Australian car companies and their dealers have only themselves to blame for the Federal Government's belated, and necessary, decision to issue a compulsory recall notice on all vehicles fitted with potentially life threatening Takata air bags this week.
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The compulsory recall, which will affect an estimated 2.3 million vehicles or 12 per cent of the cars on Australian roads, is the largest in our history.
The defective airbags, which have been fitted to an estimated 100 million vehicles worldwide, have been linked to 23 deaths and more than 230 serious injuries.
In Australia one person has been killed and one person has been seriously injured to date.
The risk of further deaths and injuries is expected to escalate as the airbags age and degrade.
This may happen faster in some parts of Australia than elsewhere because of our extreme climate.
Wednesday's announcement, by Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, followed growing anger amongst consumer groups, including Choice, over the slow pace at which the voluntary recall, which dates back to 2009 and originally targeted almost four million cars, was progressing.
Michael McCormack, the Small Business Minister, was fiercely critical of the industry following the first Australian death in July, 2017.
He said less than one million vehicles had been rectified over the previous eight years and foreshadowed the move to a mandatory process.
While the industry was quick to go on the defensive, with the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries saying it did not believe this was necessary, it is hard to disagree with the Government's subsequent actions.
A damning Choice investigation, made public in mid-2017, revealed consumers were being told there was a minimum six month wait to have the airbags replaced.
In some cases the replacement airbags were identical to those originally fitted and, as a result, will need to be replaced again.
Some motorists also reported having to make two trips to the dealership to have first the drivers side, and then the passenger side, airbags replaced. Others complained of difficulties in obtaining no-cost "loaner" cars while their own vehicles were off the road.
These are just some of the reasons why the Government has issued very clear directions on how consumers are to be treated under the mandatory recall now in effect.
In the cases of the so-called "Alpha" airbags, the oldest in the recall, motorists are being advised to drive their cars as little as possible.
If they don't feel comfortable driving the vehicle at all the dealer has to come and collect it for them or send a technician out to do the job at their home.
Car dealers are not allowed to sell cars for which a recall notice has been issued and, even if such a notice has not yet been issued, are obliged to advise prospective buyers if a vehicle is affected.
While the original fault lies with the now defunct Takata company which sold a faulty product to car makers across the globe, it is an unfortunate truth the local motor industry has underperformed badly in the decade since this issue became public.
The Federal Government's intervention is as welcome as it is overdue.
