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Registered:
November 2003
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Please HELP for 15 yr old import rule!!!!!
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Mon, 09 February 2004 13:12
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Dear all,
Please read the following text and help is greatly appreciated!!!!
DOTARS WILL CHANGE the 15 year rule if we don't stop them. We CAN stop them, but we need your help right now to do it.
IMPORTANT -- Please go to the following link to read a full 30 page submission that rips the ridiculous DOTARS "Regulation Impact Statement" to pieces.
http://www.r34skyline.com/politics/our_submission/ r34skyline_com_15year_submission.pdf
If you would like to help us in our fight to retain the 15+ year rule as it is, please read on for full details. Also, please send this information on to as many people as possible, including Mailing Lists, Magazines, online websites and forums, and anyone else you can think of that would like to retain their rights of choice. To have a chance, we must raise awareness quickly and show an overwhelming response against any changes to this regulation.
DOTARS have given a deadline for comments on their proposed options of end of Feb 2004. If we do nothing to oppose them, we expect they will make an announcement shortly after that, doing away with the 15 year rule as we know it. Possibly as early as March 2004. Neither would we be surprised if they use their announcement date to spell the end of all 1989 and younger models from that date onwards, in the lead up to the official axing of the rule on 1st Jan 2005.
We need as many individual letters written and sent to the listed politicians within the next 2 to 3 weeks as possible. Please try not to leave it any longer than that as a massed and rapid response is needed to have a chance at stopping the changes.
Please note that that form (pre-prepared) letters even when sent in large numbers have very little impact on Politicians, and are virtually a waste of time. So please write letters in your own words. Typed or hand written, it doesn't matter but please sign them with your name and address. They don't have to be long or detailed, just title the letter to clearly show the subject, state the main issues that you feel are important and that you oppose and changes, sign your name, and send copies to those listed in the instructions below.
You can also telephone your comments in if you don't have the time to write, but letters are much more effective.
Internet petitions, while useful to improve awareness of the issue, are still not taken seriously in Canberra. So please focus your energy on getting all your friends, family, work colleagues etc. to each write a short letter and send it to the people listed below by the end of next week.
You need to voice your outrage at the proposed changes and to clearly state that Option 1 (ie. retain the rule as it is) is the only acceptable choice put forward by DOTARS. It is also important to push for retaining the rule as it is for at least 5 years. This will give businesses and the public some certainty of the future without the fear of DOTARS making more changes every year. If you like, you can also take the opportunity to voice your concerns over SEVS and how it has been handled by DOTARS, and the very negative impact on both business and the public. Note that another response form has been prepared to list an Option 4, that is Option 1 PLUS some serious changes to SEVS. We recommend that you use this one.
Following is a list of points on which you can base your letters:
Reasons for Keeping the 15+ Year Rule as it is
1) The great majority of 15+ year old Japanese vehicles are vastly superior to the average vehicle on Australian roads in both emissions and safety. In reality, Japan actually had better emissions standards in 1978 than we have in Australia TODAY !
2) DOTARS' whole argument is that Australia is taking the refuse of the Japanese car market and this will be bad for Australia. This is simply not true on a number of levels. Importing anything less than a decent up spec model is just not financially viable, given the fixed costs of importing (transport etc.). The kind of vehicles that they are worried about just do not come here, instead they are scrapped and recycled in Japan (which is exactly what SHOULD happen to all the oil burning and rusty 60's, 70's, 80's and even 90's models still on our roads in great numbers, and is exactly what WOULD happen if our import rules were less restrictive). In reality, it is generally the cream of 15+ year old vehicles that is imported, which is the complete opposite of what DOTARS would have us believe.
3) The models typically imported are targetted due to the fact that they were very expensive and fully optioned prestige or sports models in their day. They can still offer a range of options that were not offered on the Aust. model release are still not available in new cars sold in Australia today. This leads to a great number of top of the range models being imported, which are still far superior to most new cars sold here to this day. The styling of most still competes very well with bland local offerings as well !
4) The vehicles selected for import usually in good condition and have low kms, often 1/3 to 1/2 the Australian average, and must go through a full safety and mechanical inspection every 2 years to stay on the road in Japan. Meaning of course that they are almost certainly going to be in better condition than most 5 to 7 year old vehicles on our roads given that a vehicle here will stay on the road as long as the annual registration is paid, regardless of it's roadworthiness or emissions (until of course they are pulled over by the police and yellow-stickered).
5) Many businesses rely on the import of 15+ year old vehicles for survival, and will be put out of business if the rule changes.
6) The Govt. is trying to control the number of secondhand imported vehicles, which is a restraint to free trade and their actions should be investigated.
