Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the previous speaker for her contribution to this debate on the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme) Bill 2021. Firstly, I would like to commend the member for Fenner, who commenced this procedure. Sometimes things just make sense, and that's why we work on a bipartisan approach—because this just makes sense. In fact, it should have happened a long, long time ago. So I do thank the member for Fenner. I also commend the industry for becoming so heavily involved. Whilst that is partly self-interest, but for them we certainly wouldn't have this outcome here today. I'll just deal with the machinations of what the bill is actually doing and then talk about the real-life results of what will happen after this bill is passed.

The objectives of this bill are to promote competition between Australian repairers of motor vehicles and to establish that level playing field by mandating access to diagnostic repair and servicing information on fair and reasonable commercial terms. Secondly, it enables consumers to have those vehicles diagnosed, repaired, serviced, modified or dismantled safely—in case of need—efficiently by a repairer of their choice. It will also encourage the provision of accessible and affordable information to repairers from registered training organisations. Importantly, it will protect safety and security information about those vehicles and ensure the safety and security concerns of customers, information users and the general public. It will provide low-cost resolutions to disputes that would occur under the scheme and promotes competition. And, finally, to ensure the provision of accessible and affordable information, scheme information must be offered at a price that does not exceed a fair market price.

What has been happening over the years is effectively a monopoly by manufacturers. Currently, around one in 10 motor vehicle repairs taken to workshops are affected by a lack of access to service and repair information. Effectively, that pushes costs up and so excludes some people from the market who can't afford those costs. It also creates delays in having vehicles serviced. The repair and service of new cars is increasingly reliant on access to the electronic service and repair information and data produced by the manufacturers. Independent repairers who are not authorised or affiliated with car manufacturers are reliant on manufacturers sharing such information voluntarily. Those are the machinations of the changes in this bill.

What they mean in real terms is threefold, and the third one which I will speak to is probably unintended but most significant. But, firstly: it means that our repairers in regional areas, who haven't had the ability to access this information, will now be able to do so. That will mean that they can earn more money as they can get access to these vehicles. These are highly qualified and highly trained professionals who have been prevented from providing these services to the locals because of some overseas company. I know that I for one, in years gone by, thought, 'I can't take my car to my mate Joe who does a great job on my other car because the manufacturer says, "If you do that, you are going to void your warranty."' That's completely unfair. So that fixes that area.

But what it also does for the whole of the economy is provide that competition. We know if there's competition anywhere—it doesn't matter whether it's in repairing vehicles or providing surfboards—then the prices will be lower and the options will be greater. That is exactly what is happening here. No longer will you have to wait three, four or five weeks to get your vehicle serviced because you can't get in or pay $1,000 because there's no competition. You'll be able to get in next week and it might cost you $400 because of these simple yet very important changes.

I spoke about an unintended consequence. There are four pillars of road safety. Two of those pillars are safer vehicles and safer systems. This falls into both categories. I say 'safer vehicles' because I just spoke about the delay in the time one might have to wait to have one's vehicle serviced. Each year on our nation's roads almost 1,200 people die. In fact, last year, 1,127 people lost their lives on our nation's roads. The year before it was 1,188. Some of those accidents were due to mechanical faults of the vehicle. If there's no competition and you have to wait longer to have your car serviced, this may affect the safety of that vehicle. So, by making this small change, what the government has done—and it was bipartisan; I acknowledge that—is actually make our vehicles safer and contributed to the road safety message.

Think about the very, very sad story that led to the Sarah Group, where a young lady's car broke down on the side of the road and she and a tow-truck driver who stopped to help her were tragically killed. That was Sarah Frazer. Her father, Peter Frazer, started the Safer Australian Roads and Highways, named after his daughter, Sarah. Imagine if that had been a mechanical fault that had been prevented and she hadn't stopped there. It would be a different world for Mr Frazer. It would be a different world for Sarah. I talk about the unintended consequence of this very small yet important change which helps the consumer, helps the industry and creates competition, but what it is also doing is potentially changing somebody's life. I again commend the member for Fenner and thank the committee for their work together and commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context