Australia joins the scrappage bandwagon

A leading Australian motor industry group has called on the Government to implement a stimulus plan to pay drivers $3000 for crushing their old cars.
The scheme is intended to rid Australia of polluting, unsafe cars while providing a much-needed boost to the struggling car industry.

The MTA NSW has asked the Government to pay up to $3000 to crush cars more than 10 years old.
Once the car was destroyed the owner would get a certificate to be presented at a car dealership to receive $3000 off a new car.

"We are not specifying buy Australian or anything else," MTA NSW's James McCall said.

"We need to help the industry, including 103,000 small businesses that make a living from the car industry and 318,000 workers."

The MTAA said there were 15 million vehicles in Australia, about half more than 10 years old.
About 2 million of those are worth less than $3000.
Once you remove vintage cars, there would be about 1.5 million vehicles eligible for the scheme.

"The key is the grant has to be at least equal to what the owner would get if they traded it," Mr McCall said.

"Our submission asks the Government to set aside a maximum of $4.5 billion, spread over three years, which will be plenty to cover the cost.

"But it's not just a one-way street. In addition to saving jobs, which is ultimately good for the economy, the Government will get 10 per cent GST on the new car sales."

New vehicles sales slumped to a six-year low in February, data shows.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported new motor vehicle sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 3.5 per cent to 73,190 vehicles in February, down from 75,879 in January.

The last time sales were this low was March 2003.

Source: News.com.au

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