7) Inaccurate figures and irrelevant and confusing comparisons are being used by DOTARS to mask the real reason for the proposed changes, which is import numbers. They should be held accountable for trying to mislead and misdirect the public and industry consultation process, and made to publicly explain why their arguments and figures do not make sense and their actions are a complete opposite to their supposed duty to the public.
 DOTARS want to unfairly and unreasonably restrict our access to cheap, efficient, safe and reliable vehicles based on some misplaced loyalty to the large car manufacturers. The fact is that the import alternatives seriously kick the bum of virtually any available Australian vehicle option in the same price range on all the above points. If DOTARS succeed, not only will they rob us of our right of choice, but far worse will indirectly result in Australian lives being needlessly lost on the road through legislating against the free choice to import safer vehicles which are otherwise readily available.
9) The 'recycling' or re-use of secondhand vehicles by importing them rather than manufacturing new vehicles locally reduces environmental impact. The only drawback might be if the secondhand vehicle was either less efficient or more polluting than the new vehicle. In this case however, the majority of imports have lower emissions and are more fuel efficient than the average Australian vehicle on the road today, and many compete extremely well with the efficiency standards of even new vehicles currently sold in Australia.
If the 15+ year rule remains, this situation will only improve as time goes on, as we will gain access to models with even better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The result will be lower national greenhouse gas emissions helping Australia to meet its' international targets and a healthier local environment (air quality). According to Environment Australia, Australia has a high per capita level of greenhouse gas emissions by world standards. Greenhouse gas emissions increased by 16.9% between 1990 and 1998.
Overall, the environmental benefits of importing secondhand vehicles are completely in the favour of encouraging imports. Given the current level of concern for the environment coupled with the evident Govt. focus on encouraging sustainable development policies to reduce environmental impact, it is very remiss for this issue to be completely neglected by DOTARS. Why they would want to encourage the manufacture of more new vehicles when these alternatives are available is mind-boggling, and makes a complete mockery of the Govt.'s statements on the environment.
What you can do to stop the ridiculous axing of the Australian 15+ import rule on vehicles
Please see below a step by step guide on what you can do to stop the changes, summarised from the following link:
http://www.r34skyline.com/politics/do15years.htm
A great deal of thanks is due to www.r34skyline.com which has worked solidly over the last week to prepare and get all the necessary information online.
STEP 1 - Read and reply to the DOTARS letter
The Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) has sent out a ridiculous letter (January 2004) outlining their faulty reasoning of why the 15 year rule should be scrapped. Included in it is a form to fill in and send back (note that you can't find a copy of any of this on their web site).
It may not be that effective, as they have obviously already made up their mind about what they want -- their paper is clearly misleading on several issues. But it doesn't take long to do, and will help in the official statistics when they are compiled. They probably won't take much notice of the 'survey' they are doing if it disagrees with the trade barrier they want to implement, but it's worth a shot. It can also be emailed in.
Feel free to use any comments out of the submission, plus whatever else you can think of.
You can either send in their form (unaltered) or the updated one (as .doc, as .txt) that includes an extra option --
Option 4. Make no changes to the current arrangements – ie. Option 1.
Plus change SEVS so that –
1. There is no quota for each RAW, ie. scrap the 100 limit.
2. Modified vehicles can be complied.
3. Each individual RAW application can cover a range of engines and variations of a model.
4. Allow damaged and previously repaired vehicles to be imported, though require them to be identified as such, so that any downstream buyer will be aware.
5. Allow for individuals to apply for the Import Approval, not just RAWS (who will still do the compliance work).
6. Tyres only need to be changed if they are not roadworthy
This can be done easily via email, letter, or fax, to:
Mr Ross Docherty
Vehicle Safety Standards
Department of Transport and Regional Services
GPO Box 594
CANBERRA ACT 2601
or facsimile to: 02 6274 7714
or e-mail to: ross.docherty@dotars.gov.au
Step 2 - Write a letter / phone the politicians who might be able to do something about it.
The politicians that control the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) should be far more open to understanding the problems consumers have with restrictive trade than DOTARS themselves.
The three main ones to either write to or phone (e-mail isn't very effective with politicians) are:
The Person
Position
The Hon J. D. Anderson MP
Member for Gwydir
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
He is -
The Deputy Prime Minister
The Minister for Transport and Regional Services
The Leader of the Federal National Party
The Hon J. W. Howard MP
Member for Bennelong
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
He is -
The Prime Minister
Leader of the Federal Liberal Party
The Hon M. A. J. Vaile MP
Member for Lyne
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
He is -
Deputy Leader of the Nationals
Minister for Trade
And a vocal supporter of free trade. Currently negotiating our free trade agreement with the USA.
Write them a letter telling them your views on the proposed change, and why you think the change should not go through. As in Step 1, feel free to copy anything from the submission.
