Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Queensland requires confidence to build the economy and maintain the momentum to progress amidst national and global changes. MTA Queensland will contribute to Team Australia’s efforts to restore normality, economic stability and business and consumer confidence. The emphasis is on economic reform. This means tax reform, infrastructure investment, skill diversification and increased productivity, a more flexible labour market, cutting of red tape, and a better federation must be on the agenda for discussion.

Advocacy

MTA Queensland will be part of the recovery conversation, advocating to Commonwealth and State Governments our members’ views on policy initiatives to improve business and industry conditions. We are keenly aware of the core issues that concern members. These have been garnered from conversations, electronic communications and a comprehensive industry survey that drilled into topics pertaining to COVID-19 and how the pandemic impacted businesses in the automotive value chain. That survey was part of the Association’s role as an Industry Skills Advisor, for the Queensland Department of Employment, Small Business and Training.

Conversations have commenced with Federal and State governments. Recently, I engaged via Zoom with the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business Senator Michaela Cash and other stakeholders to consider the industry sectors impacted by COVID-19. I was guided by feedback from many of our member businesses who were concerned that parts supply and reliability had the potential to impede trading. This was common across industry divisions reliant on both interstate and global supplies. The impact of COVID-19 on global manufacturing was a significant concern for the Farm and Industrial Machinery Division and other major equipment traders. The full effect has not yet been felt but will emerge in the medium term based on limited global stock and current supply chain timelines. Minister Cash acknowledged government was aware of the sector’s concerns and advised that government was examining how it may assist.

Currently, the vocational education and training (VET) sector is being reviewed to ensure the national training system develops the skills and workforce needed for the future. It has been a long process, but the end is in sight. At the meeting with Senator Cash, I reiterated that MTA Queensland supported the review to improve the training system but cautioned the potential to damage the reputation of VET providers and disrupting the supply chain of essential apprenticeships. The Association’s MTA Institute is the largest independent provider of automotive apprenticeships and training in Queensland. A worrying matter is the safeguards to be implemented to protect quality training systems from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ circumstance. The Senator advised that the Productivity Commission (PC) in its interim report would address the matter.
Subsequently, stakeholders, including MTA Queensland, engaged in a video conference with PC Commissioner Malcolm Roberts on the PC’s National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development review interim report. Diverse views were expressed by individual stakeholders to various options contained in the report including funding and market solutions to solve the problems of training. As said above, skills development is a significant policy issue in the Federal Government’s economic reform agenda. MTA Queensland will be making a response to the interim report detailing our concerns and comments on the options outlined.

Pending is a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack at which I will table and speak to our May 2020 COVID-19 Industry and Survey report. A snapshot of the responses to the survey indicates the actions taken by businesses to continue to trade through the COVID-19 crisis. Staff employment was a prime consideration with many businesses not employing new staff in the preceding two to three months with an equal number not likely to employ new staff in the upcoming months. Most businesses had to stand down, terminate or reduce the hours of staff as a result of the decline in trade caused by the COVID-19 crisis. An enormous 83 per cent of businesses applied for some form of government support including JobKeeper and Apprentice Wage Subsidies. A sign of confidence is that most businesses did not foresee a need to terminate any staff in the upcoming three months.

Encouragingly, many businesses (78 per cent of respondents), indicated the pandemic did not affect the continuation of trade training – despite the impending effect it had on the existing workforce. Interestingly over half the respondent businesses employ an apprentice or apprentices. From the businesses employing an apprentice/s, most of their training was connected to an Automotive Certificate II or Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology, representing 77 per cent of respondents. The next biggest group was training in body repair.

The survey emphasised the issues that members believe are important in the recovery phase and beyond which I will advocate to the Deputy Prime Minister. These include tax reform; penalty rates for Saturday work; extension of JobKeeper; and fee and red tape reduction. At the next meeting with State Government Ministers the issues of support for dealers to undertake three-month renewal registrations for vehicles; funding assistance options (such as small and medium enterprises access to the Queensland Rural Industry Development Authority); and fee and red tape reduction will be raised.

State Election

In four months, the State general election will be over, establishing the new government for a four-year term. Between now and the 31 October 2020, MTA Queensland will pursue State Government Ministers and State Opposition Shadow Ministers, and their respective parties for their campaign policy agendas relevant to the automotive industry. The expectation is that prior to the general election, the Queensland Government will deliver its 2020-2021 State Budget, and the Estimate Committees, where revenues, outlays and policy initiatives can be scrutinised, will be held. We will make a pre-budget submission detailing our priorities.

This is a difficult election for voters, political parties and candidates. It coincides with the COVID-19 recovery process and with the national cabinet’s deliberations on economic reform which requires the co-operation of States and Territories.

Meetings

The Queensland Overseas Foundation (QOF) Board, on which I represent MTA Queensland, met to consider a range of matters. These included the QOF Scholarship Program. Due to COVID-19, the Board resolved to hibernate nominations for 2020 and re-open applications in mid-2021. In 2019, Elliott Lemmon, the MTA Queensland 2017 Apprentice of the Year was awarded the first Australian (Queensland) Automotive Trades Queensland Overseas Foundation (QOF) scholarship.

I was invited to participate in a skilling forum in support of the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Roadmap and, importantly, participated in the Future of Mobility chapter. The subject of my address was Embracing the future of mobility, an industry perspective on Australia’s readiness and the opportunities. It was a relevant topic, particularly as automation levels of vehicles are increasingly being introduced to our transport systems. Currently, there is on-going policy discussion on the adaption of these technologies to our needs, engagement with communities and potentially the development of new export markets.

And the last thing

During the COVID-19 disaster, corporate office staff put the interests of members first. They ensured members were equipped with current and accurate national cabinet industry and Queensland Government health advices. Responses to the Industry and Survey report included supportive comments which generally indicated that there were many grateful business owners who thanked MTA Queensland for the “COVID-19 Daily Briefing” initiative. Thank you for the comments. They are appreciated.
Until next month, 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’.