Motor Trader magazine, July 2016

JULY 2016

EMBRACING THE DIGITAL FUTURE HOW BEING NLINE CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MOTOR TRADES ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND

MEMBERS CLASSIC: 1974 LEYLAND P76

The benchmark of industry standards.

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▶ MOTOR VEHICLE SALESPERSON COURSE ▶ MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER COURSE No matter where you are, the MTA Institute’s comprehensive training courses are at your fingertips.

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vehicles to supplement stock for sale. ▶ Manage complex customer issues. ▶ Apply safe working practices in an automotive workplace. ▶ Communicate effectively in an automotive workplace. ▶ Establish relations with customers.

Salesperson Course $575 $460 for MTA Queensland members Dealer Course $1,030 $824 for MTA Queensland members

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Learn to: ▶ Determine used motor vehicle stock requirements. ▶ Apply sales procedures. ▶ Apply legal requirements relating to product sales.

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Contents Official Publication of the Motor Trades Association of Queensland

Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/MTAQueensland

HEAD OFFICE Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113 P.O. Box 4530, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113 Tel: 07 3237 8777 Fax: 07 3844 4488 Toll Free: 1800 177 951 Email: publications@mtaq.com.au Website: www.mtaq.com.au EDITOR Jonathan Nash ART DIRECTOR Marco Ilinic INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Ted Kowalski Paul Murray POLICY Kellie Dewar, General Manager MTA Queensland ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Barry Browne 03 9807 9154 Email: barry@barrybrownemedia.com.au EDITORIAL Editorial submissions are welcomed but cannot be guaranteed placement.

For more information telephone the Editor 07 3237 8777 SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including GST) Australia: $72.60 annually Overseas: $110 annually

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MOTOR TRADER PUBLISHING POLICY Motor Trader is the official publication of the Motor Trades Association of Queensland.

The role of Motor Trader is to inform members of current issues and legislation affecting the industry. As such it can be regarded as the business magazine for the Queensland motor industry. The role of Motor Trader is not to be in competition with the technical magazines already on the market. It will advise of new vehicles being released and of the latest technology incorporated into them; it will advise of latest technology affecting members in each of the MTA Queensland Divisions; it will keep members abreast of the latest in motor industry training and industrial affairs; and it will keep members informed of the latest technical aids available through MTA Queensland Member Services, which will assist members in staying ahead of the technological revolution presently being encountered within the motor industry.

The publisher reserves the right to omit or alter any advertisement and the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher for all damages or liabilities arising from the published material.

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MTA QUEENSLAND ABN: 74 028 933 848

02 From the editor

CORPORATE PARTNERS

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04 From the desk of the CEO

Feature 10 EMBRACING THE DIGITAL FUTURE

19 Training GM's Professional Circle perspective 20 Professional Circle training 23 Members matters 25 Member profiles 28 Industrial relations

14 News

OUTLOOK FOR QUEENSLAND: STATE BUDGET 2016-17

30 Concept Corner THE ROLLS ROYCE 103EX

16 Members Classic THE LEYLAND LEGACY: THE LEYLAND P76

33 Industry insight

ARE YOU SPREADING YOURSELF TOO THINLY?

05 Policy/Viewpoint 08 MTA Q&A

PETER DEVER FROM SUPAMERC

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MEMBERS ESSENTIALS

July 2016 Motor Trader | 1

From the editor

JONATHAN NASH EDITOR

H

SAVE THE DATE

ELLO AND WELCOME to the July 2016 edition of Motor Trader.

As we are all aware, the automotive industry is going through a period of substantial change: the manufacturing of vehicles will soon come to an end in this country; new rules regarding the importation of cars are being discussed; the evolution of hybrid and all-electric technologies is now a regular part of industry conversation, and the continued development of autonomous vehicle technology is a regular item of international news. But it is not only in the fundamentals of the automotive industry that things are changing. The way we do business is too.

The rise of the internet and the development of technology, such as the smartphone and ipad, that allows the consumer to access its vast library of information from anywhere and at any time, has changed the way

people interact with each other and the world around them. Millions of people across Australia (and billions across the world) go online every day to connect with friends and family, get news updates, stream TV shows and, crucially, search for businesses that can provide the products and services they need. Being able to connect with those people online is essential for business, and embracing the online environment through websites and the social media is the focus of our main feature in this edition. Go to page 10 for more.

In our MTA Q&A feature this month we talk to Peter Dever from Supamerc in Brisbane. 20 years ago, Peter travelled to Hong Kong and began to import used Porsche 911s into Australia. Today, his business is a dealership with a difference. Using his vast experience and love of luxury and classic cars, Peter delivers prestige motors to customers both local and national while also sourcing and preparing classic cars for customers from Hong Kong to Perth and beyond.

You can read more on pages 8 and 9.

In our Member's Classic feature this month, we catch up with Les Gist from Supreme Group in Townsville to chat about his marvelous Leyland P76.

Branded, unfairly perhaps, as a real lemon after its launch in 1973, the P76 has a loyal following among many classic car fans and has been re-evaluated somewhat in recent times.

Les is certainly a fan of the car. He owned a brand new P76 in the 1970s which he used as a taxi - the very first in a business that is still running and

THE ANNUAL PRESIDENT’S BALL IS THE HIGHLIGHT ON THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY’S SOCIAL CALENDAR. THIS PRESTIGIOUS BLACK-TIE event will be marketed to all MTA Queensland members, clients and stakeholders and is expected to sell out.

The evening will feature dinner, entertainment and dancing and will include an awards ceremony recognising the best and brightest trainees and apprentices at the MTA Institute.

Date: Saturday 19th November 2016 Time: 6:30pm - 11pm Venue: Hilton Brisbane

2 | Motor Trader July 2016

which now has more than 40 vehicles in its fleet. 40 years later, Les found an identical P76 and restored it to look just like that original cab. It's a magnificent piece of work. You can check out the story on pages 16 and 17.

In Professional Circle training news this month, we have some great stories about MTA Institute apprentices. We talk to Rory McKenzie, a 24-year-old, fourth-year motorcycle apprentice working for Morgan and Wacker Harley-Davidson in Brisbane, who has worked on and modified a quite outstanding Harley Softail Deluxe.

We also highlight the work of Todd Erkilla and Evan Crisafulli who work at JD’s Fluid Connectors based in Ingham, North Queensland. The pair are working on an unusual project repairing a 24-tonne diesel locomotive used to transport sugar cane to processing and port facilities. You can read more about Rory on page 22, and more on Todd and Evan on page 20.

As always, we will endeavour to bring you news and insight into the industry, information on the latest training opportunities, and highlight members’ interests. If you have a story worth telling, want to appear in Member Profiles, or have a classic car, bike or truck you would like to see featured, then please contact me.

Cheers, Jonathan Nash jonathann@mtaq.com.au

As a special business offer for MTA Queensland members, you can have access to a payment terminal that can do more than take payments.

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$

The Commonwealth Bank has developed a new EFTPOS tablet called Albert that accepts card payments and also runs apps. To help keep your business moving, Commonwealth Bank has a special offer for MTA Queensland members.

Just open a new Commonwealth Bank Business Transaction Account by 31/12/2016 and link it to your existing or new Commonwealth Bank merchant facility.

terminal rental for 3 months*

$

monthly account fee on a Business Transaction Account – $10 monthly account fee waiver#

To take advantage of this offer, just contact MTA Queensland on 07 3237 8777.

Important Information: Offer available to referrals made via MTA Queensland between 01/01/2016 and 31/12/2016. *This offer is applicable to existing and eligible new merchant facilities.

To maintain the fee waiver, you must retain the required products contained in the offer (including settling your merchant facility to your linked Commonwealth Bank business transaction account). Otherwise the offer may be withdrawn. #To maintain the fee waiver, you must retain the required products, otherwise the offer may be withdrawn. Offer includes the monthly account maintenance fee of currently $10 on the Business Transaction Account linked to the merchant facility. Please refer to terms and conditions. This offer may be extended beyond the specified end date at the discretion of the Commonwealth Bank. Interest rates and fees are subject to change. Full conditions of use will be included in our Letter of Offer.

Applications for finance subject to the Bank’s normal leading criteria. MTA Queensland may receive a fee from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for each successful referral. Referral Fees are not payable on referrals from existing relationship managed Commonwealth Bank customers. This has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances before you act on it. Terms and conditions are available from commbank.com.au. Some of the apps shown require individual development. Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124. Australian credit licence 234945.

From the desk of the CEO

BRETT DALE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MTA QUEENSLAND

M

Y FOCUS OVER the past month has been on business planning with MTA Queensland staff in preparation for the next financial year, and networking with local and interstate stakeholders.

I’ve commenced meeting with our corporate partners to ensure products and services to members are optimum.

I’m confident we are well positioned for the coming financial year, having the resources, systems, skills and networks to progress the Association and deliver for the Membership.

To prepare for the future, a new business development team has been appointed. It will promote the MTA Queensland to the wider automotive value chain and prepare for membership growth. This means a stronger and more representative industry voice to Federal and State Governments. In conjunction with this, a member engagement plan for the next six months is in the process of being developed. An integral component is increasing and further developing our digital marketing capacity and the capability to support members desiring to create and benefit from digital marketing.

Stakeholder networking has provided the opportunity for me to introduce myself and to promote the Association as being a competent and effective advocate for Queensland’s automotive value chain. I found genuine goodwill to the MTA Queensland and an eagerness to work with us where synergies exist.

4 | Motor Trader July 2016

The stakeholder engagements have been several, including with the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce and the MTA South Australia. At each of these meetings there was a commitment to collaborate on key policies and issues to advance the automotive value chain.

Discussions with the MTA South Australia included opportunities, which I intend to pursue, to enhance and promote training businesses through shared resources.

A significant engagement in terms of the MTA Institute was the meeting with the lead consultant advocating and developing the proposal for the new industry skills council. I emphasised the need for a commitment to advisory committees to ensure national skills development takes into consideration Queensland’s automotive industry.

On the home front, I met with the Royal Automobile Club Queensland Group Chief Executive Officer and the General Manager of Advocacy.

We agreed to collaborate on policies of mutual interest such as transparent fuel pricing. I was particularly interested in its proposal to develop a recommended business list (mobile app) for its 1.3 million membership.

I asked to work with them and to consider our MTA Queensland’s certified member values and its articulation to preferred supplier status within the application.

I attended the ‘lock up’ for the State Budget briefing by the Premier Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Treasurer Hon Curtis Pitt. It is a good budget with funding for business programs and infrastructure. I was disappointed, however, that there was no focus on training by registered training organisations. A brief is on the website for Members to peruse.

In addition, I met the State Opposition to develop an engagement strategy with the relevant shadow portfolios similar to the liaison with the Government.

INDUSTRY A significant achievement was the signing of a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) on behalf of MTA Queensland with South Korea’s Jeollanamdo region’s Office of Education. Its purpose is to develop a working relationship between the two organisations to provide students from the region the opportunity to come to Australia to receive both automotive training with the MTA Institute and enjoy a period of work experience with Queensland automotive businesses.

It is a high-level partnership with mutual benefits for both entities.

We offer opportunities through pre-vocational training and our training delivery model and, in return, we learn about South Korea’s diverse manufacturing capabilities. The intention is to have a number of such study tours for international students similar to the pre-vocational programs for Australian students.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released information about business use of information technology which includes internet access, the use of broadband and web presence, social media presence and internet commerce (i.e. the placing and receiving of orders via the internet.) At 2014-15, 94.8 per cent of businesses had internet access, 48.6 per cent had a web presence and 34 per cent had a social media presence.

