker Louise Azzopardi who was the sector’s national champion in the WorldSkills competition. I’ll attend one day of the conference to be held 8-9th March and our Marketing and Communications Manager Lysa Dugandzic will be at the events of the second day.
The focus of the conference will be celebrating the longevity of women in trades and driving a national direction that continues to attract, train, mentor and retain women in non-traditional trades. This is most apt as our MTA Institute has several women undertaking apprenticeships / training in the motor trades and others are working successfully in the industry. By way of example, the 2014 MTA Institute Apprentice of the Year award winner was Sarah Gale of Rego’s Mobile Mechanical Services in Atherton. As highlighted in various editions of Motor Trader many women are in ownership and operation business roles in our Industry.
SUPPORT
In the 2017-2018 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced the Industry Specialist Mentoring for Australian Apprentices (ISMAA) program. The ISMAA program will aim to increase apprentice retention rates, particularly in the first two years of training, to improve completion rates and support the supply of skilled workers in specific industries.
MTA Queensland is delighted to be an ISMAA Provider to the automotive industry for 2018 & 2019. The program is available for all your eligible apprentices and trainees (eligibility criteria applies). Please make contact with us for the guidelines. You can send an email to [email protected] to register your interest or call us. Read more about the program here.
DIVISIONAL NEWS
As indicated in previous Viewpoints, it is my practice to attend divisional meetings and for my Services and Support staff to provide the secretarial duties. In the lead up to the February Board meeting and into March, each of the divisions meet to discuss policy and trade matters. I’ll share with you some of the key issues from these meetings and reports. A welcome sentiment expressed was the upswing in the economy. Offsetting this was the lack of uniformity of growth across the State coupled with the rapid change in the automotive industry and consumer habits that affected businesses.
All divisions recognised that adapting to change was a prerequisite to be sustainable into the future.
The strength of the Association is reliant on its membership. Each division had the goal of increasing its membership and ensuring knowledge of the comprehensive suite of assistance measures e.g. support, services, training and corporate partner savings available to members. From my perspective, it is important for all members to obtain the maximum benefits from their membership.
The Rental Vehicle Industry division chair Grant Harrison reported that the Queensland Police Service (QPS) attended a meeting to provide understanding of the processes pertaining to stolen vehicles
In discussion, helpful information was gained by both members and the QPS. The division continues to watch the growing space of ‘Not My Fault’ free accident replacement rental operators and its charging mechanisms. Advertising and sales processes by one company has been under investigation by the ACCC.
The chair of the Motorcycle Industry division Paul Petersen has a full agenda for the coming quarter. This includes continuing to work with the government on the new training requirements for licensing. An issue of concern being pursued relates to exhaust pipes with the focus on better policing and an audit of compliance activity for air injection systems so that the same rules are enforced for industry and consumers.
The chair of the Automotive Remarketing division Peter Dever has advised that concentration will be on driveway pricing processes; handling of tolls; and streamlining vehicle disposal.
The National Auto Collision Alliance chair Ben Chesterfield reported that membership continued to be strong and the committee was focused on education and awareness around The Code of Conduct and Choice of Repairer marketing collateral. The Chair of the Service Station and Convenience Store Association Tim Kane advised that the focus was on the introduction of the fuel price board regulation on January 31st 2018. It appears that roll out of the implementation of the changes went smoothly with only one breach identified.
ADVOCACY
I’m in the process of reviewing our submission to the Inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020. Its focus is on the technological advances to Australia’s land transport private and commercial fleet which substantially contribute to road safety for the benefit of all stakeholders. In the coming days, I’ll be finalising our input into the Motor Accident Insurance Commission’s request for views on current factors and trends influencing the cost of insurance under the statutory insurance scheme.
As is our practice we will be presenting a pre-budget submission to Queensland Treasury identifying our priorities for consideration in the preparation of the 2018-19 State Budget.
Group Chief Executive Dr Brett Dale and I had our first meeting since the State election with Office of Fair Trading (OFT) senior officers. The agenda items pursued related to auction houses and warranties; driveaway pricing as it relates to online platforms; and fuel nozzles that aligned with colour codes for each product. The OFT advised that it was working to implement, by April 2018, an online licence renewal facility for licences relating to Motor Dealers. The OFT’s quarterly compliance activity for licensed motor dealer business had some positive news after random spot checks were completed across businesses only one breach was issued.
In my last Viewpoint, I said we had written congratulatory letters to all elected State Members of Parliament and invited them to meet with us to discuss issues relevant to the automotive value chain
We’ve had an excellent response, including from the Shadow Attorney General & Shadow Minister for Justice David Janetzki. Brett and I will meet with him before the end of the month.
It provides an opportunity to promote the Carmageddon series, Myriad, the MTAiQ Innovation Hub, the MTA Institute and discuss key industry and policy issues.
On a regular basis I meet with the Association’s corporate partners. Earlier in the month, I spoke with Capricorn and in the coming days will be meeting with the Commonwealth Bank. I encourage members to peruse the member benefits that are available and the potential for savings from our corporate partners.
ACCC PETROLEUM REPORT
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Report on the Australian Petroleum Market December qtr. has just emerged in my in-box. A quick perusal indicates that average prices in Brisbane were 138.5 cpl, which was 4.3 cpl higher than the average across the other four largest Australian cities. It included findings from the ACCC’s October 2017 report on the Brisbane petrol market stating that petrol prices have been substantially higher than those in the other four largest cities for the last eight years. Between 2009–10 and 2016–17, Brisbane motorists paid on average 3.3 cpl more for petrol than motorists in the other four largest cities. The main factor influencing the higher prices in Brisbane is higher retail margins on petrol, which have contributed to profits in Brisbane being significantly higher than the average across Australia.
FINALLY
Changes within the MTA Queensland structure necessitated a review of the Association’s constitution which resulted in several amendments. These were circulated prior to the November 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and agreed to by the Board. On 23 November 2017, following the AGM, details of the alterations to the rules was lodged with the Fair Work Commission (FWC). It is pleasing to report that on 14th February 2018, the FWC advised that the alterations complied with the legislative requirements and approved.
Until April, take care and stay safe.