Interesting days ahead

And so, it begins: a new government with a reform agenda and a promise to put some of our critical issues higher on the list

How are we feeling as an industry about life under a new Federal Labor Government? The answer to that question lies in a review of what’s important to us as industry players, business owners, employers and employees. We always have a long list, but we probably have three important and key issues for negotiation with the Federal Government: Mandatory Data Sharing, the Skills Shortage and Future Fuels. Top of our list of course is the choice of repairer campaign, and our Mandatory Data Sharing Law is certainly safe – this new Law passed in June 2021 with bipartisan support. There is no possibility of a change in policy before the start date of 1 July 2022. The Labor Party committed to Your Car, Your Choice in the past election and carried that through to the Policy Platform in 2022. Very high on our list is our critical and debilitating skills shortage and there is possibly some potential for a fresh approach with a new government. Whilst the previous government was actively talking about skills and labour shortages, the election of a new government has injected a new sense of urgency to address what is a national crisis. We had a massive national skills gap before 2022, and the global pandemic shutting our borders to potential employees just added to more urgency and desperation to our predicament. The skills crisis is complex – there is a great deal to unravel what is a multitude of policy and government regulations that are clearly broken and not working: we have less new starters into our industry, concerns about retention as other industries poach from each other, and the cost of facilitating skilled migration is excessive and not commercially viable. We are almost one technician short for every single workshop in the country. We have 28,000 independent repairers and close to 30,000 vacancies. The reality is that new governments are often more willing to open up to change and less likely to be defensive about the status quo. A new government does represent a chance to raise all of the factors at play that lead to vacancies that are unfilled even after weeks of advertising. I did have several conversations with the Opposition during the campaign period specifically raising the Labor Policy for free TAFE places. These TAFE funded places were based on the Priority Skills List that doesn’t include mechanics. I pointed out that that Skills List is broken – the designers of that policy agree but that’s the best that was available at the time. The way in which the government assesses what is a priority for skills is wrong – it’s been broken for some time. A new government is often more open to a critical review of that system and sometimes this can be better than dealing with one that has governed for over a decade. Finally, we are looking for some lateral thinking on EVs and future fuels. Rebates for new car owners and building more public charging is an obvious and easy low hanging fruit. We want a dialogue about innovative policy options that embrace the after sales experience; investing in technician training, workshop charging and assisting the aftermarket to become future ready. There has been some commentary about whether we as an industry association need to spend some time rebuilding and introducing ourselves to the new regime. Fortunately, a good strategy for us has been to always engage with all sides of politics and our relationships are sound and robust. But we have a chance, at least during the early days of this new government, to have a fresh dialogue and open up to new solutions to some of embedded problems. Let the games begin.

Lesley Yates, AAAA Director of Government Relations and Advocacy info@aaaa.com.au

DEVELOPING VICTORIA’S FUTURE HOME OF MOTORSPORT

Funding has been promised towards an important motorsport venue for Victoria

The Victorian Government has allocated $1.7million in its 2022/2023 budget to undertake design, master planning and site due diligence for the ‘Home of Victorian Motorsport’. Motorsport Australia Chief Executive Officer, Eugene Arocca, said the funding was a significant step in developing another important motorsport venue for Victoria. “We have been working closely with the Victorian Government around discussions for a new motorsport venue in the state, which we know is sorely needed,” Eugene said. “This funding announcement is a terrific show of support from the Andrews Government who like us, can see the need for more facilities as motorsport’s popularity continues to grow. “The funding will allow the Victorian Government and Motorsport Australia to conduct preliminary work into finding a location for a Victorian Home of Motorsport and allow more people to enjoy more motorsport more often.” All locations will be considered, as well as the size and scope of the venue. “This is early days in the project, but as many people would know, you need to put in the hard work now for the benefit of the sport into the future,” Eugene said. “This support from the Victorian Government is in addition to the many funding programs they have initiated with us, benefiting Motorsport Australia affiliated clubs and venues, so we are very grateful that they see the benefit motorsport delivers to the state. “Our recent Ernst & Young research highlighted motorsport’s strong contribution to the state’s economy, with motorsport contributing 4,400 direct jobs in Victoria, as well as more than $800million of gross output every year. This new venue will only see that grow in the years ahead.” Victoria’s Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula, said the sport’s growth highlighted the need for more facilities. “Motorsport participation is growing rapidly across the state and we’re undertaking detailed planning work to help make the Victorian Home of Motorsport a reality,” Mr Pakula said. “I look forward to Motorsport Australia finalising the location of the Victorian Home of Motorsport and seeing the plans for the new precinct.” For more from Motorsport Australia, visit www.motorsport.org.au