Business use of information technology increased across all platforms. The greatest change was in the proportion of businesses with a social media presence increasing three percentage points to 34 percent between 2013-14 and 2014-15.

This is timely information. As a consequence of the meeting that General Manager Kellie Dewar and I had with Office of Fair Trading (OFT) officers, there is a further digital service that may interest Members. The officers' briefing included information about the Australian Business Account (ABA) which is an online service designed to help business better manage all government-related licences, permits and registrations.

It is a national service delivered by a partnership of all Australian jurisdictions and local governments.

When the ABA is used, business will be able to create a free business account and use the account to deal with all levels of government, in all states and territories. To establish an account or for further information go to https://account.business.gov.au/ On the subject of digital technology, I note the Federal Government is addressing the regulatory regime for automated vehicles and has called for submissions. The MTA Queensland will make a response as it is a significant policy issue that government, industry and motorists must address. Likewise, the MTA Queensland must recognise the ‘innovation revolution’ that confronts the automotive industry chain. The MTAI is at the vanguard of the change with its hybrid electric and other developing technologies courses to train the automotive professionals and apprentices to service automated and electric vehicles.

The issue of ‘lemon laws’ has prevailed as a debatable policy issue for more than 12 months. As Kellie has indicated, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission intends to undertake market study into the new car retailing industry. We welcomed the announcement in a media statement, stating that the Association recognises the high value of consumer trust and the importance of transparency and fairness in the automotive industry’s dealing with the consumer.

Members’ attention is drawn to the Queensland Government’s new

public safety campaign in a bid to cut the number of quad bike deaths and injuries in the State. The new Ride ready campaign urges riders always to wear helmets and parents to keep children off adult-sized bikes.

ECONOMY The Reserve Bank Board left the cash rate of 1.75 per cent unchanged at its June meeting. The data before it suggested that further change in the near term was not needed as overall growth was continuing despite ‘a very large decline in business investment.’

Inflation was low and was expected to remain so particularly as growth in labour costs and very low cost pressures remained subdued.

The National Australian Bank’s business survey indicates that the non-mining sector of the economy continued their momentum with services continuing to lead the way.

Mining and manufacturing continue to be weak. Business conditions were construed as ‘above average’ but business confidence declined, maybe in part due to election uncertainty but also to ‘deterioration in the manufacturing and transport sectors.’

Consumer sentiment, according to the Westpac Melbourne Institute of Consumer sentiment, remained in positive territory although slightly dipping over the past month. The result represented a consolidation of the sentiment at improved levels.

NEW MOTOR VEHICLE SALES The respected VFacts data indicates that for May 2016 Queensland, new motor vehicles sales were subdued compared with the same month in 2015 and, indeed, when contrasted with the strong sales in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

In Queensland, there were 19,565 new motor vehicle sales in the current month - an increase of +253 or +1.3 per cent compared with May 2015.

Nationally, there was an increase of +3.6 per cent. On a year-to-date basis, a total of 94,692 new vehicles have been sold, an increase of +764 or +0.5 per cent on the same period of 2015. Nationally, there was a rise of +3.8 per cent.

VFacts stated that passenger cars continued to be the top selling category, with the vehicles making up 39.5 per cent of the total market for May 2016, down from 43.5 per cent a year ago. The popularity of the SUV segment continued to grow steadily with sales 37.5 per cent of the May market. Light commercial vehicles also grew, accounting for 20 per cent of the total market.

AND THE LAST THING At the top of my schedule for the coming month is the Membership growth strategy. Until August, as Henry Ford, the industrialist and the founder of the Ford motor company said, ‘execute ideas with enthusiasm … as it is the bottom of all progress.’

Policy/Viewpoint

A KELLIE DEWAR GENERAL MANAGER MTA QUEENSLAND

T ONE OF our meetings I attended recently, the subject of ‘innovation’ arose, engendering an interesting discussion.

What did it mean? Some construed it in a narrow sense of being confined to technological and mechanical changes whilst others saw it having broader compass that included ideas and methods.

I’m in the set that sees ‘innovation’ as all-encompassing - changes, ideas, methods and extending to adapting to challenges and opportunities that include service. Here at the MTA Queensland, to enhance service

delivery to members, we have introduced new processes, practices and programs. At the time, these may not have been construed in the sense of ‘innovations’ but in hindsight they are. Consider, for example, the Customer Relationship Management system for membership renewals (by the way, it is renewal time), the Professional Circle and the Strategic Plan.

Each has a core of smarter, effective and accountable delivery to members and, in the broader sense, to the public.

In particular the Professional Circle has all the ‘innovation’ hallmarks July 2016 Motor Trader | 5

Policy/Viewpoint having as its centrepiece the tools of advocacy, services, training, support and innovation to meet the challenges and opportunities of marketplace competition for the Membership and the MTA Queensland alike.

Whilst on the subject of ‘innovation’, nominations are open for MTA Queensland Awards - the Innovation Award and the Community Award. An excellent prize is on offer of a $1500 travel voucher, free flights to Brisbane and entry to the President's Ball where the winners will be announced. The closing date for nominations is 31 October, which gives time to refine the 500 words stating why your business or some other business has excelled in business creativity or involvement in communities.

An important date for your diary is the automotive value chain’s social event of the year - the Annual President’s Ball on Saturday, November 19. It is now in its 3rd year and has grown both in status and prestige.

The highlight of the evening is the announcements of the Apprentice of the Year and the Member Innovation and Member Community Awards.

ADVOCACY As indicated in June’s Viewpoint, a scheduled meeting with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was due. This occasion, I had the pleasure of being with and introducing CEO Brett Dale to OFT Officers. These meetings always are constructive, allowing us to raise matters of concern and equally for OFT to inform of pending policies or issues. One matter raised related to an E-Petition tabled in March 2016 calling for the ‘Reinstatement of the statutory warranty for used vehicles more than 10 years old or with more than 160,000km on the odometer’ to which there were 111 signatures.

With the introduction of the Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014 the ‘Class B’ warranty that had applied previously to used motor vehicles sold by motor dealers to consumers, where the vehicle was 10 or more years old, or had travelled more than 160,000 kilometres, ceased.

The reason was that the consumer 6 | Motor Trader July 2016

guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law of 2011 applied to all products and services. In reply to the E Petition, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice Yvonne D’ath said she intended to give careful consideration to the concerns raised.

'Lemon laws’ are back in focus.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has advised it will launch an investigation into ‘the new car retailing industry following a ‘high volume of complaints’ about defects.’

It will focus on the four key areas of: • Compliance with consumer guarantees obligations and the ability of consumers to enforce their rights.

• False, misleading and deceptive practices in performance, fuel efficiency, fuel consumption and emissions.

• The effect on competition and consumers of post-sale care arrangements (such as servicing).

• Whether consumers and businesses could be affected by any restrictions on vehicle access to data.

A discussion paper will be released in the near future to which I will respond on behalf of Members.

The issue of ‘lemon laws’ is an ongoing policy issue to which we have made strong submissions. As said in the June Viewpoint, ‘lemon laws’ is being considered in the review of the Australian Consumer Law by the Ministerial Council of Consumer Affairs to which we made a submission.

As indicated in the June Viewpoint, the Chair of the Motorcycle Industry Division Paul Peterson and I had scheduled a follow-up meeting with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) on brake testing for motorcycles with the aim of reaching a consensus. The issue remains unresolved but progressed to the extent that MTA Queensland and TMR will both undertake research on a preferred decelerometer.

TMR drew our attention to the Queensland Government’s significant changes to the State’s motorcycle licensing system to be rolled out from October 2016. These include

requiring learner riders to hold their motorcycle learner licence for at least threw months before progressing to an RE licence, and extending the minimum time to hold an RE licence before progressing to an R licence from one to two years. The changes are in response to a discussion paper on motorcyle licensing. More can be found on the DTMRs website.

SUBMISSIONS A written submission signed off related to the Motor Accident Insurance Commission’s review of the limits to apply to Compulsory Third Party premiums for the assessment period commencing October 1, 2015.

We submitted that the premiums should remain unchanged due to the increase in registration fees and the additional cost to the Compulsory Third Party Insurance of $32 per vehicle for the National Injury Insurance Commission. In addition, I responded to the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman’s discussion paper, ‘Advocating for small business and family enterprises’. These are on the website for perusal. Pending is a submission on ‘Regulatory options for automated vehicles.’

VISITS I have not advanced the visits schedule. With the end of the financial year and the Federal election out of the way, I will be able to commence speaking with Corporate Partners about prospective dates.

SURVEY This Viewpoint, I have extracted this nugget from the Survey. In responding to the length of membership with MTA Queensland, 54 per cent indicated more than 10 years; 18 per cent 6 - 10 years; 13 per cent 3 -5 years and 8 per cent 1 year.

FINALLY I gently suggest the President’s Ball, Saturday, November 19, at the Hilton be entered and highlighted in the business and social diary.

As always, take care and stay safe.

MTAQ is pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the Innovation Award and the Community Award - to be presented at this year’s President’s Ball on November 19.

These awards have been created to recognise the business creativity of MTAQ members and their involvement within the communities they serve.

From business methods that benefit the environment or improve productivity, to relationships with local communities through charitable works, the award judges - including MTA Queensland Chairman David Fraser and the Executive team - want to look at any and all initiatives.

Representatives of the winning businesses are

required to attend the event and will, if needed, be flown to Brisbane and provided accommodation at the Hilton Brisbane. But staying at the Hilton is not the only reward. Recipients will also receive a trophy, a $1500 travel voucher and exposure through MTAQ’s website, social media presence and Motor Trader magazine. So get involved and nominate either your own business or the business of another member who you think has excelled in either of these areas.

Let us know, via email and in 500 words or less, which business has been nominated, why they have been nominated and include either photographic or documentary evidence to support the nomination, and away we go!

INNOVATION AWARD We often think of innovation in terms of technology, but innovation comes in many forms. From engaging employees with unique incentive programs to methodologies that streamline workflows and increase production; from waste management to quality control; from new product lines to changes to old ones; from customer service programs to unique building, planning and environmental projects.

‘Innovation’ can cover any improvement or adjustment to your business.

COMMUNITY AWARD MTA Queensland knows many members are involved with their community beyond the boundary of their business - be it via charitable works, fundraising, volunteering or direct work in the community.

The Community Award recognises a member business which has identified how important their role can be within the community they serve and which has responded with projects, programs and initiatives reflecting that importance.

The nomination process is open now and closes at Noon on Monday, October 31

The winners will be notified by Friday, November 4

Email your nomination to info@mtaq.com.au

WINNERS RECEIVE Return flights to Brisbane A night at the Hilton Brisbane Free entry to The President’s Ball $1,500 travel voucher

2015 WINNER

Steve Hayes accepted the award on behalf of Chip Tyre

Awarded to Chip Tyre. The company is involved in the recycling of end-of-life tyres, breaking down the tyres to create rubber crumb that can be used in a wide range of applications, from tile adhesive glue to children’s playground matting. Using equipment that is capable of shredding 25 tonnes of tyres per hour, Chip Tyre is the only producer of rubber crumb in Queensland, processing in excess of 2000 tonnes per month.

