BRENDAN O’CONNOR MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY
MEMBER FOR GORTON
 
STEPHEN JONES MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES
MEMBER FOR WHITLAM
 

The Morrison Government has once again shown they are all announcement, no follow through, today abandoning Australian automotive dealers promised a car dealership code.

It’s now two years since the Morrison Government promised a standalone code in MYEFO 2018-19.

Today they have announced nothing more than a voluntary and non-binding “set of principles to guide agreements between car dealers and manufacturers”.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee for Corporations and Financial Services’ inquiry into franchising found unfair contract terms are a significant issue in this industry, however the Morrison Government expects car dealers and manufacturers to negotiate contracts based on voluntary principles, rather than the promised binding code.

Asking multinational car manufacturers to “play nice” is hardly satisfactory after recently seeing a large multinational company take advantage of the power imbalance that exists between them and Holden car dealers.

Labor supports dealers being protected by an industry code, not some voluntary principles with no accountability.

The Morrison Government needs to back their commitment and follow through with the promised industry code.  Today’s announcement is just a further example of the Morrison Government being allow photo op now follow up.