Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable member for Gorton proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The implications for Australian jobs of the Government cutting $500 million to automotive industry assistance.

I call upon those members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given the challenges that are facing the auto industry, many people in this country are asking where the Prime Minister has gone. Where is the Prime Minister when, as opposition leader, he chose to stand in front of thousands of workers, using them as props during doorstops and professing his support for those workers for four years?

The question now being asked of the government—indeed, of the Prime Minister—is: where is he now, when the auto industry is facing so many challenges?

We all recall how the then opposition leader travelled around the countryside, going to every workplace he could possibly get an invitation to, standing with his hard hat and high-visibility vest and claiming his support for workers. He may have been concocting all sorts of scaremongering fantasies about carbon pricing, but the one message that Australian workers are reminded about is that he was going to be there to defend their interests. We have seen since the election that he is nowhere to be seen. He is nowhere to be seen when it comes to dealing with the announcement made by Qantas last week. He is nowhere to be seen when dealing with the concerns and challenges facing the auto industry, particularly Holden.

By way of contrast, Labor has always committed itself to supporting this very important sector. Labor has committed itself to the long-term success of the Australian car industry, not only given its strong track record of world-class innovation but also to support 250,000 jobs—250,000 workers no less and their families. For that reason it is absolutely critical that the government engages and supports this very important sector. Our automotive industry is a very rare commodity and one that all Australians should be proud of. Australia is one of only 13 countries in the world with the capacity to design and manufacture a motor vehicle. We are also the most open and competitive market in the world. Let there be no mistake: the car industry is central and critical to our capacity as a manufacturing nation. We need to ensure that this country continues to build things. This industry supports 50,000 direct jobs and 200,000 indirect jobs, jobs that provide many families in this country their livelihoods. For that reason we are calling on the government to do better.

Let us look at some other facts. The industry has committed to research and development of $700 million per annum. Its exports are worth $3.7 billion per annum. That is why Labor continues to be a staunch supporter of the car industry, aside from the jobs it creates.

We also know that the co-investment from the $2.7 billion that Labor invested in the industry will see $26 billion in new investment. That is, for every dollar of taxpayers' money that was put into this industry there will be a ninefold return. That is something that seems to be lost on many of those opposite. It is a big investment, for sure, but it returns a much bigger economic dividend for this nation. But today the Australian automotive industry is in crisis. This is a matter of national importance and it should be debated in this place.

Australia's car industry and the workers and the businesses depending on it deserve more than death by dithering at the hands of this government. Labor has put forward the case for this industry, for the billions of dollars it brings in investment, for the hundreds of thousands of workers it employs and the hundreds of small and medium enterprises it supports. Meantime, the government remains either blissfully oblivious or wilfully derelict in responding urgently to the situation.

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They're divided!

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we have witnessed in recent days, members of the government are more interested in fighting each other than fighting for the Australian car industry and for Australian workers. Today we heard the Treasurer talk about the matter of Holden's future. He gave every message that he is not there for the car industry. He basically started to threaten Holden, saying that it should be coming clean. I would imagine that Holden wants to know whether this government is fair dinkum, or not, in providing support for that very important iconic company. We have witnessed in recent times inaction and blame games instead of a unified effort to work with Holden and its employees. We need to make sure that we hold the government to account to provide such support.

Let us remember a couple of things that have been said by some of the senior members of the government. Before the election, the member for Sturt, the Minister for Education, said that he desperately wanted to see Holden remain in South Australia; since the election we have not heard a peep out of him. After being rolled by the Acting Prime Minister and the Minister for Agriculture over the sale of GrainCorp the Treasurer needs to save face. So it is no wonder that we are now seeing the Treasurer foreshadow that there will be no support for Holden. We saw how he folded his cards on GrainCorp; now, for him to save face, somebody has to pay a price. Who is to pay that price? It would appear that it is Holden employees and workers elsewhere in this very vital industry. We are imploring the government to re-engage with this important sector. However, when questioned about working with Holden to support Australian jobs, Mr Hockey, the Treasurer, said the government would not be 'running down the street chasing an individual car maker'. He also added some pretty telling words: 'there comes a point where you need to say enough is enough.' What did the Treasurer mean, when asked a question about supporting the car industry, when he said that there comes a time when enough is enough? Clearly, he was sending a message that he was not going to provide the support necessary to ensure that our car industry continues to be a success. The Acting Prime Minister and the Minister for Agriculture have got a win with GrainCorp—as they would see it they were looking after the agriculture sector—but there has been no effort to support the car industry.