2015 WINNER

Bruce Keown accepted the award on behalf of the Bruce Lynton Automotive Group

Presented to the Bruce Lynton Automotive Group, recognising the generous and ongoing support from the Group to a wide range of charities and community initiatives. Included amongst the charities the Group supports are 4 ASD Kids (a charity founded by Chloe and Mat Rogers, which focuses on caring for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)), Guide Dogs Queensland and Cancer Council Queensland.

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IT’S TIME TO NOMINATE FOR THE MTAQ AWARDS

MTA

QA &

What products and services does Supamerc provide?

PD: We work in pre-owned, prestige retail selling Mercedes, BMW, Peugeot amongst other marques. We also offer a service to source collectible classics from around the world and offer restoration advice in relation to those purchases. That advice covers everything, right down to elements such as paint protection. If restoration work is required we use only the most experienced, skilled contractors.

How did you get involved in the industry?

Ben Griffin and Peter Dever

PD: I grew up in a family that was involved in the motor trade in Sydney and some of my earliest experiences are of going down to the Pyrmont Wharves with my father when he was importing Mustangs. I would actually help him with the quarantine clean there on the wharf. When I finished high school I was ready to get involved but my father told me to do something I could ‘fall back on’. So, I went to work for the National Bank for a number of years, eventually becoming the credit manager for the Brisbane Markets.

I still loved cars, of course, and in 1999, with a buddy in tow, I went to Hong Kong to buy used Porsche 911s.

We were buying a couple of containers of them, bringing them back here, selling them, and doing it again.

Supamerc would evolve from this.

We went back in about mid-2000 to see the dealer who had sourced the Porsches for us and he said ‘I only have one for you. You have bought them all!’. He then suggested we take a look at buying a used Mercedes.

I bought a 1982 500 SEL and a couple of others, got them back here and they sold straight away. So, I jumped back on the plane and started buying Mercedes. I can’t tell you how many I bought out of Hong Kong before the rules changed.

20 years ago, Peter Dever travelled to Hong Kong and began to import used Porsche 911s into Australia. Today, Peter owns and runs Supamerc, a Brisbane-based dealership with a difference. Using his vast experience and love of luxury, performance and classic cars, Peter delivers prestige motors to customers both local and national while also sourcing and preparing classic cars for customers from Hong Kong to Perth and beyond.

So you had to diversify?

PD: That’s right. When the government changed the import rules we realised we had to get involved with the local market. I had been buying parts from Centenary Mercedes in Brisbane, so I went over there and talked to someone about buying used cars.

I ended up having a great relationship there buying their trade-ins, and that relationship still exists today.

So, we evolved into a used prestige car dealer. It was either evolve or become extinct. I do miss the travelling to Hong Kong and the cut and thrust of buying there but, in fact, we now export cars to Hong Kong!

What type of cars do you export to Hong Kong?

PD: They love muscle cars, and it’s only recently they have been able to access them. Cars have to be righthand drive as there is no left-hand concession in Hong Kong. They need to have a reliable source of right-hand drive classics and, because of my relationship with people there, it seems I was the right choice.

It's important to get things right.

If the car is not up to standard, then the Hong Kong Department of Transport will reject the car. The problem you have then is that you don’t get a second chance. It is rejected for good.

Where do you find the classic cars and what is the most unusual car you’ve been asked to find?

PD: The internet is vital, as is knowing where to look. I had a request from a customer in Hong Kong to find a 1965 Toyota S800. He bet me I couldn’t find one, but it took only 48 hours to locate one for sale in Harare in Zimbabwe.

It was a tricky business getting it out of Zimbabwe, into South Africa and then here, but it took just 10 days.

Funnily enough, the client eventually

decided he didn’t want the car so we ended up advertising it for sale and it is now in Chicago in the US. When we source a classic in Australia, we organise pre-purchase inspections through a company called VIP Automotive Solutions. They have agents all over the country and they inspect the car, send me a report and photos. We send that information to the client and go from there. I charge a flat 5% brokerage fee. You can’t really build a margin into these transactions and doing it that way has seen us get a lot of repeat business.

Who are you customers?

PD: The main part of the business is done through the site here in Brisbane – the prestige retail business. And we sell cars to clients across Australia.

The Mercedes market tends to be the older client. The BMW market tends to be a slightly younger client while the Peugeot market is probably a little more budget-conscious - say a younger person who wants a European car.

Our biggest seller is the C-Class Mercedes built from 2000 to 2006.

They are super-affordable and I am in the fortunate position where I am able to source very, very good examples.

I have, for instance, cars in the yard with 90,000 -100,000kms and a full Mercedes’ service history on them.

A number of other prestige dealers have disappeared over the past few years and I think, on the south side of Brisbane, I am the only one left.

But we’ve been able to maintain our presence because of the niche we are in.

To what do you attribute your success?

PD: Hard work and determination, and I know my father’s entrepreneurial skills were passed down to me. And customer service is important. There are too many dealers out there who, once they have your money, don’t want to know you.

That’s not us. We have never turned away anyone who might have a drama.

I have a policy that a lot of dealers don’t have, and that is if I wouldn’t put it in my own garage, and be happy driving it myself, then I won’t buy it.

I’m very particular about cars and strive to find the best available. There are times when I go to buy cars and come back with nothing because the quality I've seen isn’t up to the mark.

The cars we sell are the very best.

How many staff do you have?

PD: It’s just myself and my salesman Ben Griffin. He is responsible for sales and I am responsible for the buying, the reconditioning, the admin and so on.

You recently moved to new premises.

Why the move?

PD: One of the reasons we decided to move was because of hail storms.

The storm that went through in November 2014 missed us by a whisker, but I was hit by the next storm and we had more than 30 cars damaged. That caused a lot of heartache.

In the end, the owner of the site decided to sell. He offered it to me but we found this place which was brand new, on a great spot, was a bare shell and was zoned as a car retailing space.

So we leased it. Importantly, we can get a number of our cars into the building and more under the awning outside.

What do you do with your time off?

PD: I got divorced about a year ago and my new partner reignited my interest in motorcycles. I went out, got my RE licence and jumped on a motorcycle for the first time in 32 years!

I bought a couple of LAMSapproved bikes and recently a Harley Street Rod as I am about to do my open-licence test. Most Sundays I’m off with a group of guys on a 190km ride.

I enjoy it thoroughly.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 9

EMBRACING THE

B

Y THE TIME you have finished reading this sentence, Google will have processed 40,000 search queries (that’s more than 3.5 billion searches per day) being made by internet users just like you. That is a vast amount of information being circulated, read, shared and talked about, all online.

While a lot of this traffic may seem to be people searching for the latest celebrity gossip or the most up-todate sporting news, an equally vast number are consumers searching for a great deal, great service and a business which can deliver both.

The use of the internet as a way of finding, researching, booking, ordering, conversing with companies and even

paying for products or services has fundamentally changed the way business is done. And this change happened quickly – in fact, within the lifetimes of most of you reading these words.

Consider, for example, the hardware people use to access the internet. The personal computer arrived on the scene in the 1980s, while the smartphone dates back only to the early 2000s.

And what about the World Wide Web? The correct term for what most of us call ‘the internet’ (hence the www at the front of website addresses – and, indeed, the word ‘website’),

FACEBOOK ESTABLISHED BY MARK Zuckerberg (and others) in 2004 while he was at Harvard University. Originally a social networking site for fellow Harvard students, the site proved so popular it was quickly expanded to other universities in the US. In 2005 it expanded again, becoming

10 | Motor Trader July 2016

available to universities across the world and also in high schools.

As of September 2006, the network was extended beyond educational institutions to anyone with a registered email address.

By 2008, Facebook had 100 million

users and grew at an astonishing rate.

Today, the company claims nearly 1.4 billion users across the globe.

Several people who worked on developing Facebook have become extremely wealthy. Dustin Muskovitz, Eduardo Saverin and Chris Hughes were

all at Harvard with Zuckerberg and are all billionaires thanks to their early involvement with the company.

As for 32-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, he is Facebook’s CEO and worth a gargantuan US$44.6 billion (that’s AUS$60.2 billion).

E DIGITAL FUTURE the Web was invented in 1989 although most people wouldn’t have known of its existence until well into the 1990s.

All this technology, and the accompanying breakthroughs in software development that enabled the online publishing of information, has changed forever how people interact with each other. The way people utilise the internet to obtain the information that influences their key purchasing and decision making, and the opportunity this represents for businesses looking to take advantage of the new habits of the Australian consumer, has become known as ‘digital disruption’.

It may sound like just another bit of nerdy terminology, but ‘digital disruption’ describes pretty well the incredible changes new technology has had on the way business is done.

And it is BIG business. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the estimated value of internet income for businesses is nearly $270 billion.

For an owner-operator, the challenge is to embrace the changes and the opportunities that digital disruption offers - ignoring the changes that are taking place within the Australian community is to hamstring an enterprise from the start. As the proprietor of an automotive-related business, the way in which you deal and capitalise on digital disruption is more important than ever.

But what do you need to do to ensure your business remains relevant?

INVEST IN A WEBSITE THAT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR CUSTOMERS A website that is responsively designed across all desktop and mobile devices is critical to any business looking to compete in the digital economy. It is the most crucial piece of the digital marketing puzzle and does

something your bricksand-mortar business cannot – it seamlessly operates 24-hours a day, seven days a week, spruiking your products and services to potential customers whilst capturing new sales and marketing opportunities.

Today, the amount of mobile traffic (people who use a smartphone or tablet to browse content online) accounts for more than half of total internet traffic, highlighting the importance of ensuring your website provides an optimal viewing and interactive experience across a wide range of devices, from desktop computers to mobile phones.

TWITTER THE FIRST ‘TWEET’ on Twitter was sent in March 2006 by company founder Jack Dorsey. The site, which allows users to post messages of up to 140 characters, quickly gained in popularity and now has more than 310 million

users sending more than 500 million tweets per day.

The company also owns digital brands such as Vine (a service where users can share six-second long video clips), and video-streaming app Periscope, amongst others.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 11

EMPLOYING THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA Social media is an extremely powerful communication tool when leveraged to suit the marketing and advertising needs of your business. Facebook, the leading social media platform, has 1.65 billion monthly active users and shows no signs of slowing down.

While it was initially used as a way for friends and family to stay in touch and share photos and other personal content, Facebook has evolved and is now a fully integrated marketing and advertising platform that is equally popular with business owners as it is with personal users.

Being involved in the vast Facebook market is not that difficult or expensive (joining is free). The trick is providing something that will attract customers to your Facebook site. The old adage that ‘content is king’ works here, for it is content that fuels Facebook’s engine and is what keeps customers engaged.

But what content is the right content?

Social media users on Facebook are very particular about what they choose to engage with and building relationships is key. Customers are interested in seeing and hearing what a business has to say and this is where content is important.

For example: the team at your workshop or dealership recently participated in a community event. During the event, some really great photos and videos were taken by members of your team. What do you do with these photos and videos? Well, these become your content.

Take the material and upload it to your Facebook business page with a touch of positive sentiment. For example, you might say: A massive thank you to our entire team who rolled up their sleeves and participated in the annual community fundraising event last weekend. Together we raised over $10,000 – what a great effort.

This form of content marketing is digital public relations 101 - engaging the social media audience in a manner that reflects not just the daily happenings of your business, but also your community and the great people within it.

‘Hard sell’ advertising rarely works in this environment that is what a website is for - and the more engaging the Facebook content, the more likely users will ‘like’ your presence and click through to your website to determine if it is providing the products and services they need.

