Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today angry and disappointed at the events of the past 24 hours. The Toyota plant in Altona, in my electorate, is a fixture of Melbourne's west. It has called Altona home for the past 36 years and generations of workers in my electorate have honed their craft building the Camrys and Orients that so many Australians drive. But recently, Toyota, like so many of our manufacturing companies, has faced a perfect storm of external challenges. A high Australian dollar, a tough export market and muted demand domestically have created conditions that make it impossible to face alone. The key word here is 'alone'. With the right leadership, Toyota and our auto industry could have received the assistance it needed to continue operating in Australia. With the right captain, a way could have been found through this storm, to sail through these storm clouds, and steer the ship to safer seas.

Toyota confirmed in its press conference yesterday afternoon that they were 'close to making the decision' to initiate a new production line for the new Camry. This was a company that wanted to stay in Australia. But, since the announcement of the closure of Holden in December 2013, Tony Abbott has done absolutely nothing to fight for the jobs of Australian workers. Instead of trying to find a way to save the Australian car industry, the Abbott government's—

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