Sitting across from me is the Minister for Industry. He seems to have sympathetic regard, at least outwardly, when it comes to the workers in this industry. He does talk about having an arm wrestle with the Treasurer. Minister, the fact is that we just do not think you are winning the arm wrestle. The Treasurer seems to be winning the arm wrestle here. He lost the one against Barnaby Joyce but he seems to be winning this one against you, and that is of grave concern for workers in the car industry.

This is a vital issue. It is now a major challenge facing this government. Either the government are going to say to the industry, 'We want to see this car industry have a long-term future,' and to the car industry employees, 'We want you to be going into Christmas with the full confidence that the federal government will be behind this sector, supporting workers and their families,' or they are going to squib it and walk away from this sector. My fear is that it is going to be the latter. From what we heard today from the Treasurer, there seems to be no interest by this government in supporting this sector, and that is an absolute shame.

I started this MPI by asking the question: where is the Prime Minister on this matter? For four years, as Leader of the Opposition, he was found in every workplace, using every blue collar worker he could find to stand behind him as a prop at his doorstops so that he could talk about how much he cared about workers in this country. Where is he now when it comes to Qantas? Where is he now when it comes to Holden? He is nowhere to be found. In fact, it is worse than that. He has already pre-empted the inquiry of the Productivity Commission. Before the election, this government said it was going to be a calm and methodical government. What has happened? We have had the Prime Minister come out and basically say that there will be no money for this industry, even though the Productivity Commission has not inquired— (Time expired)

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

I sit here and listen in bewilderment and wonder. Here we have a party who pretend to be looking after the workers' interests, yet how could anyone who has the workers' interests at heart possibly be politicising this issue as much as they are now and striking so much fear into the hearts of auto industry workers when everyone knows what the process is. No-one is in any doubt about what the process is. The process is very straightforward. I announced it when I walked through the Holden plant, wearing Peter Brock's hat. He gave me that hat when I was minister for industry last time and opened a Holden dealership. I was proud to wear it, even though he knew that I was a Ford supporter and that I was pleased to see Ford win the Bathurst 1000. The reality is that we walked through the plant that day with members of the Labor Party, and they assured me that they would not be political about the process. Their interests and our interests were the same and they were about ensuring that we had a methodical process to look at how the car industry would best survive in Australia. What we have seen in the last two days is a complete dereliction of duty by members opposite as they embarked on a scare campaign and begun setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy. What these people on the other side do not understand is that, every time they suggest Holden will close, someone out there who is considering buying a Holden will have second thoughts.

We know what those people opposite can do to motor sales. We saw it when they were last in government. We saw the $1.8 billion FBT hit that they laid on the industry. It was not, as they suggested, against doctors and lawyers and highly paid people who were going in to buy a Mercedes. If they had actually gone to a car dealership, like I did out at Ipswich, and talked to the dealer principals, they would have known that the people who were coming in and cancelling their order were the tradies, the government employees, the nurses, the ambos, the firies and the teachers—the people who rely on getting a car as part of their package, as a way of having a new car in their garage.

Those people opposite did more damage to the car industry with that one move than anything I have seen in the history of the car industry. Mr Deputy Speaker, I say in all modesty that I have been the industry minister a damn sight longer than anyone over there. In fact, they rattled through a series of industry ministers but not as many as they did on small business, where they changed them almost every week. I would have to say that, in my time as industry minister, which is both now and previously, I have never seen one measure do more damage than the introduction of the FBT.

The other measure that has damaged the confidence of those who manufacture here in Australia is of course the carbon tax. The carbon tax adds a cost of up to $400 per vehicle manufactured in Australia, but there is not a cent of carbon tax put against a vehicle coming into Australia. It is a reverse tariff . It has made it more difficult for our industry to compete against imports.

Mr Deputy Speaker, you would think at a time when the car industry is expressing its concern about its future that the Labor Party would think about the car industry's future and stop playing politics—but no. They cannot resist it. They cannot allow themselves to get behind the process, which the member for Wakefield agreed to. He walked through the Holden plant with me—and I was pleased to have him there. But, given the opportunity to play politics, they are never going to pass it up, are they? I would have thought that, now he has an insight into the difficulties that the car industry faces, he would walk across and say to his mates in the Senate: 'Listen, we've got to do everything we can to get these guys going. We need every opportunity.' Why don't you go over and ask them, Member for Wakefield, to pass the revocation of the carbon tax?

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was backing you in against your own government. I'm on your side.

