Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In 1947 Joseph Benedict Chifley went to watch the first Holden leave the line at Fishermans Bend. And the great question before this House is whether this Treasurer, Joseph Benedict Hockey, the member for North Sydney, is going to go and watch the last Holden leave the line, in my electorate. This is a Treasurer with an iconic brand and 50,000 jobs hanging around his neck. Make no mistake about it. We all know the headline, even though we have been banned from showing it to anybody: 'Hockey dares GM to leave'. There he was in this House: belligerence, shouting, bravado. And all the same things we saw in this parliament were no doubt seen in the cabinet room, because we all know that this came down to a fight between the member for North Sydney and the member for Groom. That is what this was all about.

I remember on 3 October seeing the ABC headlines, after we had toured the factory. The member for Hindmarsh toured the factory with us. He came down with the industry minister, and we toured the factory—Senator Xenophon, all the Liberal senators, Senator Sean Edwards and others. It was a big tour around Holden, with pictures of the industry minister standing there proudly, using workers as props. And then he went and said, 'Just have patience'. In fact, I have the headline here: 'New Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane tours Holden plant and seeks patience from Detroit over federal assistance'. That was the headline on ABC—'seeks patience'. What they were trying to get was silence—silence from the Labor Party, silence from Senator Xenophon, silence from South Australia, silence from the unions, silence from the company. They were buying time to have an argument in cabinet. And it did not come down to these other factors; it came down to whether or not the Treasurer, with all his bravado and arrogance, prevailed over the member for Groom. That is why we had silence for so long—deathly silence, right up until the point that there was a leak.

And what was the leak about? It was about shifting blame onto a company that has been trying its level best and whose workforce has been trying its level best. Those opposite talk about labour costs and flexibility. What other workforce in this country, during the global financial crisis, worked one week with pay and one week without? It was only at GMH. And when they were asked to give up hard-won entitlements to secure production, when they were asked for $15 million in costs, what did the workforce do? They voted to agree with the company, setting up the framework for future investment. What they needed to remain in Australia was government assistance—the same government assistance that car workers get in Germany, in Japan, in Korea and in any other country that supports its car workers. But in Australia they found a government that was indifferent to the economic circumstances of the world and indifferent to jobs in this country. Let's make no mistake: this was all about the division in the government; this was all about the heart and soul of this government. And what we find is that a callous, flint-hearted Treasurer has won the day. If there is unemployment in this country, and if there is a tragic human cost to this decision in this country, it will be on the head of the Treasurer, it will be on the head of the member for Hindmarsh, it will be on the head of Senator Edwards and all of the other Liberals who sat quietly for two months, lulling the whole place into silence, and then, at five minutes to midnight, leapt on this iconic national brand.

For 50-odd years governments have been supporting car manufacturing in this country. That is why we had Minister Hodgett from the Victorian government say yesterday: 'My message to federal colleagues is any speculation on future of Holden is not helpful. It's disappointing.' What response did he get? The Treasurer, and the Acting Prime Minister goaded this company into making a decision before Christmas—of all times! The Acting Prime Minister sent a letter. Who sends letters these days? Couldn't he pick up the phone? Couldn't he go down and have a meeting? Federal industry policy has descended to a one-page excuse. That is what federal industry policy has become.

There are workers in my electorate—and I was with them last week—such as Murray Akehurst who, in the Advertiser on 2 December, was talking about how he wanted to fight for his job. He has been there for 16 years. He is 50 years old. Where is he going to get a job? Damien Griffiths of Andrews Farm is a father of two children. He has a mortgage. Where will he get a job? The human cost will still be there in 2017. Make no mistake, it will be there in no uncertain terms. All that this government has given the workers of Holden is the certainty of unemployment. That is what they have given them. What we have is a Treasurer who has forsaken that title. Have no doubt about it, he will not have the courage to go down there to Elizabeth and watch the last car rolled off the line. He will not have the courage to go down there and face those workers. None of you will. When component workers came up to this House, with whom did they get a meeting? They got a meeting with the industry minister, who is a good man who is trying his best, I am sure. But they could not get a meeting with the Treasurer. You can be sure that what we have is a government that is completely indifferent to these workers.

I know we are not allowed to hold up headlines, but we should remember this other headline from today: 'PM's pansies'.

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