PEDDERS RELEASES 2021 EMPLOYMENT SURVEY RESULTS

Pedders has scored highly in the bi-annual Pedders People Survey as employee satisfaction trends upward

Every second year Pedders Suspension and Brakes encourages all people employed within the Pedders Group to take part in the bi-annual Pedders People Survey. This survey is offered to a vast array of people with different skillsets and specialisations, from franchise owners and franchise staff to senior management and head office employees. The aim of the survey is to assist Pedders to identify strengths and weaknesses within the group, plus overall satisfaction levels of the ‘Pedders People.’ The results help track group improvement and drive business strategy to allow Pedders to attract, develop and retain great quality people. The survey covered all states and territories of Australia and even members outside of Australia that are part of the Pedders international network. Overall, Pedders reports that the results of the survey were very positive, with most of the 13 categories surveyed trending in the upward direction in terms of satisfaction levels over the last few years. Health and Safety was ranked the highest in terms of satisfaction at 92 percent, followed by Customer Service, Company Image, Management Teams and Well Being, which were all around 90 percent satisfaction levels. In nine out of the thirteen categories, Pedders ranked above 80 percent, suggesting the overall satisfaction levels of Pedders’ people is quite high. In terms of employee engagement, respondents ranked the business at a strong 88 percent. Three quarters of the survey said they would find it difficult to leave Pedders and have high intent to remain in the business, while 81 percent said they are confident they can achieve their career objectives at Pedders. Out of the survey data, 93 percent of people recommend Pedders products to a family member or friend, and almost all considered the customers when making decisions. The Pedders product offering also rated highly as people within the business noted that they believed the quality of Pedders parts to be of a high standard with a great warranty offer. Overall, while there were some areas of weakness identified, the business has committed to improving in these areas and the bulk of the feedback was extremely positive. Pedders says this data reflects Pedders as a prime location for long-lasting and fulfilling careers in the Australian automotive industry and states the business is proud of the positive culture that exists between Pedders People. For more information, visit www.pedders.com.au

STUDY CONFIRMS SAFETY OF AIR QUALITY IN TRADE FAIR HALLS WITH PROPER VENTILATION

The findings may mean that trade fairs can be held safely even during a pandemic

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, events of all kinds were shut down out of safety concerns. It was virtually unheard of for a trade show to be held over the past two years in most regions with health and safety protocols. This was of course due to the belief that when people breathe, they emit aerosols that may include virusinfected particles, which could lead to widespread infections of a crowd in an enclosed space. A study was held in the second half of 2021 to test the air quality during trade shows at the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds in Germany, which has sophisticated ventilation systems. The study was conducted by Messe Frankfurt and a team of researchers from the Institute of Building and Indoor Climate Technology, E.ON Energy Research Centre, RWTH Aachen, and Heinz Trox Wissenschaft GmbH. Under the direction of Professor Dirk Müller, contamination levels were measured at three trade fairs, Indoor-Air, Formnext, and Food Ingredients (Fi) Europe. These were held in Halls 3 and 12 at Messe Frankfurt. Measurements were taken in the supply air and exhaust ducts of the ventilation systems, and there were an additional 22 censors in continuous operation during the events positioned at visitor head heights on columns, near aisles and stands, and in adjacent areas. Aerosols are emitted through breathing the same way as CO2, so the concentration of CO2 in the air served as an indicator of contamination of indoor air. The goal is to not exceed a CO2 level of 1,000 ppm or parts per million, as anything above 2,000 ppm is considered hygienically unacceptable. The researchers report that in its study, all CO2 concentrations measured in the study were consistently well under 1,000 ppm, and some were just over 440ppm, which is close to outdoor air quality. They report there was a maximum level of 835 ppm on the day with the highest number of visitors. “These new study results show that there was good air circulation in all of the halls under examination and at all three events, without any recognisable pockets of uncirculated air,” Messe Frankfurt Member of the Executive Board, Uwe Behm, said. “The concentrations of CO2 at the individual measurement points varied only very marginally from those in the exhaust ducts, meaning that the mix of air is virtually ideal.” Messe Frankfurt says these results are encouraging, indicating that it may well be possible to hold trade fairs safely with additional safety and hygiene measures in place even during a pandemic. For more information and to access a link to the study, see the press section of www.messefrankfurt.com