Vacc A Nanny On Sunday Vehicle Markets
The Age
Thursday March 16, 1995
THERE'S a real dog-in-the-manger attitude in the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) about the growth of ``park and sell" Sunday vehicle markets. Following the success of the new Chadstone Shopping Centre operation, the VACC's executive director, Bob Davison, says such activities contravene the law that stops licensed motor traders operating on Sundays, and must be stopped.
I know Bob Davison well, and respect him and the VACC for the way they represent the motor trade. But on this one, he's spinning his tyres. He claims (and one must assume he represents the will of his board, which comprises mainly car dealers) that such sites are a commercial activity that contravenes the Shop Trading Act, that they have become ``pseudo dealers".
Like other sites, Chadstone was the idea of an individual, in this case one Edward Schonfeldt, who saw an opportunity to give people a chance to buy and sell on a Sunday when everything was shut. He went to the owners of the shopping centre and to the local council, police and other authorities, and was given a green light.
Car owners arrive, pay $25 to park their vehicles, and if they don't sell on that Sunday they can keep coming back with no extra charge.
The Malvern police have been invited to (and have attended) both market days run so far. The RACV has on an-site representative to give advice.
The site office hands out printed leaflets from the Office of Fair Trading, advising buyers and sellers of their rights and responsibilities. Schonfeldt says he has invited the VACC to send its inspectors. He says: ``We do not trade in motor vehicles . . . we merely coordinate a well-established weekend activity."
The truth is that the VACC doesn't want the law changed to allow car dealers to open on Sundays. In New South Wales they've been able to do that for decades, and it's the biggest trading day of the week.
However, I have been told by several senior VACC board members that they don't want Sunday opening because they don't want to carry the extra costs of advertising, they don't want the complication of paying their staff and they don't believe they'd generate enough sales to pay for it anyway.
Dealers can open legally on the Mornington Peninsula Rob Christie's Motor Court Toyota on Nepean Highway is always open on Sundays and I'm told several Melbourne city dealers opened legally last Sunday. I also believe dealers in the CBD could open under the legislation that virtually allows free trading seven days a week but they don't.
Bob Davison claims the ``park and sell" activities are tempting to people flogging stolen or ``encumbered" cars. But exactly the same principle applies to anyone using The Age classifieds. In case you hadn't heard, Bob, it's called caveat emptor. There are plenty of Dodgy Brothers operating out of backyards. One phone call can clear a vehicle's title.
Bob, we have enough nannying bureaucrats, enough people-botherers, without the VACC joining the club. We need a simple answer to a simple question: why doesn't the VACC want Sunday vehicle trading? Bob? Are you there?
© 1995 The Age
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