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

You're not on my side if you're not revoking the carbon tax, mate, I can tell you now. What we need here is a methodical, measured process, not the process that the Labor Party have embarked on, not the self-fulfilling prophecy that they have rolled out the door this week. We want people who want to get behind this industry. Frightening car workers in the lead-up to Christmas is doing nothing to enhance confidence in the industry.

Of course, the accusations are flying thick and fast that we are not prepared to put any money into the car industry. That is nonsense. It is complete nonsense. Looking at the forward estimates, anyone who can read a budget paper will know that there is over a billion dollars committed to that industry. And I stand here as the minister who committed $4.3 billion to this industry, which it is still spending. So, in addressing this MPI, I am not for a moment going to take any criticism from those opposite that the coalition is anything but totally committed to the car industry and its future in Australia. But I am not going to embark on a process where we simply say, 'Here's a problem; let's hurl some money at it.' I am still dealing with the residues of that—and will be for some time—which the Labor Party thought was a quick way to fix this, a bandaid fix. The Labor Party just threw a money bandaid at it. 'Throw a money bandaid at it and it'll be someone else's problem after the next election.' Damn right it is.

Seeing as the Labor Party want to talk about their record in government on the car industry, let us have a look at it. Two car manufacturers gone.

A government member: Two out of four.

Two out of four, yes. And did we on this side stand up and politicise the issue? Of course not. We felt empathy for the workers. When we were on the opposition benches, did we try, question time after question time, to make an issue of the government's mismanagement of the car industry? No. We were happy to work with them.

Let us look at the numbers. When I left as industry minister, there were 335,000 cars being made in Australia every year; when I came back, what did I find? A third of them were no longer there. It was down to 221,000 units. When I was industry minister, there were 200 businesses in the supply chain. I come back and do an audit, and there are 150 left. Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, anywhere you look, the Labor Party stand damned for the state of the car industry at the moment. Now, that is the result of constant mismanagement, constant change.

We heard during question time a question from the opposition—which, again, is of no assistance to the industry at all—about whether or not a reduction in the funding going forwards would be a devastating blow to the car industry. I think they even suggested it would shut the industry down. Let us reflect again on the Labor Party in government. Let us see what they did when they had the treasury bench. Let us see what they took out of car industry plans. They took out no less than $1.23 billion. They took $429.7 million, let us say $430 million, out of the Cleaner Car Rebate Scheme—I will have to check which minister it was at the time, but I think it was Senator Carr, who announced that it was no longer required; and, prior to that, they had taken $801 million in savings out of the Green Car Innovation Fund. That is $1.23 billion.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Did we as an opposition stand up and say, 'The industry is doomed'? Of course not. Did we stand up and say—

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So we're simultaneously throwing money and taking it away!

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Moreton will desist or he will find himself out of the chamber.

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

I'd go for the second option, Mr Deputy Speaker!

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will not take advice from the minister either!

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

Did we as an opposition do anything but show our support for the car industry? Of course not. We supported the car industry every inch of the way and we will continue to do so.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Internal divisions within the coalition government, ignorance and ideology are destroying Australia's automotive manufacturers. I will respond quickly to a couple of points that the Minister for Industry made. Firstly, in respect of who is politicising the issue, it was politicised by those opposite, by the government, when they ordered a Productivity Commission inquiry that will conveniently report at the end of March, after the South Australian state election. How convenient is that. Members opposite talk about the problems of Ford and Mitsubishi, but neither left this country because of a lack of support from Labor governments. In fact, Mitsubishi, when they left South Australia, had to refund money to the government, which shows that their departure was never because of a lack of support from the government.

Let us look at the reality, some of the facts. In today's Advertiser it was reported that, according to an independent study carried out by the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research, Australia stands to lose 90,000 jobs across the country if we lose the automotive sector, and the economy will take an $8 billion hit as a result of that. By the year 2020, the net economic hit that this country will take will be $24 billion. The same study concluded that, if Holden alone closes, the hit will be $4 billion per annum and there will be 65,000 jobs lost—23,800 in Victoria, 11,600 in South Australia, 15,000 in New South Wales and 8,000 in Queensland. Those figures are even worse than the figures previously put out by the AMWU, who carried out their own study of this very issue.