Though engagement with consumers through the use of thoughtful content is vital, Facebook does offer the option of paid advertising too. A highly targeted, and incredibly good value, lead generation tool, it can help businesses capture sales opportunities by focusing on, and feeding ads to, other Facebook users on the basis of

LINKEDIN FOUNDED IN 2002 by Reid Hoffman, a former executive of PayPal, the business-oriented networking service was launched online in 2003. The site is mainly used for business networking, allowing its users to connect with other

12 | Motor Trader July 2016

individuals and businesses and maintain professional contacts.

LinkedIn has more than 400 million users and, in June of this year, software giant Microsoft announced it was to buy the company for US$26 billion (AUS$35 billion).

YOUTUBE THE GLOBAL VIDEO-SHARING site was founded in 2005 by former PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. The idea of sharing videos with the world proved immensely popular and within a year more than 60,000 videos were being

uploaded to the site each day.

YouTube was bought by Google in late 2006 for US$1.65 billion (AUS$2.2 billion) and today the company has more than 1 billion users with more than 300 hours of new content being uploaded to the site every minute.

their geographical location and interests.

Of course, Facebook is not the only social media platform out there and others - such as Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are all extremely popular and can help a business thrive online.

Twitter, for example, is great for sharing information (in 140 characters or less) and has a community of more than 300 million users. Also offering a paid advertising option, it is unique in that a lot of traffic can be generated directly by a business’s followers for free. All it takes is for one ‘influencer’ with a significant follower base to re-tweet content and it could potentially reach thousands.

LinkedIn is a business-oriented networking service that allows its 400 million users to connect with other professional individuals and businesses. While similar to Facebook, its focus on professional networking gives an organisation more room to grow business-to-business relationships.

As for YouTube, the social media platform that started as a place for people to share funny videos has become another useful business tool. Video content is incredibly popular and with the proliferation of smart technology and devices that come armed with a camera, documenting what a business does and making that available online is priceless. With four billion people using YouTube daily, this content will certainly find a few viewers!

WHERE NEXT? We are in a period of great change when it comes to how we communicate with each other.

According to the ABS, 86 per cent of households in Australia have access to the internet and, on average, people spend 10 hours a week of their personal time online.

That’s a lot of people spending a lot of time ‘surfing the web’.

As for businesses, the ABS reports that 98.4 per cent of businesses had internet access but only 48.6 per cent had a web presence and a mere 34 per cent had a social media presence. That translates to more than half of Australian businesses missing out on the opportunities afforded through having an online presence.

Websites and social media are vital channels in helping businesses to get their message out to a public that is spending more and more of its time online. By creating more avenues to communicate you are actually strengthening your business capacities.

Social media, and the internet’s ability to connect your business with a vast audience, is here to stay. Embrace it.

The MTA Queensland can help if you are interested in finding out more about establishing an online presence for your business. Email us at info@mtaq.com.au for more information.

MTA QUEENSLAND EXPANDS RELATIONSHIP WITH SOUTH KOREA T

Queensland’s HE MOTOR TRADES involvement with Association of international Queensland (MTA partners.

Queensland) is “From our deepening its ties industry’s with South Korea perspective, there after signing a is the opportunity Memorandum of to drive interest in Agreement (MoU) skilled migration,” with the Jeonnam he said. “People region’s Office of come here to receive Education. training, can be Jeonnam is exposed to our Ms Park Seonmi, Senior Manager of Future Development Education for Jeonnam, and Dr Brett Dale, MTAQ CEO, with the signed MOU located in the industry and see southwest of South where skill shortages Korea and the aim for both exist, and that may organisations is to develop a motivate them to apply for working relationship which work through a 457 visa will provide students from arrangement. For the South the region the opportunity to Korean industry, there is the come to Australia to receive opportunity to export those both automotive training with learned skills back to the MTA Institute and enjoy South Korea.” a period of work experience Over the past few years, the Mr Paul Kulpa, General Manager MTA Institute, took the delegates on a tour of the MTAQ facility with Queensland automotive MTA Institute has developed businesses. a number of partnerships The MoU was signed with South Korean institutions with a large province of South Korea. during a visit to the MTA Institute’s and developed programs to enable We offer opportunities through pretraining facility, the Sir Jack Brabham South Korean students to train in vocational training and our training Automotive Centre of Excellence, by automotive in Queensland. In 2014, delivery model and, in return, we get the Institute signed an agreement a delegation from Jeonnam which the opportunity to learn from them. with the Daejon region’s Metropolitan included Ms Park Seonmi, Senior South Korea does, no doubt, have a Office of Education and subsequently Manager of Future Development lead in the manufacturing space and it trained 10 young students from that Education for the region. makes sense for us to be involved. region in Certificate I in Vocational Before taking a tour of the Institute’s “Traditionally, most international Preparation in Light Vehicle state-of-the-art workshop, MTA arrangements have been between Automotive. The students enjoyed Queensland CEO Dr Brett Dale and government organisations but we a four-week training course at the MTA Institute General Manager Mr Paul believe, with the industry connections MTA Institute’s training facility Kulpa gave a presentation on the work we have, that we are much more before moving on to work experience of the MTA Queensland and the MTA relevant than other training institutions. placements with a number of MTA Institute, and the training, education “We will run a number of study tours, Queensland member businesses. and employment opportunities one of which is committed for this year, In 2015, agreements were also available to overseas students. that will be similar to pre-vocational signed with the Kunjang University Both organisations, said Dr Dale, saw programs we run for Australian College, a Registered Specialised real opportunities, and could realise real students, and we will continue to build College based in the city of Gunsan benefits, through their new relationship. on our previous experiences with in the Jeollabuk-do region, and the “This is a high level partnership,” international training,” he added.

Advanced Institute of Convergence, he said. “The MTA Queensland is the Dr Dale also highlighted wider a Human Resource Development and industry peak body delivering cuttingopportunities for the industry Research company located in Seoul. edge training, and we are now working that might arise from the MTA

News

OUTLOOK FOR QUEENSLAND

ECONOMIC AND FISCAL OUTLOOK According to the budget documents, the outlook for the Queensland economy is positive with Gross State Product growth increasing from 3.5 per cent in 2015-16 to 4 per cent in 2016-17.

The Budget papers indicate the state’s fiscal position is operating on a surplus of $152 million in 2015-16 and $867 million in 2016-17.

CAPITAL PROGRAM The capital program is $10.7 billion for various infrastructure projects and delivers around 31,000 direct jobs.

ACCELERATING ADVANCE QUEENSLAND $405 million over five years for Accelerating Advance Queensland for startups, small businesses, tradespeople, and to create jobs.

There is new funding for industry 14 | Motor Trader July 2016

“$405 MILLION

OVER FIVE YEARS FOR ACCELERATING ADVANCE QUEENSLAND FOR STARTUPS, SMALL BUSINESSES, TRADESPEOPLE, AND TO CREATE JOBS.”

accelerators, Regional Innovation Hubs and a Platform Technology Program.

It will include a 10-year Roadmap for Queensland’s Biofutures industry and a Biofutures Industry Development Fund designed to enable new proposals to complete due diligence and progress to financial close.

BACK TO WORK REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT STRATEGY The Back to Work - Regional Employment Package is a total of $100 million over the two financial years 2016-17 and 2017-18. It comprises:

• $80 million for support payments for employers to take on regional jobseekers, including those disadvantaged in the labour market, such as the long-term unemployed, young people, matureaged jobseekers, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; • $10 million for the Certificate 3 Guarantee Boost Program that will see more Queenslanders able to access subsidised courses to obtain jobs; and • $10 million for Back to Work officers who know the local economy and local employers, and can connect employers and jobseekers to opportunities and support, including through Regional Employment Networks.

The details include: • Regional employers who hire an eligible unemployed person will get a $10,000 payment under this initiative AND will rise to $15,000 for the long-term unemployed who have been out of work for 12 months or more.

• Apprentices and trainees are counted as eligible employees under the scheme, provided their employer is not eligible for the Government’s payroll tax rebate.

• Eligible employees will also have access to job readiness payments to help them start a new job. This may include training, purchasing new equipment and uniforms or gaining or renewing trade licenses.

Back to Work officers will work across the following regions: Outback, Far North, Townsville, Wide Bay, Fitzroy, Mackay, and South West Queensland.

The South East Queensland region is not eligible for funding under the scheme in recognition of the unique employment challenges facing regional Queensland.

It will come into effect from July 1, 2016 and more details will are set to be announced.

D: STATE BUDGET 2016-17 ADVANCING SMALL BUSINESS QUEENSLAND STRATEGY (PART OF THE $405 MILLION ADVANCE QUEENSLAND) Investment of $22.7 million in small business over 3 years. This will include: • The Queensland Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow program.

• Establishment of an Office of Small Business to deliver the Small Business Queensland Strategy to help small business create jobs, drive business growth, harness innovation and build digital capacity. It will advocate for small business at State and Federal Government discussions, similar to other jurisdictions.

• Creation of a Small Business Knowledge Hub to research key issues that impact on Queensland small business.

• Through the Queensland Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow Program, deliver Digital Capability Grants of up to $10,000, matching dollar-for-dollar contributions by small businesses to help build digital capability. This can include website development, training, social media or adopting new online tools and technologies.

These initiatives are designed to help small business increase digital capabilities and ensure a more coordinated approach to service delivery across the government.

Continuation of the Queensland Small Business Advisory Council and Red Tape Reduction Advisory Council to provide direct input to Government on issues facing the small business sector. The first Queensland Small Business Champion will be established.

SKILLING QUEENSLANDERS FOR WORK INITIATIVE • Investing $60 million, of $240 million over four years, to deliver the Skilling Queenslanders for

“MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS AND DRIVER’S LICENCE FEES INCREASES BY 3.5 PER CENT RISE, INCLUDING DRIVER’S LICENCES ON JULY 1.”

Work initiative to support up to 8,000 Queenslanders (up to 32,000 over four years) to get back into work.

• Reviewing government VET investment arrangements to achieve a more sustainable balance of public and private training provision.

• Continuing to implement the Training Ombudsman role to enhance the quality of Statefunded VET. • Continuing to allocate 10 per cent of total labour hours on eligible government-funded infrastructure projects to apprentices and trainees.

INFRASTRUCTURE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PLANNING More than $10.7 billion is forecast to be spent in the next financial year on capital works, with half of that allocated towards regional projects and $50 million to progress the planning and environmental approvals of the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane.

A key initiative within the Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning budget will focus on allocating $4.4 billion for roads, including $400 million for a second Toowoomba Range Crossing and $300 million for projects such as the Ipswich Motorway between Rocklea and Darra and the M1 Gateway merge.

MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS SCHEDULED FOR 2016-17 AND BEYOND • $4.4 billion for roads, $400 million for second Toowoomba range crossing.

• $300 million for projects like the Ipswich Motorway between Rocklea and Darra and the M1 Gateway merge.

• $250 million on widening Gateway Motorway North to six lanes between Nudgee and Bracken Ridge.

• An additional $40 million, on top of the $100 million already allocated, to build the Townsville stadium.

• $12 million for new communitymanaged mental health services to be built in Mackay, Bundaberg and Gladstone, delivered through the State Infrastructure plan.

• Coordinate and monitor the delivery of the $2 billion State Infrastructure Fund.

• Monitor and report on the delivery of the $180 million Significant Regional Infrastructure Projects Program.

