Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I am always happy to answer questions in the spirit they are asked by the shadow minister for resources. This particular member asked questions that were vague, inaccurate and highly political. I am not responding politically. I am just saying to do yourself a favour and watch the ABC at 8.30 tonight.

With regard to the performance of the previous Labor government and the claims made by the member, the reality is that at no stage did the Labor Party insist on the one thing that was crucial to the survival of the car industry, and that is that the money they sprayed at them—ineffectively, I have to say—caused the companies to perform at an international standard by exporting their vehicles, with the exception of Toyota. As to the suggestion that there were significant plans by any manufacturer other than Toyota for another model, I think that is sheer speculation.

I totally reject any suggestion that our government did anything but support the car industry during that time, and of course it was GM's decision in Detroit to end production of Holden. That has been quoted time and again by senior executives in GM, including most recently at the Detroit motor show earlier this year, that no action by the government in terms of supplying further assistance would have changed the decision by General Motors to close production.

The member asks about the announcement in Adelaide recently in relation to the ATS. I am going to stick to the facts, not the media speculation and unnamed sources et cetera. The reality is that that announcement resulted in $683.4 million more being made available to the car industry. The member asks how much of that money the car industry used. Well, that is entirely dependent on the car industry. The more Australian-built cars they sell, the more money we will give them. There is more than enough money there—as I said, an extra $683.4 million. That is something I am extraordinarily proud of, because I was the minister, of course, who put this car plan in place.

When I was last minister I put in place a $4.3 billion plan for the car industry—a plan which gave the car industry the opportunity to be an internationally competitive force. They did their best; I think they make a fantastic product and the workers there should be proud of that. But decisions made in headquarters in Detroit, and finally in Japan, have seen this industry progress to a position where it is not going to exist in Australia post-2017. No-one is sadder about that than I am. No-one has been more patient about the car industry as a minister than I have—or no living person, anyway, because John Button certainly was. But in terms of the decisions that were made, the reality is now that Australian production has fallen to a point where international owners have made those decisions.

We will support the workers in South Australia. There are a number of significant programs in place, including the growth fund of $155 million targeted at the industry to assist it in that transformation, and we will do everything we can to assist workers during a very difficult time as they transition to new professions.

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