I recently caught up with a friend who does a similar job to me – a lobbyist for a major Australian supermarket.
While we swapped war stories and lamented the cliches vs the reality of what a lobbyist actually does (most of the time, anyway) he mentioned his day-to-day consisted primarily of collaborating with local and federal government bodies to bring about change for staff and customers across the company’s national footprint.
Not once did he mention making political donations, buying off media, or anything else House of Cards would have you to believe goes on.
We went on to the subject of a presentation I gave on the simple strategies we employ at Volkswagen Group Australia to generate owned media and content, and how this has come out of necessity – as we attempt to plug the hole once filled by broad, independent media.
That hole has been left by a serious decline of unique voices in the automotive media.
Where once my team and I would talk to close on 30 media professionals at any given time, nowadays it’s closer to 10.
Thanks to aggressive buy-outs, the continual decline of print relevance, and yes, big corporates such as us divesting traditional media spend into social media and owned-content streams; “the media” as it were, is not doing the job for our brand that it once did; which is to help us sell cars.
No surprise then, just as we have found ways to fill the hole left by media, media has found a way to fill the hole left by us and that replacement has deeper pockets and influence than the whole auto sector combined.
Say hello to the new voice in your newsroom: Mr Big Oil, PhD.
He’s quite learned, apparently.
The Australian automotive industry is under attack and risks obsolescence if it doesn’t keep up with the likes of Europe and Asia.
Problem is, we don’t have the same standard of fuel – not even close when it comes to our petrol which remains some of the most sulfuric (dirty) in the developed world.
Even if the world’s auto manufacturers take pity on our comparatively small market (selling one million cars a year vs China’s 20 times that) and develop a work-around to contend with Australia’s crap fuel quality, it still poses the question of what our fuel is doing to our environment, and our lungs.
President of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific, Mr Horst von Sanden, summed it perfectly in his maiden speech as supremo of the automotive peak body: “We need fuel of first-world quality to get a first-world emissions outcome.”
Dirty fuel equals Third-World cars.
While EVs will go some way to reduce emissions and air pollution in our cities where it is at its peak, the reality is we will be driving internal combustion cars for some time yet in Australia; so, having better fuel will continue to be a pressing priority.
The worst part is, in Big Oil’s expert opinion, there’s nothing he can do.
The depth of this line of b******t is breathtaking.
A cursory glance at what petrol is actually brought into the country will show that, on occasion, First-World fuel of 10ppm does in fact make it to our bowsers, albeit anonymously.
This begs the question why Big Oil can’t make a habit of this practice, and ensure all cars are as clean as possible for Australian customers and communities.
I’m writing this, because it appears very few else will.
Only a small number of my car company colleagues continue to talk about the shocking deficit in Australian fuel, despite becoming the dull voices at the party – repeating the same old story and getting fewer listeners each time.
For every great bit of journalism that attempts to make sense of this raw deal and look at all factors, I can cite a dozen other examples where Big Oil gets a free kick.
In the last 12 months: Big Oil has supplied major mastheads with advertorial fuel buying and howto guides, fuel economy “research” and, perhaps most offensive to my formal journalism training, paid sponsorship of so-called “influencer” social media feeds.
While the media’s influence on the car-buying public continues to wane and manufacturers put up less ad dollars, the seemingly highly-educated and well-intentioned Big Oil is happy to foot the bill and produce content hiding in plain sight as editorial.
Now, it would be incredibly disingenuous of me to not acknowledge, a) my own personal allegiances which begin and end with my own livelihood and, b) the Dieselgate scandal that engulfed my company.
[Volkswagen even unveiled its new Kombi-inspired ID Buzz with the poignant statement: “In the darkness, we found the light”].
But here, in Australia, where we are a local company that sells European products, our role to play is a simpler one – to get the very best products we can, so that we can sell them to as many Australians as possible.
That objective is the same for all car brands in Australia, who I would wager right now are also trying to convince their European and Asian parent companies to take them seriously, despite having Australia’s contemptible approach to climate change and any meaningful approach to environmental reform.
Trust me, being environmentally friendly is great for marketing, but with the Australian public – it’s more a “nice to have”, rather than an imperative.
“We have a new White Australia Policy: The Great Barrier Reef and the bleaching of its ancient coral.”
On a personal level, however, it’s all I can think about.
Like my friend the lobbyist, I hope I can enact a modicum of change – either by getting the word out to folks who read my work or hear me speak, or by continuing to question the motives of Big Oil who I think is taking the piss.
To be fair, Big Oil’s contemporaries are also to blame, so too are all of us.
The Government’s own advisors are warning that more ambitious policies are needed to meet our Paris Accord commitments.
While I can no longer call myself a journalist (and nor should I – that’s the cost of a corporate paycheck), I still believe in the Fourth Estate and the role of the public to uphold it.
Cutting-edge technology in cars is good for business, my business; but that doesn’t mean it can’t be good for the environment too.
My colleagues and I are working on bringing Volkswagen’s ID family of electric vehicles to Australia at present, and the conversations with head office are tough to say the least.
Not that you can blame our parent company – how can a market like Australia, so complacent in its poor environmental policy and standards, be taken seriously when it comes to EV infrastructure? Just this week, Volkswagen announced its “goTOzero” plan to reduce emissions and drive sustainability company-wide.
I don’t have kids, but I do worry about our children.
Whether you believe in climate change or not (or, more specifically, if you’re a flat-Earther or not), cleaner fuel means cleaner air.
Given that most schools in suburban areas are on main roads, we should all want future generations to breathe easier.
If I am to be seen as a lobbyist; all slick words and corporate manipulation, let it be for something that matters.
Big Oil is trying to buy what’s left of the media’s influence, and continue to treat Australia as a dumping ground for its dregs.
Whether you like it or not, new, fuel efficient cars burn less fuel, which in turn saves customers money.
Sure, you can expect Big Oil to charge more per barrel for Euro-spec petrol, but if you’re using less of it, how much more can it be? By all reports, not a lot.
Of course, this is all a moot point in the face of an increased EV fleet rollout.
My only hope is the energy sector doesn’t treat Australia with the same contempt as Big Oil.
