March 22, 2018 Australian Border Patrol nabs Maseratis Visiting Maserati owners caught up in asbestos crackdown Australian Border Patrol officers have nabbed a number of visiting Maseratis. Up to nine Maserati owners, who have travelled from around the world to attend this week’s Maserati Global Gathering 1400km club run, have been sidelined by Australian customs which has impounded the vehicles. The classic Maseratis which date from 1964 and include a 3500 GT previously owned by Joe Walsh of The Eagles, docked in Melbourne last week where they were selected at random for invasive asbestos testing, a process which can cost the owner up to $30,000 and includes drilling core components including the firewall to test for presence of the substance. While most of the visiting Maserati vehicles managed to dodge the customs process, one entire shipment of eight vehicles from the UK has been held meaning overseas visitors who have paid up to $4000 to attend the drive event to pilot exclusive classics from Apollo Bay to Sydney are now sharing cars or driving modern equivalents. The owner of the impounded group is a Brisbane businessman who had shipped the vehicles to Australia to support the inaugural drive event. Organisers had sought exemption for the vehicles back in September, arguing that they were here for a single visit and would be exported via Sydney at the end of the trip. It’s claimed they received no response from the relevant department until two weeks prior to the event, at which time the cars were already en route. Despite being accompanied with supporting paperwork, exemption was not granted and the cars were instead earmarked for testing. The owner has declined the process which would take weeks and thousands of dollars per vehicle and plans to ship them back out of Melbourne. Australian Border Patrol instigated random asbestos testing of imported classic vehicles last year but the expensive and invasive procedure is likely to deter some collectors from bringing overseas vehicles into Australia in the future. Owners have the option to find an overseas authority to carry out testing prior to importing cars but the process can be costly and damaging to vehicles and needs to be undertaken by a body which is approved by Australia. The Maserati Owner’s Club believes that the restrictive measures will impact on other car clubs looking to host similar events in Australia. The exclusive runs, which are popular around the world can attract hundreds of participants and generate valuable tourism dollars. Maserati club runs in mainland Europe, where vehicles cross country borders with no intervention, can pull in 100 cars, booking out hotels and showcasing new regions to the participants. The Maserati Global Gathering is taking place this week with the tour travelling from Torquay to Bendigo in Victoria today (Thursday, March 22). The group will pass through Milawa, Albury, Cooma and Canberra before concluding its run at the Sydney Opera House on March 26.
There has been at least one other Asbestos and Australia threads on here in the last year. Looks like Border Patrol has gone too far this time. To me, cars being brought into the country for a temporary show are not "imports" in the definition as the afore implied environmental law is intended to cover.
More on these unfortunate practises: https://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=FOC_201707_SS2
This is why I'd never take any of my cars outside of the country for a visit. But there are plenty more. To do that you need to be very wealthy and have connections to ensure crap like this doesn't happen.
When I "imported" my newly acquired Bora to California from Oklahoma in 1987 it has asbestos sheets on the backside of all the crummy heat shields. I simply used a water hose to soften the asbestos into a slurry and down the drain it went. People have gone cokeyed crazy anout the stuff as though minor contact with it will ruin your health. I made new, better, double walled shields out of SS.
I am on the Tour and am close to the volunteer organising committee for this event. I can say, factually, that the committee have been trying to engage the Customs Department for close to 18 months, with vague agreements/assurances etc. The whole mess is an indictment on the Australian Customs Department (Border Control, whatever they call themselves...). It is so hit and miss - the December 2017 Targa Florio - all cars, no issues; The March Phillip Island Historics car meet- all cars no issues. The inconsistency is excruciating. I have a mate who has brought in 3 Lancias from the 1950s to the 1970s in the last year - all sailed through! Bizarre and ridiculous. Basically, people with small dicks trying to make a statement. There has been a bit of media coverage on this farce over here...
Thanks for the update from the front lines of this and CRUCIFY the batards responsible for this. They only thing they're accomplishing is giving their country a very big black eye.
For what it is worth, here is Michael Sheehan's take and a few more facts on the incident that was published today: https://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=FOC_201804_SS
Asbestos will not harm you simply by gazing upon it or by touching it. It only harms people who inhale the fibers over a long period of time. The hysteria is based solely on emotion and not science or facts. A very similar scenario has played out with lead-based paints. Hysteria. Lead paint is actually a good quality paint from a performance standpoint. Simply touching lead paint will not harm you. Lead paint can lead to lower IQs after ingestion over a prolonged period, such as toddlers eating lead paint chips that have peeled off wood trim. Perhaps that is the explanation for the behavior of the Australian bureaucrats, they ate too many paints chips as children...
