Over the past two years, my focus has been on performing the duties tasked by the MTA Queensland Board. These included growing the Association’s commercial interests through membership, training, the new innovation initiative and lifting our public profile. There’s been sound progress measured by meeting benchmarks and incorporated in reports to members. The proof is in the numbers, but at the back of the mind there’s been a nagging question regarding the impact of our efforts.

Recently, at a visit to Parliament House in Canberra for an Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) event attended by stakeholders and parliamentarians, I was pleased with what I heard. Firstly, I was commended for MTA Queensland’s social media platform and the fact that it was one of the best in the industry. It was being adopted as ‘the model’ to leverage both stakeholder and member interest in its activities. Secondly, another leader said the MTA Queensland was recognised as a ‘leader in automotive innovation’ having established the first automotive innovation hub in Australia. There was too, recognition of our leadership in equipping members with understanding of digital disruption and the impacts of emerging technologies through the Carmageddon symposiums.

This unexpected feedback is attributable to the MTA Queensland Board’s foresight to broaden its role into the innovation and technological space. Equally it is a credit and compliment to the corporate staff who have worked to both reach the benchmarks and influence opinion.

Additionally, Telstra’s Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems consultant Jamie Smith and Business Growth and Innovation Executive (Transport and Logistics) Mark Ullah sought a meeting to discuss our approach to the emerging transport and mobility technologies and innovations. They were impressed with our endeavours to invest capital and resources into establishing the automotive innovation hub.  The outcome of the meeting was that the Telstra personnel committed to working with us on mobility and transport innovations. For MTA Queensland, this is an excellent result as it allows the MTAiQ entrepreneurs and staff to work with great minds in a leading Tech company on innovation.  Importantly, the expertise contributed may assist start-ups such as the flying car and the wireless (inductive) electric car charging innovation to market.

Flying cars once were the domain of my boyhood cartoons, but not anymore. The fabricated aluminium frame of a flying car is on the floor in our innovation hub and was on display in the Garage at the Myriad festival. Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur Steve Baxter, in a festival panel discussion which I facilitated: ‘Are flying cars the way of the future?’ informed: ‘flying cars will happen and could be in Australia within a decade’.

Board Meeting

The MTA Queensland Board had its quarterly meeting adjacent to the Myriad festival. It was an excellent meeting at which much enthusiasm was expressed for the future of the Association. New opportunities for the motor trades were discussed which we will work towards bringing to fruition. A report with special interest to the Board of Directors was the MTA Queensland Treasurer Paul Petersen’s financial statement. He advised the commercial performance of the MTA Queensland Group (membership, training and innovation) had improved to the extent that for the 2017-18 financial year, a small profit was envisaged. Better still, was the expectation that the 2018-19 financial year would reflect strong turnover.

As Deputy Group CEO Kellie Dewar says in Viewpoint, the Board of Directors visited the Garage – our space at the festival – to see our exhibit with its innovations, special badging and livery and to speak with staff and visitors. They were both proud and impressed with our presentation. Appropriately, Directors took the opportunity to mingle with the innovators, the entrepreneurs and exhibitors and listen to discussions.

Queensland Industry Training Awards

In April’s From the Desk of the CEO, I mentioned that I’d been asked by the Queensland Department of Employment, Small Business and Training Deputy Director-General, Training and Skills, to contribute to the selection panel and participate as a judge of the 2018 Industry and Training Awards. Nominations closed on 16 March 2018 for the 11 categories from training providers across the state’s seven regional areas.

Appropriately, I do not participate in the judging process for the Small Trainer Provider of the Year Award, for which the MTA Institute (MTAI) was one of hundreds of nominees. I’m at liberty to report, however, that the MTAI has been shortlisted for this Award which is for outstanding contribution to the delivery of vocational education and training in Queensland by a registered training organisation delivering less than 50 qualifications. We’ll have to wait until September for the announcement at the Queensland Training Awards State Final Dinner for the winner. In the meantime, being shortlisted for the Award amidst strong competition reflects well on the MTAI, its trainers and students.

The MTAI, over some 43 years, has evolved to be the premier provider of automotive traineeships and apprenticeships. This has been in part due to the wisdom and leadership of successive Board of Directors.  Recently, Mr Allan Bonsall (appointed February 2015) and Mr Thomas Mangan (appointed November 2015) resigned. Both were sound contributors and their advice to the MTAI’s overall governance and strategic direction valued. We thank them for their service and wish them well with their new endeavours.  Succession planning will commence to enable the MTAI Board to reflect the innovation, education and future training requirements of employers and the automotive value chain.

Brisbane Technology Park

In From the Desk of the CEO in the March Motor Trader edition, I referred to discussions with the Brisbane Marketing Economic Board representatives and the Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor on Industry Partnerships and Projects, Amanda Briggs on an emerging Skills and Knowledge precinct at the adjacent Brisbane Technology Park (BTP). Subsequently, my team and I met with the largest owner of property at the BTP, Industria REIT’s Fund Manager Alex Abell and BTP’s Portfolio Manager James Tippelt. Discussions centred on precinct staff and visitor mobility between the Technology Parks which have limited parking space and transport options for staff to and from adjacent retail centres.

A 12-month pilot of the SAGE automation Olli autonomous shuttle and shuttle stop is envisaged as the optimal mobility outcome. The logistics of the pilot are in the process of being carefully worked through including compliance obligations. In the coming days, there will be several meetings with State and Local Government leaders to discuss the pilot. The intention is to have the two autonomous Olli shuttles in operation by the end of this year. By the way, at the Myriad Garage, a mini Olli was on display.

And the last thing

In the coming month, the end of the financial year governance responsibilities will be a focus, as will be attending to the Group’s commercial interests.

At the back of my mind, however, will be speech preparation for two automotive summits. The first is the Sydney Autonomous Vehicles Summit with the emphasis on ‘the Integration of Autonomous Vehicles in Shaping Australia’s Connected and Accessible Transport Futures’. Presenters include a diverse range of international, national and business leaders from the private and public sectors. It is not a mass participation event, featuring hundreds of attendees but a tightly focused networking, business development and learning platform.

The second is the keynote address at the Mumbrella Automotive Marketing Summit in a session entitled: Driving into the future: Marketing autonomous vehicles. In my role as MTA Queensland Group CEO, I’m pleased to represent the Association and be the voice of the motor trades at both of these significant events and to engage with the participants on issues important to the future of the automotive value chain.

Until June, 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’.