Labor calls for Holden dealer aid

A NSW Labor Senator has called on the federal government to extend JobKeeper beyond September and provide six months rent assistance for Holden dealers.

Senator Deborah O’Neill told Holden dealers in an open letter last week she was pushing for the added support in the wake of the axing of the brand by General Motors and the expiration of the compensation deadline on June 30.

O’Neill’s position has added significance because she is a member of the Senate committee that is inquiring into the closure of Holden and its impact. Hearings begin in August.

She previously called on the corporate watchdog ASIC to investigate GM’s establishment of the new GM Specialty Vehicles network in Australia.

The government introduced the JobKeeper payment in April as a response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a fortnightly $1500 subsidy to help employers keep paying their employees. It is due to finish on September 27.

O’Neill estimated 2500 employees of the Holden dealer network would lose their jobs when JobKeeper ended.

“That’s 2500 people who need to hold onto the jobs they have in your Holden dealership. They need retraining and you need time to get other car brands on board and onsite,” O’Neill wrote.

“I also call on the government, because they failed to assist you with GM negotiations, to organise to pay for up to six months’ rent of your premises.

“The investment in you and your businesses would literally buy you time that the government itself squandered.

“Six months’ rent, I understand would help give you and other Holden dealers the necessary time to reshape your business and survive.

More than 120 of the 185 Holden dealers accepted GM’s compensation offer by June 30.

Separate to the Senate inquiry, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is understood to have commenced an investigation into the conduct of the compensation process that dragged on bitterly for months.

It is understood to be interviewing Holden dealers in the course of that process.

“The content of negotiations themselves are a private commercial matter for the parties to resolve themselves. The ACCC will continue to investigate broader allegations but cannot intervene further in the negotiation process,” the ACCC told carsales in a written statement.