The fact is that, since the election, there has been a relentless campaign by some coalition members and some media commentators, talking down and tearing down Australian car makers and, in turn, the value of the auto manufacturing industry to the Australian economy. I can understand those people who take a stand on ideological grounds but I cannot understand those who simply refuse to look at the economic facts that surround this issue. The real question is not whether we can afford to support an auto manufacturing industry in this country. It is: can we afford not to? The reality is that we cannot afford to not support the auto industry in this country. If GMH goes down, it is very likely that Toyota will follow because their component suppliers will not be able to produce at the competitive rates that they currently do.

So this debate is not about the future of GMH and Toyota. GMH and Toyota will stand or fall on their global operations, not on their operations in Australia. It is about the future of Australian jobs, Australian manufacturing capability, Australian small- and medium-sized businesses and Australian research and development. That is what it is all about. If you want to get more statistics on that, two suppliers were mentioned in a submission to the Productivity Commission today. BlueScope Steel stands to lose $18 million a year as a result of the need for their product being cut and Toll Holdings and PrixCar will lose about $47 million a year as a result. Those are only two of hundreds of Australian businesses that will be affected.

As the shadow minister has quite rightly said, for every dollar of government support, the return to Australian taxpayers is about 10 times over. For every dollar of government support provided to GMH the return has been 18 times that. The real question is: what will it cost if we do not continue to support Australian car makers? My understanding is that economic losses will be anything up to $26 billion. Another submission to the current Productivity Commission inquiry was from Dr Phillip Toner of the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney, who said:

Production taxes on value added of around $12.4bn exceed the value of assistance by a large margin. GST on production alone would amount to around $1.4bn. If other production related taxes are included such as payroll tax, land tax and stamp duties and income tax for the 50,000 employees, the value of tax paid by the sector is likely to be some orders of magnitude greater than the value of assistance.

It is time coalition members opposite stopped undermining their own minister, who at least understands the industry. They should take advice from one of their own senior members, former Senator Nick Minchin. They should support Australian car makers and Australian families and stop hiding behind another Productivity Commission inquiry.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise in this debate. Sales in our automotive industry are increasing. In fact, they have increased by 10 per cent this year. Already we have seen 1.1 million annual sales through 67 brands and 360 models in our market. Unfortunately, Australian manufactured vehicles have seen a nine per cent reduction in sales. We do not have a sales problem in Australia; we have a particular problem with sales of Australian manufactured vehicles. The automotive industry employs 45,000 Australians and contributes some $5.4 billion to the bottom line of our economy, but we have huge competing pressures. These figures have been around for quite some period. One would think that members opposite would have heard their voice, particularly the members for Makin and Wakefield.

When Mitsubishi shut down, did we hear a word? No, not really. When Ford announced its closure, was there a hue and cry from the Labor Party? No, not really. What did we hear? We heard that they were going to introduce a $1.8 billion fringe benefits tax. And what did members opposite say about that? To quote the former Prime Minister, 'Zip'.

What we are seeing now is feigned outrage. In support, their Premier in South Australia, Mr Jay Weatherill, has had everything to say but originally he agreed to a nonpartisan way of finding a solution to this problem. Now we have politicisation of the issue. I put that down to the fact that there is an election coming up in South Australia very shortly. They care very little about the workers.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton is sailing very close to the wind.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given they are all union members on that side, that careless attitude is probably amplified by the union officials in the AMWU representing the workers. People like Mr Smith refuse to budge on this argument. They say their workers have already done the heavy lifting and now it is time for the government to do so. To quote the article in the paper today:

For General Motors in Australia, wages for trades employees have increased by about 76 per cent since 2000, and 21 per cent since 2008, jumping from $679.20 a week in 2000 to $1194.50 a week this year ... for a 38-hour week. Workers are paid shift penalties and overtime rates, with Sunday shifts paid at 2½ times the normal weekday rate.

In good times, that is great, that is acceptable. But when you have an industry which is fighting to keep its jobs, the union would rather say, 'We need to maintain our standards; we don't need to maintain jobs. We need to maintain the high standards we have achieved'—and good luck to them—'but we don't need to maintain jobs.'

The coalition is focusing on keeping jobs in Australia but we have to be competitive. We need to reduce the component cost per motor vehicle by over $3,700 to remain competitive. We need everyone to play a part. This government has already committed a billion dollars from 2016 on—$1 billion extra. In contrast, what did the previous government do with its Green Car Innovation Fund? It cut $1.2 billion. You see, the former Labor government thought the way you grew the motor vehicle industry was to increase wage and production costs, pull money out of the industry and whack an FBT on it. It should be no surprise to anyone that there is virtually no-one on the opposition benches who has had their own skin in the game, who has been in business and understands the costs of operating a business and what is required to make your product competitive.

