Co-operatives address the community’s needs

An NRMA patrol member deals with one of the more common problems drivers face – keys locked inside the car. Picture: Nikki Short

This has been another tough year for Australian families to navigate. I see communities struggling as rising prices continue to eat into family budgets, forcing some into difficult decisions between everyday necessities. It’s also been a year of polarisation, conflict and division that can make people feel isolated.

Our younger generations have found 2024 particularly difficult, with Mission Australia’s latest Youth Survey finding that 56 per cent of Australians aged 15 to 19 are worried about the rising cost of living. It’s the first time that everyday expenses have featured as the No.1 issue troubling young people, with climate change (27 per cent) a distant second.

Young people are right to worry because interest rates are hovering at a 12-year high, and the Reserve Bank of Australia has been unable to bring inflation under control. It’s no surprise that household budgets are buckling under the pressure.

In challenging times like these, people need to work together to get better outcomes, and this is where co-operatives and mutuals have an important role to play. Many mutuals and co-ops have been around for long enough to understand the value of Australian mateship and these businesses are built to bring people together.

The United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives, shining a light on the unique ability of co-operatives and mutuals to drive social and economic development.

So it’s no surprise to see that the sector is strong and growing, with the latest report by the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) finding that Australia’s top 100 co-operative and mutual businesses grew their total revenue by 16.1 per cent to $43.2bn during the past year.

Overseas mutual and co-op business models are being promoted by governments that understand their value. The British government has committed to doubling the size of the sector. The creation of Great British Energy will help drive a significant expansion in co-operatives, and plans to modernise co-op, credit union and mutual law to drive expansion were recently announced.

NRMA Group chief executive Rohan Lund.

Here in Australia co-operatives and mutuals have a combined membership of almost 35 million, providing jobs for 89,000 workers. The BCCM’s top 100 list features some of our biggest unlisted companies, including West Australian grain handler CBH, health insurer HCF, dairy producer Norco and the NRMA.

The NRMA was founded by a former Australian prime minister, C J Watson. It was a time of huge disruption and turmoil.

Cars were replacing the horse and cart, and the world was still reeling from World War I and the Spanish flu. Watson saw the importance of mutuality as a vehicle for equity. Disillusioned with partisan politics and the short-term motivations of listed corporates, he saw a role for a mutual to keep our regional communities, and our extraordinary natural assets, connected and accessible for all.

We have grown our membership base to 3.2 million members. Unlike publicly listed companies, our returns go straight back to supporting our members. Our ability to provide solutions to the cost of living pressures our members face is critical. Being part of the NRMA community gives our members access to exclusive travel, motoring, dining and entertainment rewards that help them address cost-of-living challenges.

We’re also a powerful voice for our members, advocating effectively on issues like safer roads, affordable fuel and funding for regional communities. This advocacy has seen us raise over $6bn in road infrastructure funding over the past five years.

A century ago, the NRMA was providing guides to lead the way for regional journeys, establishing ‘‘motor camps’’ for members to make a stop along the way, solving fuel security by investing in local distribution, and creating vehicle insurance to remove the capital risk.

Modern concepts like social enterprise, the sharing economy and collective buying were the genesis of mutuals back then. Now we are reinventing the mutual model for the next generation, because we understand that it matters even more today.

Driven by our purpose, we have grown beyond our legendary roadside assistance and today our patrols and call centre teams support a member every 30 seconds. We own over 70 travel destinations across holiday parks, resorts, lodges, cruising and expeditions and 155 SIXT car rental locations. NRMA’s investment into domestic tourism is far-reaching, ranging from Freycinet and Cradle Mountain to The Atherton Holiday Park. From the Gordon River Cruises to Coral Expeditions in the Kimberley. It’s why we have been building the national backbone for fast-charge EV infrastructure across the nation’s highways to make sure every town remains accessible. NRMA’s scale and impact is evident from the one million sessions in our mobile app each month.

In recent years we’ve won the fight for real-time fuel pricing to be made available to the public. We’re also leading the push for better domestic travel by creating safe and sustainable journeys around the country.

The world is changing and so is what matters to Australians. But as a mutual we will always have the freedom and responsibility to meet those evolving needs. It has never been more important for mutuals and co-ops to find ways to serve our members and the community. We are stronger together.

Rohan Lund is group CEO of the NRMA.