I spoke in Parliament on the important private member’s motion raised by the Member for Oxley and to add my support to Labor’s plan to implement an industry specific auto dealership code, that will finally deliver clear ground rules for manufacturers and dealerships that aims to make the industry fair and be of benefit to the consumers.
This year, I met with local repairers in my electorate, including Damien and Debbie Theuma of Active Motor Repairs in Craigieburn. They and other business owners detailed the difficulties they were facing with the advent of car dealerships monopolising the repair and warranty market. The lack of data sharing, in particular, has affected their business and highlighted the importance of legislating a mandatory code for data sharing.
Business owners, like Damien and Debbie, feel that the ACCCs report should be adopted in its entirety.
The report concluded that vehicle manufacturers that sell into the Australian market limit access to service and repair information for independent repairers.
The report also found that this created an artificial monopoly and allowed manufacturers to inflate the mark-ups on servicing and repairs. Laws in the USA and the EU prevent this abuse of market power.
Under a Shorten Labor Government car manufacturers will be required to share information about their vehicles with every Australian mechanic. Australia wide this means a boost for 23,000 independent mechanics and will allow car owners more choice when it comes to servicing and repairing their vehicles. Labor understands it’s your car and it should be your choice where it gets repaired – our plan will deliver money to the household budget and give local mechanics a fair go.
