Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I endorse the comments of the previous speaker. This motion once again exposes the coalition government's foolishness in not backing Holden in 2013, causing its closure, a decision that was made by Holden's parent company, General Motors, after former Treasurer Joe Hockey insulted GM by first cutting $500 million from the automotive transformation fund, and then saying to Holden in this place, on 10 December 2013:

… if I was running a business and I was committed to that business in Australia, I would not be saying that I have not made any decision about Australia. Either you are here or you are not.

The next day, Holden announced it would close in 2017, and with it came the closure of Toyota, who had made it clear that, if Holden closed, Toyota would also close. Toyota knew that component manufacturers in Australia could not survive by supplying to one car maker alone. It was a decision that ended 100 years of car making in Australia and resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and apprenticeships, the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in research and development, the loss of billions of dollars to Australia's GDP every year, and, ultimately, the closure of hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses, including many of the Holden dealers that this motion refers to. It was inevitable that Holden dealerships would collapse once Holden cars were no longer made in Australia and the Holden badge had disappeared. Some Holden dealerships have already closed down, while others have taken on new brands in order to survive. I can understand exactly why they would have to do that. Whatever the case with respect to each of those dealerships, there have been job losses, and this is a continuation of the fallout from the closure of Holden here in Australia, as alluded to in the motion we are debating.

South Australia was particularly hard hit by the Holden closure. From the day the closure was announced, business confidence in South Australia collapsed and it has never fully recovered. Business confidence in South Australia has stagnated, all because of decisions made in this place by this coalition government that have taken away the confidence that there once was in South Australia because there was a strong manufacturing base, which was underpinned by Holden at Elizabeth. Holden was an iconic South Australian company. It was a symbol of strength, a symbol of pride and a symbol of confidence in South Australia. The Holden factory was a landmark building, at the gateway to the industrial north of Adelaide, once a bustling industrial precinct but now only a shadow of its former self, a precinct that had actually been established by a Liberal state premier, in Tom Playford.

In total, around 24,000 jobs were lost in South Australia when Holden closed, and the state's economy took an estimated $3.7 billion hit. That hit is still affecting communities out there today, because, while there was some effort to redeploy many of the people who lost their jobs, the reality is that many are still unemployed or underemployed. Yet, today, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the talk across Australia has once again come to how we can rebuild our manufacturing industries in this country. After having allowed them to wither, we have realised the significance and importance that they played in our national security and our national sovereignty. That is something I strongly support. I would like to see the rebuilding of manufacturing across Australia.

But this motion deals with the dealers. I, too, understand how the dealers have been hit particularly hard. I have also spoken to dealers in my region who, in order to survive, have had to either close down entirely or transition into other brands. They, too, had invested considerable dollars in their businesses and they, too, have been competing for years now against brands from all other countries. Their situation is a result of the consequences of this government's actions, because when the coalition government turned its back on Holden it turned its back on the Holden dealerships and their staff.

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