Treasurer pushes for right to repair, but will ag machinery be included?

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has weighed in on the right to repair issue, but fell short of explicitly including agricultural machinery in his proposed reforms.

Dr Chalmers told the Australian Business Economists on Wednesday: “I expect we’ll start by fast-tracking the adoption of trusted international product safety standards and developing a general right to repair – both Commonwealth-led reforms.”

National Farmers Federation (NFF) Chief Executive Officer Tony Mahar urged the Federal Government to commit to including agricultural machinery in proposed reforms.

“What we need is greater flexibility for farmers to repair their equipment, like what other countries have achieved for their farm sector. We haven't been able to land any such arrangements so far,” Mr Mahar said.

“Farmers across Australia know all too well the cost of equipment downtime. When machinery is out of action during harvest, it costs time and money.

“We’ve been pursuing the right to repair to give farmers greater flexibility to use a suitably qualified repairer of their choice without fear of voiding warranties and travelling long distances - or waiting excessive periods - to access supplier repairers.”

The NFF’s Right to Repair Taskforce, a collective of commodity councils and state farming organisations, has been pushing for policy changes to address these issues.

READ MORE: Opinion: Why Australian farmers need the right to repair

“We are encouraged by Treasurer Chalmers’ comments signalling a focus on right to repair, but want to see a firm commitment this will include agricultural machinery," Mr Mahar said.

“This move would not only align with the recommendations from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Productivity Commission and right to repair academics, but would also bring Australia in line with our international competitors such as Canada and the state of Colorado in the United States, where right to repair is now law.”

Assistant Minister for Competition Dr Andrew Leigh recently recognised that right to repair issues can put farmers under real financial pressure.

“We support the Government making a firm commitment to include agricultural machinery in a right to repair and stand ready to work with them to achieve that,” Mr Mahar said.

“This is a practical and sensible solution that will support farmers, boost the farm sector’s productivity and level out the playing field with our international competitors."