Lesley Yates, Brendan McKay, Eden Mackenzie and Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack MP at Harden Bearings and Hardware last week.Small Communities may be Affected by Lack of Data Sharing
Federal Member for Riverina and Small Business Minister, Michael McCormack was in town last week to visit local business Harden Bearings and Hardware. He was there to discuss the issue of a potential mandatory code of conduct between independent workshops and car manufacturers especially regarding data sharing. Currently, the code of conduct is voluntary and is industry regulated, potentially allowing for anticompetitive behaviours by manufacturers.
In an era of increasingly computerised cars, access to data is imperative for the survival of independent workshops, especially when competing against workshops operated by car dealerships and manufacturers. The owner of Harden Bearings, Brenden McKay, presented the issue to Mr McCormack in the context of the survival of entire small communities. He believes that if car manufacturers are not made to provide data for their cars, consumers will be forced to leave town when needing to have their car repaired. In doing so, consumers may also conduct other business out of town, according to Brenden, meaning that many small businesses may suffer as a consequence. The Australian Automative Aftermarket Association has led the lobbying effort and hopes to “protect the rights of car owners to decide where they have their vehicles serviced.”
The Minister for Small Business said: “Vehicle servicing is extremely important to ensure the safety of cars on our roads. “Manufacturers, dealers and independent servicers need to work together to ensure all vehicles are serviced to a high level in a timely fashion. “During the election campaign, the Coalition committed to undertaking an independent review of the vehicle servicing agreement and I expect to make further comments on this review in coming weeks