• Develop and implement a value capture/sharing policy and alternative funding models that leverage investments more effectively.

REVENUE Motor vehicle registrations and driver’s licence fees increases by 3.5 per cent rise including driver’s licences on July 1. Revenue from vehicle registration duty is expected to grow by 3.0% in 2016–17. Motor vehicle registration represents 12.8% of total tax revenue and compared with e.g. Land Tax 8.2%.

Motor vehicle registration will return $1,677 million in 2016-17.

Vehicle registration duty is charged at rates of between 2% and 4% of the dutiable value of a motor vehicle on the transfer or initial registration of the motor vehicle, with the rate generally depending on the number of cylinders or rotors of the vehicle. Revenue from vehicle registration duty is expected to grow by 3% in 2016–17.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 15

THE

LEYLAND LEGACY

S

OME CLASSIC CARS are remembered by the public with a great deal of affection, and few people would turn their nose up at the thought of having an XY GTHO, a Monaro or a Valiant Charger sitting in their garage.

However, there are some cars that, though considered classics, are remembered not for the brilliance of their engineering, or their magnificent performance, or the elegance or aggressiveness of their design. Indeed, it is the exact opposite of these qualities that has made them famous.

The much-mocked Leyland P76, for example, still suffers from a reputation that it is the ultimate ‘lemon’ more than 40 years after it first rolled off production lines. The big, Australian-built car - designed to challenge the dominance at the time of Ford, Holden and Chrysler – suffered a multitude of problems, was called a ‘dud’ by former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, and just 17,000 of them were built before production was abandoned in 1976.

The supposed problems with the P76 are the stuff of legend. There were sealing issues on windscreens and door panels that meant water and dust could enter the interior.

Interior fittings shook loose, a padded top on the dash distorted in the hot sun and a ‘wood’ trim would peel off.

Door windows came off their runners and fell to the bottom of the door if the door was slammed shut and window winders came off in customers’ hands. There was even talk that the exhaust system was so close to the floor that the

16 | Motor Trader July 2016

car’s carpet would smoulder from the heat. The fact that its boot was so enormous it could famously carry a 44-gallon drum was neither here nor there.

However, though the P76 still suffers something of an image problem, there are those out there who love the car and consider it unfairly tainted by decades of ridicule.

Les Gist, from Supreme Group in Townsville, is one such person.

“The P76 had a bad name but in many respects it was way ahead of its time,” says Les. “The V8 especially was really reliable and was a very good car. It was 10 to 15 years ahead of its rivals with much of its technology, but Leyland hit the market at the wrong time. It was the middle of the oil crisis when petrol prices went through the roof and people were moving away from large cars. So they copped that one.

“There was a problem at the factory too, certainly,” adds Les. “The quality control was not perfect. But the P76 was a top motor car, no question. Ford and Holden hated it, that’s for sure.

“And it is amazing to drive. If I compare it to our 2000 model Statesman, I think the only difference is that the power steering on the Statesman is nicer - and there is 25 years between those two cars.”

Les has a long history with the P76. Back in 1974, he was the sales manager for UK Motors in Townsville and picked up a brand new V8 model when he left the business to start

MAKE: LEYLAND MODEL: P76 YEAR: 1974 ENGINE: V8 OWNER: LES GIST OWNED: 2008

out on his own as the owner of a taxi cab.

And that explains the look of the P76 he now owns. It’s not the original vehicle, but it is an identical model, and Les and his team at Supreme Automotive – one part of the Supreme Group business that also includes a now 42-vehicle taxi fleet – restored it to resemble that original cab.

“This P76 was built to replicate the very first one I had as a taxi in 1974,” says Les. “I ran that original car as a taxi for a number of years and did about 400,000kms in it before selling it. Over the past few years we had talked about replicating that original car and we looked around the state and found this one in Dalby.

“We brought it back to Townsville and restored it back to the look of the original taxi. It has the same colours and same contact numbers and taxi number as the original too.

“The only thing we couldn’t replicate is the original meter,” he adds. “It was the first electronic meter and they weren’t very popular. No one has any of them now so we had to put in one of the older wind-up ones that were common in those days.”

For a car that’s more than four decades old, Les says the P76 was in pretty good condition and didn’t need massive restoration work.

“We had to replace the clutch and the clutch forks but mechanically it was reasonable. Otherwise, it had a fair

DO YOU HAVE A PRIDE AND JOY IN THE GARAGE THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO SEE IN THE PAGES OF MOTOR TRADER?

bit of rust in the places you’d expect for a car of that Contact Jonathan Nash at jonathann@ age but it wasn’t mtaq.com.au or 07 3237 8721 and let’s too bad. It was a see if we can share your classic with other members. big job but not a complete strip and sandblast.”

Using the skills he has developed over his 50 years in the industry, and together with his team at Supreme Automotive, the P76 has become a real eye-catching vehicle, and though it spends most of its time under cover in the workshop, when it is taken out for a drive, it creates quite a stir.

“When I take it out, the reaction is very strong,” says Les. “You certainly don’t want to speed or do anything wrong in it because you definitely get noticed! In fact, believe it or not, people have tried to flag me down thinking it’s a legitimate cab!

“And people do ask about it. They’ll ask ‘What the hell is it?’ because they’ve never seen one before. Most people born after 1974 don’t really know what they are, or know their story. And that is a shame.”

July 2016 Motor Trader | 17

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From legal advice to business support, from highlighting industry issues to facilitating networking events, the MTAQ is here to support you.

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MEMBERS MEMBERS ESSENTIALS ESSENTIALS

PAUL KULPA GENERAL MANAGER MTA INSTITUTE

Contents 19 Training GM's Professional Circle perspective 20 Professional Circle training 23 Member matters 25 Member profiles

PIALBA SMASH REPAIRS ULTRA TUNE MAROOCHYDORE

28 Industrial relations

A

T THE END of each financial year I like to look back at the achievements of the past 12 months. However, I do not dwell on them too long for there is always something coming up on the horizon to look forward to and always opportunities to help us improve what we do.

We recently finished compiling feedback from our learners and employers about our performance as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). The results were pretty impressive with our overall satisfaction from learners and employers standing at 83 per cent!

That is excellent but, as I said, there are always areas in which we can improve. One area we will be focusing on is training resources.

We have recently established a Resources Development Team which is tasked not only with reviewing all our learning material, but also in creating contemporary learning resources to provide apprentices with the underpinning knowledge to meet industry requirements.

Anyone who has read our resources would agree they are good quality, but we can do more, and provide more, to

RECEIVE ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO ENSURE THEY ARE ACROSS ALL THE RECENT INDUSTRY ADVANCES, WHICH IS WHY 82 PER CENT OF THE SURVEY RESPONDENTS AGREE WE HAVE EXCELLENT TRAINER QUALITY.�

ensure apprentices are finishing up with the right information.

At this point, I would like to invite employers to contact me should they wish to provide any feedback in relation to our resources. Industry feedback is crucial for us to ensure we are training with the right information.

Our resources are only one piece of the apprentice training puzzle.

We also make sure our trainers are across current industry trends - knowledge that is invaluable in assisting the apprentice on their journey. All our trainers receive ongoing professional development to ensure they are across all the recent industry advances, which is why 82 per cent of the survey respondents agree we have excellent trainer quality. Our trainers are from industry and know what the requirements are to make a good tradie.

So I hope everyone has a great 2016/17 financial year and, if you are looking at having your apprentices trained by high-performing and industry-leading trainers, please do not hesitate to contact us.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 19

E S S E N T I A L S

“ALL OUR TRAINERS

M E M B E R S

Training GM's Professional Circle perspective

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

Professional Circle training

MTA INSTITUTE APPRENTICES GOING ‘LOCO’ FOR SUGAR CANE SEASON

Todd Erkilla (right) with colleague Danny Guy and the massive, 24-tonne locomotive

T

HE HARVESTERS ARE rattling, the rollers are turning and the locomotives are running as the Ingham region in North Queensland begins its annual sugar cane crush.

Doing their bit for the industry and local economy are two MTA Institute students, who have spent the past few months busily preparing a 24-tonne maintenance locomotive for service.

Jeff Day is the owner-operator of JD’s Fluid Connectors based in Ingham, a town known primarily for sugar cane farming and its role as a service centre for local plantation industries. In operation for 9 years, the business has worked hard to become a respected manufacturer and supplier of hydraulic adaptors, hosetails and accessories for the region’s heavy industries.

Worth an estimated $2.5 billion per annum to the Queensland economy, the sugar industry relies on a large fleet of diesel locomotives and a railway network to transport sugar cane directly (and quickly) from paddock to processing and port facilities.

20 | Motor Trader July 2016

Approached by a major local sugar cane producer, the team at JD’s Fluid Connectors were engaged to repair a 24-tonne cane railway locomotive – a machine purpose-built to deliver repair and maintenance services for 800kms of track in the Ingham region.

The team had to make significant modifications to their workshop to accommodate the huge dieselpowered locomotive. Walls were removed and the workshop’s entry and exit points widened. Another unique requirement of the project was the installation of railway tracks on the workshop floor.

“This is the biggest job we’ve ever had,” said Jeff. “We often repair harvesters and other agricultural machinery, but nothing this big.

They lifted it off the road by crane and brought it directly into the workshop where we installed a railway line on the floor so we can move it back and forward during testing. It’s definitely a challenge, and not something you get in your workshop every day.”

With six staff currently working

full time on the mammoth project, two MTA Institute heavy diesel apprentices, Todd Erkilla, 18, and Evan Crisafulli, 17, have been involved in the project since late 2015. Todd has been working on the project daily, with Evan contributing his skills part-time as part of his school-based apprenticeship.

“So much work has gone into this project over the past 8 months,” said Todd. “We started by pulling down the whole train, and putting it back together strip by strip, section by section, bolt by bolt.

“It’s been pretty special. I never thought I’d be working on projects like this when I signed up for my apprenticeship. The next question is, will the boss try and outdo it and go bigger and better?”

With the locomotive due to return to service in just a few weeks, this unique project is a showcase for the workmanship and skills at JD’s Fluid Connectors and highlights the importance of such businesses to the Queensland economy.

MTAI TRAINER PROFILE

JEFF MANN

one of a number it has made to MTAI over the years – highlights the importance it places in the training of the next generation of

industry professionals.

“Suncorp was very happy to support MTA institute with the supply of this bike,” said Rob Bartlett, Suncorp’s National Industry and Strategic Operations Manager. “High quality training is a vital part of the repair industry's future, and the MTAI is one of Australia's leading industry training organisations.”

“We work with many stakeholders in the industry to secure the best training outcomes for our apprentices,” said Mr Riotto. “We have a strong working relationship with Suncorp who have donated cars as well as bikes to us for training purposes - and their support is very important.”

I have worked from small workshops to the defence force.

Having a passion for the industry to inspire learning.

When did you become a trainer for MTA Institute?

Why should someone consider a career in the automotive industry?

October 2007.

Because technology is changing and the future is exciting.

“WE HAVE A STRONG WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH SUNCORP - WHO HAVE DONATED CARS AS WELL AS BIKES TO US FOR TRAINING PURPOSES - AND THEIR SUPPORT IS VERY IMPORTANT.”

What geographical area do your service?

In-house at the Sir Jack Brabham Automotive Centre of Excellence and out to Mount Isa.

What is your specialised area?

What is the most satisfying aspect of your role as a trainer for the MTA Institute?

Mechanical and auto electrical.

