Pollies lash Holden again

The federal government has again called on General Motors to negotiate in good faith with Holden dealers as the deadline for acceptance of a controversial compensation deal closes in.

The message was delivered in a joint release by industry minster Karen Andrews and employment minister Michaelia Cash in the wake of a meeting with GM Holden interim managing director Kristian Aquilina in Canberra last week.

“General Motors must honour its promise to negotiate on compensation with Holden dealers in good faith, amid significant effort from dealers to resolve their ongoing dispute,” the statement declared.

“Dealers have repeatedly shown they are committed to working with GM Holden to reach an outcome and finalise protracted negotiations stemming from GM’s decision to retire the Holden brand in Australia. GM Holden should demonstrate that same commitment.”

It is the second release ministers Andrews and Cash have issued since the meeting with Aquilina. The first, released last Friday, called for Holden to “ensure a fair outcome for Australian dealers”.

Holden was axed by General Motors in February and a compensation offer was subsequently made to 185 dealers who operate more than 200 showrooms and have had their franchise agreements terminated nearly three years early.

The dealers rejected that offer and subsequent mediation on June 10-11 failed to close the chasm between the two parties.

Last week the Australian Holden Dealer Council tried to apply pressure to the federal government, especially industry minister Andrews, over GM’s suitability to establish its new Australian business GMSV, as we reported earlier.

Aquilina also crossed the aisle to meet with Labor MP Brendan O’Connor and Senators Louise Pratt and Deborah O’Neill, the latter two members of the education and employment references committee that is enquiring into the Holden closure and its impacts.

It is understood Aquilina told the various parliamentarians that GM Holden regards its offer to the dealers as fair and would not be changing it.

The joint press release confirmed continued investigations into the matter by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which had earlier applied pressure to Holden to extend its compensation offer deadline from May 31 to June 30.

“General Motors must demonstrate they’re a good corporate citizen. They must also consider their international reputation,” the statement said.

“The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) continues to monitor the negotiations between the parties and is communicating with them.

“The ACCC’s investigation is ongoing and is examining allegations relating to the good faith obligations of the Franchising Code of Conduct and the unconscionable conduct provisions of the Australian Consumer Law.”

The June 30 deadline is the next crunch point in the saga. Depending on how that spins out, dealers could then take GM to court, although that could be a long and expensive route.

So far only one dealer has confirmed acceptance of the GM compensation offer, but many more could sign up by the deadline because lucrative Holden service and parts agreements are tied in with it.