Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

I will do it as expeditiously as I can—there is no need to have any concern about that. In terms of the talks this coming Friday, I think the member asked me who is not coming. I am expecting all the principal representatives of the industry to be there. I have not been appraised of any apologies. However, what I can say is that it is an important discussion for representatives of the industry, including the unions and with the government, to consider all of the challenges that the industry is facing. Principal among those challenges is the issue of the high value of the Australian dollar. It is important to contemplate for a moment that for each one-cent appreciation in the value of the Australian dollar vis-a-vis the US dollar the impact on competitiveness of an Australian manufactured car that, for example, retails for $25,000 is $250. We have seen significant appreciation in the exchange rate in recent years, and in the last two years in particular, that has impacted significantly on the competitiveness of the automanufacturing industry in Australia. On top of that, the industry is going through massive structural change, at a global level. All of the major motor-vehicle manufacturers are restructuring their operations internationally. As is well known, there were various bailout arrangements put in place in the United States for Ford and General Motors.

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