If you haven't got time to write to them, phone them. You will not get through to them at Parliament House, but their electoral offices are -
The Hon J. D. Anderson MP - Tel : (02) 6742 3155, Fax : (02) 6742 1840
The Hon J. W. Howard MP - Tel : (02) 9816 1300, Fax : (02) 9816 1349
The Hon M. A. J. Vaile MP - Tel : (02) 6584 2411, Fax : (02) 6584 2411
The more people that we can get to do this, the better the chance we have of stopping the DOTARS making the changes.
Step 3 - Contact the ACCC
There is no doubt that the ACCC is firmly against the type of behaviour Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) is supporting. You just have to read any of the papers by Professor Allan Fels, who was Chairman Trade Practices Commission at the time. Many of these papers are available on the ACCC website.
The main problem with asking them to be involved is the fine line between domestic competition policy and trade policy. But it can't hurt and you can do it quickly and easily online.
Either ring them on 1300 302 502, or contact them through their contact page, or their complaints page.
Step 4 - Contact as many people as you can and tell them about the proposed change, and get them to complain as well
Step 5 - Stay on our Mailing List and add as many others as you can so that we can keep you informed on what is going on
Step 6 - Either register and be active on the www.r34skyline.com website forums and other enthusiast forums such as www.skylinesdownunder.com.
Executive Overview
To understand what is happening currently to the 15 year rule, it is necessary to have an overview of changes to the import of vehicles over the last couple of years.
SEVS was introduced over the last 3 years simply as a way for the Govt. to control the number of secondhand vehicles imported to Australia. If nothing else, this is clear just from the way it was implemented -- if the main concerns were really about emissions, public safety and ensuring that vehicles meet Australian Design Rules prior to being put on the road (as DOTARS stated), then they would not have included a 100 vehicle per workshop per year restriction. This restriction represents an intentional barrier to trade, and comes at a time when the Australian Govt. is taking the moral high ground and pointing the finger at other countries including the US to remove their restrictive trade barriers !
SEVS is an over-restrictive system that makes importing vehicles much more difficult and more expensive for us all. Rather than letting supply and demand dictate numbers, the system allows for a quota system that can be varied at any time at the discretion of DOTARS. They have included powers that allow them at a stroke of the pen to cut the annual quota for workshops down to 50 or even 25 vehicles, until they drive them out of business. You'd think that the Govt. would not do this surely, not in Australia, but sadly based on many past actions by DOTARS, this scenario is certainly foreseeable.
They have been careful to avoid blatantly constraining the actual number of workshops, but are certainly doing so indirectly by drawing out the process of approving workshops to ridiculous timeframes, and having insufficient manpower to manage the process.
Since the introduction of SEVS, many businesses have logically been forced to rely on the import of 15+ year old vehicles just to survive. A $50,000 set up cost and 18 month frustrating wait before receiving any income whatsoever under SEVS is obviously more than most businesses can afford and a we estimate that more than 85% of the workshops undertaking compliance under the previous scheme no longer do this work nor have any intention of going into SEVS because of the cost and hardship. Some of the businesses that have survived to date will struggle and others will be directly put out of business if the rules change to restrict the import of 15+ year old vehicles as well, so closely on the heels of the SEVS nightmare.
The proposed changes by DOTARS to the 15+ year rule are SEVS all over again. The same illogical reason is behind it -- import numbers -- and the same covering arguments are being wheeled forward -- safety and emissions -- since they worked so well for DOTARS previously (even though they were, and still are, factually incorrect and verging on intentionally misleading).
DOTARS allege that the the import of 15+ year old vehicles (the great majority from Japan, according to their own numbers) will worsen the average emissions and safety of the Australian vehicle fleet. This is complete nonsense and appears to be intentionally misleading just to support their incorrect conclusions. They have paid no attention to the fact that Japan has had more strict emissions regulations since 1978 than Australia has TODAY. Instead they support their argument with irrelevant comparisons of current Aust. standards with previous Aust. standards, which only proves the obvious -- that older Australian cars are worse than current Aust. cars and says nothing about the low emissions of import alternatives.
DOTARS also neglect the vital point that for the same budget, the import options are in almost all cases safer, more efficient, and less polluting, as well as being more enjoyable to drive than locally available alternatives.
If we let them get away with this again, what will they do in the next few years ? Perhaps they will do away with imports altogether. So stand up and have your say before it's too late.
A great deal of thanks is due to www.r34skyline.com which has worked solidly over the last week to prepare and get all the necessary information online.
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Regards
Geoff Risbey
Manager
Prestige Motorsport
0418 944 253
www.prestigemotorsport.com.au
At your service Mon to Sat from 9am to 6pm WST
DL14688
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