Seeing a student start off ‘green’ and then turn into a technician.

What is your background in the automotive industry?

What do you believe is the most important aspect of training?

What is the best piece of advice you can give to an apprentice starting out in the industry?

Become a sponge and try to learn all facets of the industry.

When you’re not training, what do you like to do?

Restore cars and motorbikes.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 21

E S S E N T I A L S

HE MTA INSTITUTE (MTAI) recently took possession of a late-model Harley-Davidson bike to be used as a tool in the training of the Institute’s motorcycle mechanic apprentices.

Donated to the Institute by Suncorp, the 2006 model Harley Sportster is a welcome addition to the resources used by MTAI to train its students.

The Institute’s collection of motorcycles and other ancillary equipment now ensures apprentices are exposed to every potential technology a motorcycle mechanic may encounter in the real world.

“Having the Harley extends the training aids we have available for students,” said Marcello Riotto, MTA Institute Operations Manager.

“Harley does things slightly differently to the Japanese manufacturers – using belt drives, for example – and while we can simulate this technology for training purposes, having a ‘live’ training aid that the apprentices can get their hands on is ideal as we do want the apprentices to be able to train on the vehicles and products they are seeing day to day.”

Having highly-skilled tradespeople working in the industry is a goal for every business involved in automotive, and Suncorp’s donation of the Harley -

M E M B E R S

SUNCORP DONATES HARLEY TO MTA INSTITUTE T

.

M E M B E R S

E S S E N T I A L S

Professional Circle training

RORY’S HARLEY A TRUE WORK OF ART R ORY MCKENZIE IS a 24-yearold, fourth-year motorcycle apprentice training with MTA Institute and working for Morgan and Wacker Harley-Davidson in Brisbane.

So far, so normal, right?

Wrong. Rory is not your ordinary motorcycle apprentice. In fact, though he is technically still ‘learning’ his trade, the level of skill and ingenuity that he is bringing to his work is pretty remarkable.

The proof ? This stunning, modified, 2016 Harley Softail Deluxe – a project Rory started just five months ago.

With air suspension (which means that when it’s lowered there’s no need for a side-stand), some tricky fabrication work and a paint design that is truly stunning, this Harley is something you might expect to see after months of painstaking work from an experienced bike specialist.

“I hand-fabricated the guards,” said Rory. “I extended the rear guards seven inches and the front guard five inches, and did a lot of other things such as running brake lines through the handlebars, putting on a hydraulic clutch and, of course, putting in the air suspension.

22 | Motor Trader July 2016

Rory McKenzie

“To make it sit low with the air suspension, the swingarm became a big part of the project,” he added.

“My father-in-law owns an earthmoving company and employs his own engineer and, after I came up with the idea, I asked him what was the easiest way we could get this thing laying a little bit lower. In the end we redesigned it using the same grade tubing but putting in big 16mm steel pins through the centre to give it extra strength.”

As for that remarkable paintwork, Rory did use a specialist for that piece of the project - Nathan Bilsborough at

Livin Loco Garage on the Gold Coast.

“Nathan paints low-rider, Mexican-looking Bel-Airs and Chevy trucks and so on, and they are all show-quality,” he said. “I knew I wanted the teal colour and I gave Nathan seven ideas for shapes.

He did the rest and put it together.”

It’s the icing on the cake of a stunning piece of work - one which really tested Rory’s skills.

“I did everything at home and learned some new skills along the way,” he said. "I learnt a bit of panel beating and used an English Wheel to create elements such as the 7-inch panel for the rear guard. Doing this sort of project does test you.”

A bit of a Harley fan (he has owned 13 of them in the past four years!) Rory said he would continue to work on similar projects in the future.

And it might not be long before the next project comes along, for it was only a couple of weeks after finishing this bike that he was offered a big bundle of money to part with it.

“I did have a guy call me and make an offer,” he said with a smile. “And if someone were to offer me the right money, I might part with it.”

STUDENT OF THE MONTH TRENT HARPER IS the MTAQ Student of the Month for June. The 20-year-old, second-year mechanical apprentice, working with ACDC Mechanical in Runcorn, is excelling in his apprenticeship by going above and beyond in his efforts on every project he undertakes.

“Trent is not shy in asking for more learning resources to help him study above the level required, and his positive and happy attitude shows how keen he is to learn and be part of the trade,” said MTA Institute trainer Steve Hudspith.

“His attention to detail ensures that every car he works on is to a standard and quality above his current apprenticeship level. When putting forward the nomination for student of the month, Burt, his supervisor, was adamant Trent deserved it.”

Commencing his mechanical apprenticeship after graduating high school in 2013, Trent decided not to take a gap year, unlike a lot of his peers. Instead, he was eager to commence learning his trade and ignite his automotive career.

“I was always interested in cars, and I never knew much about them, so I did two weeks’ work experience through my high school and, after two weeks, I didn’t want to do anything else,” he said. “Once I finished school, I started looking around and found the place where I am at now. They took me on and I’ve been here ever since.”

Trent is passionate about learning and practising all aspects of engine maintenance, and recognises that his work colleagues have been crucial in his development.

“The foreman at ACDC Mechanical is old school, and everything he does is by the book.

There’s no cutting corners and everything is in black and white. He makes sure every job is done correctly, and if it's not done correctly, well, let’s just say he will make sure you do it correctly!

“My boss Shane, who owns the business, is also a great fella. He’s always doing the best for me, and we’re always cracking jokes and having a laugh. Nothing is ever too serious, and that makes work a blast.”

TAQ MEMBER BUSINESS Gatton Auto has been presented with the Holden Chairman’s Award at General Motor’s international award ceremony in Barcelona.

The Chairman’s Award is part of General Motor’s rigorous performance recognition program that also recognised 32 outstanding dealerships as 2015 Grand Masters.

In order to qualify for the awards, dealerships must demonstrate continued exceptional customer service in addition to sound business objectives including sales excellence, aftersales delivery, training and other quality measures across all areas of the business.

Gatton Auto was one of six Grand Masters award winners that were also honoured with the Chairman’s Award, and this was the second year in a row that the business had picked up the accolade.

Dealer Principal Jason Gordon, who traveled to Barcelona to attend the ceremony, said the dealership’s success was down to having a well trained team, a focus on customer service and recognising the business had a role to play within the community it serves.

“One of our many strengths is that we have a very solid workforce, and that we all work well together in a

team,” he said. “We have a saying here that ‘if you’re not helping a customer, help someone who is.’

“A lot of our success comes down to training, and how that training is supported and then applied on the ground at the dealership. Incentives are very important, so we have regular employee awards, team lunches and other team building initiatives that help us better collaborate.

“Being active externally is really important too - supporting local shows, charities and clubs. We are a corporate employer in Gatton and that means we have a responsibility to serve different community groups.”

Holden’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mark Bernhard, presented the awards in Barcelona and said that each award-winning Dealership had clearly gone above and beyond in their commitment to customers.

“The 2015 Grand Masters winners have delivered exceptional results in all areas of the business and demonstrated an outstanding ongoing commitment to serving our customers.

“Our Dealers are the face of our company and represent the Holden brand each and every day with our customers. I thank the Grand Master Dealers for their ongoing commitment to excellence in customer service.”

The team from Gatton Auto

July 2016 Motor Trader | 23

E S S E N T I A L S

Trent Harper

GATTON AUTO ONE OF HOLDEN’S BEST M

M E M B E R S

Member matters

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

Members matters

WOMEN N WHEELS SAFETY PROGRAM A HIT WITH THE LOCALS F EMALE RESIDENTS OF Atherton recently participated in an evening of mechanical workshops and self defence demonstrations as part of an MTAQ member business community initiative developed by Redding Motors. The program was delivered with the help of local police and businesses and was designed to promote vigilance, mechanical knowledge and safety awareness for women who have to drive through remote areas or who become stranded.

The ‘Women N Wheels’ information evening was the brainchild of Nik Page, Dealer Principal of Redding Motors, who developed the initiative after overhearing a conversation between one of his salespeople and a female high school student who was looking to buy a car.

Concerned about the automotive knowledge of his young customer, and aware of the remote and sometimes rugged countryside that she would soon encounter, Nik decided it was time to act.

“I was listening to her conversation and she had very little understanding of how to change a tyre or how to identify a mechanical issue under the bonnet, both of which are important to know when you’ve just bought your first car, and especially when you live in the Tablelands.”

With backing from the Atherton Chamber of Commerce and support from local business owners, including the local newspaper, the program was well received with 34 women taking part in workshops which included lessons on how to safely change a tyre, jump-start a car in an emergency and general day-to-day servicing of vehicles.

24 | Motor Trader July 2016

owner of Tableland Freestyle Tae Kwon-Do. Previously the victim of an abduction in Cairns, Anette is a staunch advocate for women’s safety and self-defense, using her own terrible ordeal as inspiration in her drive to safeguard the community.

“I was approached by a man in a car whilst talking on the phone and he told me he knew my family,” she said.

“I approached him to ask more questions and thirty seconds later I was thrown into the car, Anette Schep performs a Tae Kwon-Do demonstration taken to a rubbish dump and out into the long grass where I was attacked."

“The night went wonderfully,” said Anette was able to defend herself Nik. “We had our Master Technicians from her attacker, and the next discuss safety, in particular what to do if morning two detectives discovered your car breaks down on the side of the and detained the man. road, and two local police officers gave “They found him a bit bruised on tips how to get home safely in the event the way to work the next morning, of a road-side breakdown or emergency. and he was charged and arrested,” “We demonstrated how to do frontsaid Anette. “It’s important for women end inspections and how to prepare to know how to defend themselves, your car for long distance drives, that could have been anyone.” such as checking your oil, topping up With feedback from the Women N windscreen wiper fluids, and checking Wheels program being very positive, tyre pressure,” he added.

Nik has decided to run another Participants were also taught other evening towards the end of the year basic skills, such as how to jack a with the addition of more speakers car, replace a blown tyre and how to and to be aimed at the community as interpret mechanical reports. a whole, including school children.

“This was designed to explain the “The next program will be called nitty gritty stuff such as brake pad ‘Safety and Wheels’,” he said. “We are size and tyre depth, so when they go aiming to educate everyone on basic into a workshop these women can mechanics and what they can and better understand what a mechanic or should expect when walking into a workshop supervisor is talking about workshop or dealership. We also want when they are going through their to make sure our community is aware bill,” said Nik. of the importance of personal safety Building on the programs safety and how they can protect themselves and awareness theme, participants should they be in a difficult or were also treated to a Tae Kwon Do potentially dangerous situation.” demonstration from Anette Schep,

Access to advice such as Industrial Relation information.

Increasing profits, renovations, becoming professional and modern, and moving with the changing industry.

What is the best thing about working in your industry?

The changing industry. There’s always a challenge.

What is the best piece of business advice you have ever given or been given?

Pialba Smash Repairs

Always update and look at your business and make changes to keep moving forward.

Type of business: Smash repairs

How did you hear about the Motor Trades Association of Queensland (MTAQ)?

What would you say to someone thinking about joining MTAQ?

Number of employees: 12

The previous owner of the business.

Trading since: 1990

How has being an MTAQ member benefited your business?

I can recommend joining for the support.

Location: Hervey Bay

MTAQ member since: 2003

Being able to access information and training.

What has been your proudest business achievement to date?

Staying in business and running a viable business for 18 years in a variable business climate.

What is the best thing about working in your industry?

The challenge of having a different job every day.

