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Yes you do have friends in Parliament.

This morning I attended a car show/launch at the front of Parliament House presenting the "Parliamentary Friends of Motoring" group of Parliament. Should be snippets on tonights news.

There were probably 40 or 50 interesting cars there and I snuck in the Gold MX5 as there were no others on display.

The group comprises Fiona Scott MP (Liberal ?), Senator Ricky Muir (Motoring party), Senator Kate Lundy (Labour Canberra) and each of them spoke. The NRMA, NSW Police and Ian Luff also had a chat. The main focus was road safety, but Ricky and Ian made reference to motor sport and the need to provide facilities and that a Senate committee will be considering the post 2017 car industry (or lack thereof).

It would be easy to be cynical, but it is good to know such a group exists and may be a focus for some productive outcomes. Anyway it was a good car show and they were giving away free meat pies from the old Canberra Pie Truck.


The objectives of the group are:

•To raise awareness and highlight the benefits of motoring and motoring bodies throughout the community, including from an economic and social perspective;
•To provide opportunities for all Senators and Members to share opinions and discuss policy issues with stakeholders and peak bodies dedicated to motoring and motoring related fields;
•To provide a forum in which stakeholders and peak bodies dedicated to motoring can meet and interact with Senators and Members to discuss issues important to their constituents;
•To support the future development and growth of the Australian Automotive Industry;
•To celebrate the contribution that motoring has made to this country;
•To raise awareness of the value of motorsport from a social perspective, and the economic opportunities for local communities; and
•To disseminate information to Senators and Members on motoring issues
Contact Persons:
Fiona Scott MP
Senator Muir
Senator Kate Lundy
(Co-convenors)


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Thanks for posting that. Met Kate Lundy in the context of a technology/leasing function when I was working in finance in Sydney - early 2000s she was the shadow minister for IT, and if IIRC, sport. Very impressive lady, and strongly across a very dynamic portfolio at the time as the internet became more and more entwined in our lives.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of it. I've been of the opinion that many road safety measures since the introduction of speed cameras has been window dressing, hopefully some genuinely new initiatives come out of it.

Fiona Scott's dad is John Scott from Scott's Spares in Penrith, one of the guys who started the Auto One group. Her grand father was a keen car collector, and started the family business, so she has grown up in an automotive world. I don't have any time for her political ideals, but at the very least she understands cars.