Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise and acknowledge that in the chamber today we have Captain Alexandra Seagar, a proud member of the ADF and part of the ADF Parliamentary Program exchange program. I, as the son of a World War II veteran, am really pleased to have a deep connection with the ADF and to make sure that we keep supporting the brave men and women serving our nation. I welcome Alex to the chamber. I am also pleased to be able to learn of the great work that she does in the ADF.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to update the House on Labor's recent announcement that, under a future Shorten Labor government, if elected, we would implement an industry-specific code governing the relationship between automotive dealers and car manufacturers. I was proud to work with Labor's shadow minister for competition and productivity, the member for Fenner, on this policy announcement. I also wish to thank the AADA for their help and guidance on this important issue. In particular, CEO David Blackhall and James Voortman were crucial in leading the charge to make sure we could deliver a level playing field for car dealers and manufacturers.

When I sat down with them earlier this year, we spoke about the power imbalance in the automotive industry between car manufacturers and franchised new car dealers, and how this disadvantages both dealerships and consumers. The power imbalance between multinational manufacturers and our Aussie car dealers, many of whom are small businesses and family-owned firms, has gotten out of control. We need to make sure that our automotive dealers get a fair deal and that they can operate as family businesses, as small businesses. New car dealers make a huge contribution in my electorate of Oxley alone, including almost $400 million in sales, 420 direct employees and a further $100 million contribution to the local economy alone. These figures are all the more astounding when you consider that 85 per cent of new car dealers are private or family-owned business who are valued members of the local community and who often sponsor community organisations and sporting events. Labor is proud to be working with the AADA and new car dealers to provide a level playing field. I look forward to working alongside them to make sure that they get the future they deserve.

As we head towards National Week of Deaf People in 2018, I want to acknowledge some great Oxley locals. A captain called Mark Smith will be heading towards Poland as part of the first representative team from Australia to the World Deaf Sailing Championships. I had the privilege of presenting a flag to the team on Saturday, and I'd like to wish them all the very best as they represent our nation. They're an outstanding crew of people, and I know they're going to do our nation exceptionally proud. Today I have a message for them that I'd like to share with the chamber and the parliament, and for all our Deaf community, which I will sign: good luck to the team!