What is the best piece of business advice you have ever given or been given?

Treat customers the way you like to be treated – with honesty and integrity.

Ultra Tune Maroochydore Type of business: Mechanical workshop

How did you hear about the Motor Trades Association of Queensland (MTAQ)?

Number of employees: 6

A former employee.

Trading since: 1997

How has being an MTAQ member benefited your business?

Location: Maroochydore

MTAQ member since: 2006

What would you say to someone thinking about joining MTAQ? You need to join for the support and up-to-date information.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 25

E S S E N T I A L S

What has been your proudest business achievement to date?

M E M B E R S

Member profiles

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

HEART ATTACK SURVIVOR: TED’S STORY A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR US ALL F OR TED O’BRIEN, an MTA Institute trainer based in Cairns, the day had been like hundreds of others before it.

He had been out on the road - using the skills and experience amassed during 45 years in the automotive industry - training auto electrical and light vehicle apprentices in the Atherton Tablelands region.

As he settled in for the evening in his motel room, he felt fine. It was a day like any other.

The 62-year-old didn’t really think about the intermittent chest pain he had been suffering for the past few weeks. It was nothing serious, he thought. The pain was mild and didn’t last long. The episodes were easy to overlook and ignore.

“Over a period of about four months I had been suffering short bursts of chest pain,” he says. “They were about a ‘one’ on the pain scale and lasted one to two seconds then went away. I never gave them much attention. The pain went, I felt normal, so no problem.”

26 | Motor Trader July 2016

But actually there was a problem, and that problem nearly killed him, for the next morning he awoke and things were not right . . . not right at all.

“I wasn’t feeling the best,” he says.

“I got up at 6.30am and followed my usual routine, and it was while I was having a shower that I felt the pain in my chest. This time it was about a 'four' on the pain scale and it it didn’t pass so quickly. I sat down and the pain did disappear but then, as I was having my breakfast, the pain came back at about a 'six' on the scale.”

AMAZING STATS • Your heart beats 100,000 times a day and will beat more than 2.5 billion times in a lifetime.

• The adult heart pumps about 5 litres of blood each minute - approximately 5000 litres of blood each day - throughout the body.

• Your system of blood vessels - arteries, veins and capillaries - is over 97,000 kms long.

That’s long enough to go around the world more than twice!

Ted knew what was happening.

Ten years earlier he had suffered his first heart attack and, with that experience behind him, he recognised he was in trouble.

“I rang reception for help and Val, the motel manager at the time, came to my room and the first thing she said was ‘you don’t look too good’.

“She took my pulse, rang 000 and the ambos were quick to arrive.

They made sure I was stable, then took me to the Atherton Hospital where a blood test came back positive that I had suffered a heart attack.

“I was then taken to Cairns Base hospital where they performed more tests and they put in a coronary angioplasty (a small balloon inserted into an artery and inflated to open up the area that had become clogged).

After that I had an echocardiogram to see what damage had been done.

Fortunately, there was none.”

‘Fortunately’ is right, for the statistics that surround heart attacks in Australia are frightening.

“AS MY DOCTOR PUT IT, I HAVE HAD TWO STAYS OF EXECUTION NOW, SO IT IS UP TO ME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.” Australians are living with some degree of the disease – that’s nearly 4 million people.

Such a calamitous epidemic has seen the medical profession become well-versed in the skills required to care for those who suffering from CVD or who have had a heart attack. And it is, no doubt, the experience of those who oversaw Ted’s care that helped to keep him alive.

“I have to say the level of care I received from the ambos at the motel, the hospital staff and the transport ambo to Cairns, as well all the staff at Cairns Base, was top-rate,” says Ted. However, though the paramedics,

RISK FACTORS According to the Heart Foundation, cardiovascular disease (a collective term for diseases of the heart and blood vessels) was responsible for 43,602 deaths in Australia in 2013.

CHOLESTEROL: Cholesterol is a substance created and used by our bodies to keep us healthy. We also consume cholesterol through the food we eat. Excess cholesterol can build up on the walls of arteries, making it harder for the heart to circulate blood. These build-ups can break off from the artery walls and cause clots that block blood flow to the brain or the heart, causing a stroke or heart attack.

BLOOD PRESSURE: Blood pressure is the pressure of your blood on the walls of your arteries as it is pumped around the body. If blood pressure is too high it affects the blood flow to the body’s organs and, over time, increases chances of heart disease and stroke.

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY: Research suggests there is a link between depression and heart disease. Depression is also linked strongly to more conventional risk factors - people with depression are more likely to smoke and be overweight.

AGE: As you age, risk of heart attack increases.

According to the Heart Foundation, nearly 35 per cent of people aged 55-64 reported living with a long term cardiovascular condition. That increases to 62 per cent in people aged 75 and over.

GENDER: Men are at higher risk of heart disease, although a woman’s risk grows, and is thought to be equal to men, following menopause.

FAMILY HISTORY: The risk of developing heart disease is greater if close relatives have also suffered from the condition.

SMOKING: Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood and damages blood vessels.

‘Second-hand’ smoking also carries a risk.

ALCOHOL: High levels of alcohol consumption causes stress to the heart. Alcohol can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of certain types of cardiac failure and stroke.

DIET: Maintaining a healthy weight is important.

Being overweight or obese can cause high blood pressure, may mean you have high levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol and can lead to the development of diabetes – itself a major health problem.

PHYSICAL INACTIVITY: Being inactive and unfit increases the risk of developing high blood pressure. A lack of physical activity can also lead to feelings of anxiety and depression. According to the World Heart Federation, studies show that doing more than 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week will reduce risk of coronary heart disease by about 30 per cent.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 27

E S S E N T I A L S

Ted O’Brien

the nurses and doctors who treated Ted may have saved his life, the real responsibility for his long-term health lies squarely on his own shoulders.

“As my Doctor put it, I have had two stays of execution now, so it is up to me to do something about it,” he says.

And that ‘something’ involves cardiac rehabilitation, regular checkups, a new diet and exercise program to bring down his weight, as well as medications to lower his blood pressure, thin his blood and control his cholesterol.

Ted is philosophical about the new turn his life has taken, which is made just that bit tougher with additional problems stemming from osteoarthritis.

“This is a small price to pay,” he says. “I am now going to a dietitian and Exercise Physiologist and the first step is to lose weight and get into an exercise that can be achieved bearing in mind the osteoarthritis in my knees.

I am walking 30 minutes every day now and, though it is not easy, it is getting better each day. To be honest, when the pain sets in on my knees, it reminds me I am alive which is better than the other option.”

And Ted has much to live for.

He is only 62 and plans to return to work and spend plenty of time with his family.

“As far as work goes I will continue to train apprentices for as long as I can into the future,” he says. “And I have plans to go to New Zealand in August for three weeks and to spend time with my granddaughter in Brisbane at the end of the year.

“I also told one of my nieces that I want to be there to see her firstborn child walk. She is married but doesn’t have a child on the way, so I plan to be here for a while!

“I am now more aware of how fragile life can be,” he adds. “I have been lucky twice and know the next time could be ‘the time’.

“I would say to every person out there to not be as stupid as I was.

Listen to your body and go and get a check-up before it is too late. You never know, it might save your life.

If you have any worries or concerns about your own health, then call your GP for a check-up.

For more information on heart disease and other issues mentioned in this story, go to http://www.health.gov.au/ http://heartfoundation.org.au/

M E M B E R S

According to the Heart Foundation, heart attacks claimed 8611 lives in Australia in 2013 – that’s 24 each day on average – and it is estimated that 350,000 Australians have had a heart attack as some time in their lives.

And the statistics for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) – the collective term for diseases of the heart and blood vessels which includes coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and stroke – are even more troubling.

The leading cause of death in this country, CVD claimed nearly 44,000 lives in 2013, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of all deaths in the nation and killing one Australian every 12 minutes. On top of that, one in six

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

Industrial relations “ALL ADULT AWARD

RATES WILL BE INCREASED BY 2.4% FROM THE FIRST FULL PAY PERIOD ON OR AFTER 1ST JULY 2016 AND JUNIORS RECEIVE A PROPORTIONAL INCREASE.”

TED KOWALSKI INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS MANAGER

2016 ANNUAL WAGE REVIEW DECISION A Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has handed down its decision in its annual wage review for 2016. All adult award rates will be increased by 2.4% from the first full pay period on or after 1st July 2016 and juniors receive a proportional increase. The percentage increase represents a movement of $15.80 per week at the minimum wage level (which takes it to $672.70 per week) and $18.40 per week at the tradesman’s level (which takes that rate to $783.30 per week.) By way of comparison, the increase in 2015 was 2.5%; in 2014 it was 3%; and in 2013 2.6%.

FOUR YEAR REVIEW OF MODERN AWARDS The Fair Work Act requires that all modern awards be reviewed every four years. The current review, which commenced in 2014, is still underway.

Some common issues have been dealt with and now await award variations to bring them into force. One of the

common items reviewed was the issue of pay-out of accrued annual leave.

While the Commission has made an in principle decision to allow up to 2 weeks to be cashed out each year as long as 4 weeks accrual remains, no actual award variations have yet been made to allow the practice.

The Vehicle Manufacturing Repair Services and Retail Award still has a number of matters outstanding which should be resolved over the next few weeks. Detailed information will be supplied as each award change takes effect.

SUPERANNUATION GUARANTEE OBLIGATIONS FOR 2016/17 The current 9.5% superannuation guarantee rate will not change for the 2016/17 financial year.

MTAQ PROPOSING DE-REGISTRATION AS STATE REGISTERED ORGANISATION WHILE RETAINING FEDERAL REGISTRATION The Motor Trades Association of Queensland has been representing its members, and the motor industry, for over 7 decades. For the greater part of that time the majority of its members

were covered by State Awards, and consequently, most of its work was conducted through the State Industrial Relations system.

With the advent of the Work Choices and then the Fair Work system all members were brought into the Federal Industrial Relations system. Currently, the Association has registration as an employer organisation under both the Queensland and Federal industrial legislation. There is no longer a necessity for the Association to retain its State registration. In fact, having registration in both the State and Federal systems is unnecessarily cumbersome and time consuming – two sets of rules need to be maintained as well as ensuring that all activities meet the often different requirements of State and Federal industrial laws.

The Queensland Industrial Relations Act allows a State registered employer organisation to seek de-registration as long as a certain process is followed. The first part of the process requires the MTAQ Board to agree to the de-registration. This was done at the Board meeting held on 12th May 2016. An application then has to be made to a Full Bench of the State Industrial Relations Commission.

The Full Bench needs to be satisfied that the majority of members have agreed to the de-registration. A vote of members is currently underway to allow an application to be lodged.

Note: Losing State registration will in no way effect the day to day operations of the MTAQ and it will continue to provide full support for members and the industry through its continued registration in the Federal system.

MTA QUEENSLAND WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS Business Name

Principal/s

Address

Email

Division

Express Auto Inspections Hals Petro Pty Ltd – T/A BP Millmerran McCormack Tyre & Suspension Toowoomba Motorcycles

Matthew Wright Aparna Dhanpal Rickie McCormack Dean Hartog

Unit 16/1631 Wynnum Road, TINGALPA, Q 4173 64-72 Campbell Street, MILLMERRAN, Q 4357 113 Rainbow Street, SANDGATE Q 4017 50 Water Street, TOOWOOMBA WEST, Q 4350

Matt@expressautoinspections.com.au accounts@lordvenk.com.au admin@mccormackstyres.com.au deanhartog@outlook.com

AED SSCSAQ TUDQ QMID

28 | Motor Trader July 2016

Investment matters

MARKET WRAP

E

QUITY MARKETS ROSE during the month of May following commentary from the US Federal Reserve that suggested a rate hike in June was possible. However, the likelihood of a rate rise in the nearterm has diminished significantly following Britain’s referendum to exit (BREXIT) the European Union (EU).

