Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I like the member for Wakefield. He is a good man. But I think I counted about seven bells around that poor cat's neck; it is not sneaking up on anything; it is not moving at all; it was belled so many times it was dragging along the ground.

I want to get into what we are doing with this bill and why we are doing it. The member for Wakefield was talking about exporting motor cars overseas. Holden Australia were exporting motor cars until the parent company, GM, said no. It is common knowledge in the automotive industry—

Mr Champion interjecting—

You had your chance, Nick. In the race of life back self-interest. I understand the hubris. The reason you are standing up here is that you want to make sure you have another term because you do not have anything else to go to.

Mr Champion interjecting—

You are singing to the choir, mate.

The Automotive Transformation Scheme is a legislated entitlement scheme which provides assistance to registered participants for the productions of motor vehicles and engines. I would like to go through the substance of the bill and then make some personal comments at the end. The ATS allows investment in allowable research and development and allowable plant and equipment. There are two types of assistance—capped via special appropriation and uncapped via an annual appropriation.

The coalition announced its intention to reduce the ATS in February 2011—so this is not a surprise. These intentions were brought to the 2013 election—once again, not a surprise. The local motor vehicle producers—Ford, Holden and Toyota—announced that by the end of 2017 they will stop local vehicle manufacturing in Australia. During Labor's tenure in government Ford and Mitsubishi said they would do the same. What did the member for Wakefield say at the time? I would like to go back and have a look at that. Therefore, assistance through the ATS will no longer be required from 2018. Labor members and Senate crossbenchers are likely to oppose this bill—and why wouldn't they? They oppose absolutely everything. They opposed their own budget measures!

Labor hit manufacturing with a carbon tax bill of $1.1 billion, hit the car industry with a fringe benefits tax bill of $1.8 billion, provided a last minute $215 million to GM Holden and granted Alcoa $40 million pre-closure as they pushed through their carbon tax. In their last three years Labor spun 14 ministers through the former Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research, Climate Change and Tertiary Education—14 ministers! Labor's legacy is one of instability, inconsistency and indecision.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries have publically called on the parliament to oppose the government's savings measures—but why would we? GM Holden's Managing Director, Gerry Dorizas, warned in August 2014 that the cuts to the ATS would result in an early closure of the car manufacturing industry costing 50,000 jobs. I do not know how you get 50,000 jobs out of that—but that is the rhetoric we have to deal with.

A Productivity Commission report was handed down in March 2014. The report showed the automotive industry was handed about $30 billion in government support between 1997 and 2012 in the form of tariffs and budgetary assistance—have a look at the number of small engineering firms in my electorate that could have done with a slice of that. Over that period there were 5,186,765 vehicles manufactured locally. This equates to approximately $5,784 of government support per vehicle during this period. That is approximately $164,000 of government support a year for every job—man woman and child, cleaner and CEO—in the motor vehicle industry. Imagine what people out there could do with a government subsidy of $164,000 per job in their business. You would not have too many worries, would you? You would probably be able to provide something people actually want! Despite this the Australian automotive industry has failed to survive in a highly competitive global market.

This bill gives effect to the government's decision to reduce the ATS by $500 million over three years from 2015 and finally closing it on 1 January 2018 as announced at the 2013 election. The total amount of capped assistance for stage 1 will be reduced by $200 million to $1.3 billion ( 2011-2015) and in stage 2 it will be reduced by $700 million to $300 million (2016-2018). This will provide $900 million in savings to the budget. This government has made a longstanding commitment to get this budget under control. The decision to return the $400 million allocated for 2018-2020 to consolidated revenue was set out in this year's budget—no doubt opposed by all and sundry on the other side of the chamber and the crossbenches.

The government believes there is a future for manufacturing in Australia but only in those areas where we have a competitive advantage: food and agribusiness, mining equipment, technology and services, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, oil and gas and advanced manufacturing. To take advantage of these opportunities many Australian firms will have to change the way they do business and run their companies. This is why we are focused on creating the economic environment that will support and encourage private sector investment and jobs growth. We are reforming vocational education and training, improving incentives for business to invest in technology and research and development, cutting red tape by $1 billion per year and helping transition manufacturing to the smart, high-value, export focused industries of the future.

The government has a way forward post car manufacturing. We believe that by supporting industry, innovation and competitiveness, targeting Australia's strengths and identifying ways to foster national competitiveness and productivity we will create long-term sustainable jobs. The government has established a $155 million growth fund to help automotive workers find new and better jobs. We will assist businesses to diversify into new markets and invest in infrastructure projects. A key part of the growth fund is the $20 million Automotive Diversification Program, which will assist automotive supply chain firms to diversify and invest outside of the automotive industry. The first round of the program is already underway.

The growth fund also includes a $30 million skills and training program to assist automotive employees and have their skills recognised and provide training for new jobs. There is $15 million to boost the Automotive Industry Structural Adjustment Program to provide careers advice and assist automotive employees to secure new jobs. There is a $60 million for the Generation Manufacturing Investment Program to accelerate private sector investment in high-value non-automotive manufacturing sectors in Victoria and South Australia, and there is $30 million for the Regional Infrastructure Program to support investment in nonmanufacturing opportunities in affected regions.

The $42 million Automotive New Markets Program is a joint initiative of the federal, Victorian and South Australian governments to help automotive component producers win work in non-automotive markets domestically and internationally. The federal Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane said—and I will not do the voice—

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