Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor has always supported the dignity of workers and the capacity of work to give people that dignity. Today I will speak on behalf of my constituents about the failure of this government to secure their futures. The conversation about jobs thus far has focused on the big players. We have heard a lot about Holden in Elizabeth and Fishermans Bend and Toyota in Altona, but I want to bring the focus of the House today to how the people in my electorate of Hotham will be affected.

Hotham is a place of industry and enterprise. Cheltenham, lying on our western boundary, is home to many factories producing textiles, food and machinery. Moorabbin, Clarinda, Clayton and Westall are filled with industry—factories small and large. Within all these areas lie hundreds of businesses supporting the car industry, manufacturing components, and those industrial sites support the cafes, laundries, logistics companies and the 5,000 small businesses in my electorate that rely in whole or part on automotive industry.

The collapse of the auto industry is going to have real consequences for the people of Hotham. It is predicted that there are 1,000 jobs on the line in my electorate. Looking with a regional focus at the state seats, we know that in the state seat of Lyndhurst 862 jobs directly related to the automotive industry will be on the line. In Bentleigh we will face losses of up to 177 jobs; in Oakleigh it is 176 and in Clayton 372. That is more than 1,000 families that are going to potentially lose a worker due to the failure of this government to protect the automotive industry.

I refer to some of the businesses that are going to see massive changes without an auto industry in Australia. I want to talk about a company called MTM, a components company in Hotham that employs 95 workers. It received a significant grant from Labor. This company is a world leader in research and development for door checks and automated gear sticks. It is a very successful company and very export focused. Companies like this are those that rather resent the inference of our Treasurer that the auto industry in Australia is lazy and inefficient. These are companies that are right at the cutting edge of production all over the world, but that does not mean that they do not need our support.

I want to talk about Mackay Rubber which I visited during the election campaign. I talked with management very frankly about some of the issues they face. I talked to their union delegates and visited the factory floor. It is a great business, a family business, and I believe they have strong future. But of course they are going to be affected. I talked to the workers; these are smart people. They are skilled. Many are recent migrants to Australia but, because of this government, their jobs are now on the line.

Tony Abbott says it is not his fault—that it is not the government's responsibility—but when this government campaigned they promised to keep jobs and create 1 million more. They cannot be responsible for jobs created but not jobs lost. That is not fair to the people of Hotham.

See this speech in context