European markets were also lifted by news that BREXIT was looking less likely. As such, the referendum result surprised the market, and subsequently saw significant falls across global markets.

The RBA cut interest rates which provided support for the market during May, which has traditionally been a weak month as investors look to close out losses to offset gains before the financial year end.

A higher oil price continues to offer support for oil producing nations and the struggling energy sector.

The S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index rose +3.1% for the month.

The best performing sectors were Healthcare, Consumer Discretionary and Financials. Materials was the worst performing sector.

At the end of May, the market has gained 12% since the lows in February and recovered the losses from the beginning of the year. A key trend is that the market has favoured growth and defensive yielding stocks. The yields on offer from equities remain attractive relative to fixed interest or cash.

We look at the below key factors that could shift the market.

1. Australian interest rates.

Low interest rates are providing valuation support for the Australian market. A number of economists are now forecasting interest rates to decline to 1% and we believe that such a fall would support a lower currency, lower bad debts, higher

consumer spending and broad support for the Australian market (relative to offshore markets).

2. US interest rates. The market continues to expect an increase in US interest rates although the timing and the extent of any increase remains the source of much speculation.

3. Chinese economic outlook.

The market generally remains cautious regarding the outlook for the Chinese economy. It continues to face the challenges of excess capacity in key sectors. Significant debt levels across many sectors of the economy suggests that there are limits to the government’s ability to stimulate the economy by lifting credit.

4. Brexit. The outcome of the Brexit has clearly come as a shock to markets which had been following polls and betting markets to expect the UK to remain in the EU. Markets will often over-react

in situations such as these and as such it is important to analyse the situation calmly. We would expect consumer and business confidence to take a hit especially in Europe and the UK. The longer term impact on the global economy will depend on the deal negotiated by the UK with Europe. We suspect that the UK will be able to negotiate reasonable trading outcomes given its importance to the EU. DISCLAIMER This document provides general information only and is not intended to be a recommendation to invest in any product or financial service mentioned above. Investment in a DNR Capital individually managed account can only be made on completion of all the required documentation.

Whilst DNR Capital has used its best endeavours to ensure the information within this document is accurate it cannot be relied upon in any way and recipients must make their own enquiries concerning the accuracy of the information within.

July 2016 Motor Trader | 29

Concept corner

No driver means masses of leg-room for the 103EX passengers

THE ROLLS OF THE FUTURE

R

OLLS-ROYCE SURPRISED JUST about everybody last month when they revealed their astonishing concept car, the Vision Next 100.

Also known as the 103EX, the absolutely humungous car - it's nearly 6m long and 2m high - has been designed with an eye on a future that will be all-electric and driverless and, as a consequence, has some amazing features.

With no driver, Rolls have dispensed with front seats completely, leaving a couch-like back seat with enough leg

30 | Motor Trader July 2016

room for even the tallest of NBA players to stretch out in comfort. And where one might expect to see a steering wheel and a dashboard full of instrumentation, instead there is a massive entertainment screen. Other technologies include a virtual personal assistant with artifical intelligence that can learn the owner's habits and make hotel or restaurant suggestions as well as organise a trip.

Its exterior design is, depending on your point of view, completely mad or a slick vision of the future, and includes 28-

inch tall but narrow wheels, hand-built from 65 individual pieces of aluminium and enclosed to 'deliver the impression of a futuristic catamaran'.

Rolls Royce says it aims for a return to its coach-building past with the 103EX, offering customers a role in designing a body, but we reckon that it would be tough to come up with something as stunning and bonkers as this.

Love it or loathe it, you can't deny this is another jaw-dropper from the famous British marque.

“WITH THE ROLLS-ROYCE VISION NEXT

100 WE WERE MINDFUL NOT TO DWELL ON THE PAST. WE WANTED TO BE AS INNOVATIVE AS POSSIBLE AND AT THE SAME TIME TRANSCEND THE DESIGN HISTORY OF THE MARQUE.” GILES TAYLOR, DIRECTOR OF DESIGN, ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS

Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100

July 2016 Motor Trader | 31

Paintless Dent Repair Introductory Course Right training.

Course Overview

Right place.

Paintless Dent Repair, or PDR, is the method by which dents can be removed from the bodywork of a vehicle leaving the original finish and paintwork intact.

Right way.

A wide range of imperfections can be corrected using PDR techniques, though it is most famously used for the repair of hail damaged vehicles.

MTA Institute is running a two-day Fundamentals of Paintless Dent Repair course.

The PDR technician uses special tools, glues and tabs to either push out dents from the underside of the bodywork or pull them out from the exterior of the panel. Specialist lighting and reflection boards and ‘tapping down’ techniques are used to ensure a perfect finish.

The PDR industry is experiencing a massive upturn. It is a fast and efficient method for the repair of many imperfections, and skilled technicians are much sought-after in the body repair industry.

MTA Institute has partnered with industry-leading company PDR President to offer this course in the fundamentals of Paintless Dent Repair.

In this course you will be taught the basic tips and techniques behind the successful practice of paintless dent repair. These include: 1. Metal movements and theory 2. Lighting (fog and line boards) 3. Tool selection 4. Access and leverage 5. Glue pulling Time:

9am to 4pm, lunch included

Location: MTA Institute, Eight Mile Plains Cost:

$1650 per person (Inc GST)

Enrol Should you wish to enrol, or require further information, please contact one of our friendly staff on 3722 3000.

Address Freeway Office Park, Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia 4113 Tel (07) 3722 3000 Toll Free 1800 884 137 Email courses@mtai.edu.au Website mtai.edu.au Postal PO Box 4530 Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia 4113

20150268

MTA Institute Sir Jack Brabham Automotive Centre of Excellence

Industry insight

ARE YOU SPREADING YOURSELF TOO THINLY? “ S PEAK TO ANY SME/SMB owner and they will tell you there aren’t enough hours in the day and the ‘To Do’ list never gets any shorter.

The question is ‘How to manage the daunting task of managing all aspects of the business?’

Trying to ‘keep all the balls in the air at once’ can be a tough task.

Many SMEs reel from one crisis to the next with no real plan or system for managing the business.

This can be a very stressful way to work for both the business owner and staff. One of the most useful concepts is the simple breakdown of what goes on in most businesses, whether they be big or small.

FIVE DISTINCT AREAS Most businesses have five distinct areas being: 1. Products/Services 2. Marketing & Sales 3. Operations & Finance 4. Human Resources 5. Customer Service If you can think of your business in this way, it helps to break down the amount of time and focus you place on each area. Typically, focus changes on each of the five areas, but if you can develop a systematic way to manage all five areas, life can be much less stressful. A good place to begin is documenting the tasks required under each of these headings. This can be a great place to start to develop job descriptions for everyone in the business, including the business owner.

If you’re new to business it can be tempting to focus attention on the ‘Operations’ side of things.

The danger if you do this, is that if you don’t do the marketing and selling you won’t have anything to operate on! Obviously there is no point marketing and selling something you can’t deliver, so it’s important to work on Operations at the same time.

The trick is to plan the amount of time to work on each area.

HUMAN RESOURCES Human Resources is an area often sadly neglected by SMEs.

THERE IS AN ‘OPPORTUNITY COST’ OF TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF, BOTH ON YOUR SANITY AND POTENTIAL LOST BUSINESS.”

There just aren’t enough resources and time to do the job properly. Unhappy staff can have a very detrimental impact on business. Happy staff create happy customers. Happy and motivated staff stay in their jobs for longer – saving money on constant recruitment and retraining.

Staff with clear objectives and job descriptions are a valuable asset of any business. If you are looking to sell your business, well trained and supportive staff can increase the sale price.

They can also give the business owner freedom from the business.

If you have good systems in place, everyone knows what they need to do, how to do it, when to do it, how critical it is and can report to management on performance.

FINANCIAL CONTROL Financial control is one of the least understood and neglected areas in small business.

Many SMEs leave it up to the accountant at the end of the year and get a rude shock when they discover they have either lost money or have a tax bill they can’t afford. It’s critical to measure profit and cash-flow monthly in any business.

Do you know which products and services are profitable and which are not? If you are working hard to market and sell them, you need to know if all the effort is worthwhile. Some SMEs argue that it’s all too hard and time consuming to implement measures and the cost outweighs the benefit.

If you are absolutely certain that you aren’t losing money in certain areas of the business this is a reasonable argument, but it’s rarely the case. If you can’t invest the time to implement business-wide measurement, at least do ‘spot checks’ occasionally.

For example, if you are in a service or job-based industry, select one job and keep a track of all the costs involved in that job, including labour and materials. At the end of the job, compare it against your budget or quote to see if you really did make money or if it’s worth considering different ways of quoting or different types of jobs.

Another very valuable measure in a servicebased business is to check the number of hours you are paying to staff compared to those you are selling to customers. See if there is a gap and find out what the gap was. If it’s admin related, it might be worth employing a part-time admin person to take the load off income earning staff whose extra billable time could far outweigh the cost of the admin person. This is the start of good financial control and the resulting benefits can far outweigh the cost of specialist help.

As business owners we need to have a good handle on each of the five areas. We may be specialists in one or more of the five areas.

It would be quite rare though to specialise in all five. The solution then, is to surround yourself with others who specialise. If your business is small, cost may be prohibitive to employ a specialist in each area.

The answer is to outsource i.e. retain the services of a specialist who can advise on these areas. There are plenty of businesses around who specialise in the areas of marketing, sales, financial control and human resources. You could try googling them to see what comes up. You may find a goldmine of useful information that can help and take the burden off your shoulders.

There is an ‘opportunity cost’ of trying to do everything yourself, both on your sanity and potential lost business. The time you are spending on non income earning activities could be costing the business money. If you want to grow your business you can’t possibly perform all of these tasks yourself and do them all well.

As you can see there is a lot involved and if you can set yourself a program for calmly and proactively handling each of the five areas, your business should run smoothly.

For more information, go to businessnumbersmadeeasy.com July 2016 Motor Trader | 33

FINALIST 2016

MTAA SUPER – the preferred choice of over 40,000 businesses Simplified super administration Support of local business development managers 2016 Finalist for Medium Fund of the Year

SuperRatings does not issue, sell, guarantee or underwrite this product.

Go to superratings.com.au for details of its ratings criteria.

mtaasuper.com.au This document is issued by Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty Limited (ABN 14 008 650 628, AFSL 238 718) of Level 3, 39 Brisbane Avenue Barton ACT 2600, Trustee of the MTAA Superannuation Fund (ABN 74 559 365 913). Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty Limited has ownership interests in Industry Super Holdings Pty Ltd and Members Equity Bank Limited.

The information provided is of a general nature and does not take into account your specific needs or personal situation. You should assess your financial position and personal objectives before making any decision based on this information. We also recommend that you seek advice from a licensed financial adviser. The MTAA Super Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), an important document containing all the information you need to make a decision about MTAA Super, can be obtained by calling MTAA Super on 1300 362 415 or visiting mtaasuper.com.au/handbooks. You should consider the PDS in making a decision.