If we want to see the motor vehicle industry survive in Australia, we need to increase sales. That also needs the cooperation of the Australian public at large. There is no point producing more vehicles in Australia if, indeed, Australian consumers do not want to buy them. I am yet to see a campaign by the Australian union movement demanding that their workers buy Australian made cars, or to see union officials driving Australian made cars. We see their hypocrisy.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll send you their email address.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Don 't send me the email; show me the outcomes of how many Australian made cars—not Australian branded but Australian made—your union mates drive. How many Camrys do they drive? (Time expired)

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we have seen in this debate was not triggered by the opposition. It was not triggered by the union movement. It was not triggered by the workers. It was triggered by an unnamed cabinet source—some gutless wonder who sits on the Treasury benches. He did not have the courage to put his name to it but he leaked it to the ABC, the Advertiser and the Australian. He did that in an attempt to shift blame, to create a crisis and to talk down a great Australian brand. It is that unnamed source—that gutless wonder—who is responsible for this entire debate. What we have is a government—

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order. I think the terminology the member is using is not becoming to the chamber.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're not in the Senate now, Barnaby. Grow up!

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Moreton might reflect on what I said earlier about his behaviour. With regard to the point of order from the Minister for Agriculture, there was a reflection on a member—albeit unnamed—on the front bench. I ask the member for Wakefield to modify his language.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am more than happy to withdraw. This is the government's approach. First of all it does nothing; it sits on its hands. It wanders around the place. The government sends representatives to do tours of the factory and it has inquiries but we do not see much action.

The second phase is to divide, leak, damage the brand, attack and demonise the workers, and attack the community. It is everybody else's fault; it is not the government's fault.

The final phase is to objectify and demonise foreign investment. We saw this on the issue of GrainCorp, thanks to the member for New England. We know who won that battle. There is a fear of foreign investment and a demonisation of foreign investment. General Motors want to invest $1 billion here and put two models into production. They are committed to this country even though the dollar is high. Those on the opposite side of the chamber are putting up the big, 'closed for business' sign. With regard to GrainCorp they put up the big 'closed for business' sign. What has been the result of this approach of doing nothing, dividing and demonising foreign investment? The result is that jobs are at risk, industry is at risk, household wealth is at risk and two state economies are at risk. If jobs are at risk the Australian economy is at risk.

It is not just my state that is affected. In Victoria there are 30,000 jobs at risk. You would think that that would sharpen the mind of the Victorian members a little. Thousands of jobs are at risk in South Australia. Thousands of automotive components jobs are at risk in New South Wales. Even in Queensland there are thousands of jobs at risk. And what has been the response of those opposite? The response is, 'It's just industry's fault. We're just the government; what could we do?' You are in charge and people expect you to do something.

I have seen the workers in this industry in my electorate. I was lucky enough to get leave from parliament last Thursday to visit the factory. I was there with Murray Akehurst, who was quoted in the Advertiser. He is 50 years old. He has spent 16 years working at Holden's Elizabeth plant. The Advertiser quoted him:

"Everyone's scared stiff but we're not just going to roll over and die and let our jobs go," Mr Akehurst said.

What are the government doing at this time? They are divided. They are briefing the media against each other. They could not care less. The government are divided and confused. They triggered this debate. We have been going on a merry hunt for the leaker. It could be the member for Mayo; it could be Senator Cormann in the other place. It could be any one of them, but we know that they are leaking in terms of their own manufacturing minister. And we had the manufacturing minister asking the ABC to identify its sources.

So we have a divided and confused cabinet. Basically, this government has taken on the character of its Prime Minister, who is a weird combination of Malcolm Fraser, Richard Nixon and BA Santamaria. The government does nothing; it divides; it is reactionary and, in the end, it demonises foreign investment. It is all about this closed, little Australia that does not invest in anything and does not make anything—this antiquated economy. It is not good for Australia. Government members should get up off their hands and do something about it. (Time expired)

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to speak in response to this matter of public importance because it is of great interest to people in my home state of South Australia. Before I go any further I would like to say that the good people of Wakefield nearly got it right at the last state election. The result in that electorate was so very close. I will say more about that in a minute.

I am proud to represent the interests of my electorate. It takes great pride in being in the federal coalition government, which is keeping the commitments that it made to voters in the last election. While we are on the topic of manufacturing, I would like to point out that so much of the economic wealth that comes out of Barker is directly tied to the manufacturing sector. That is why I am committed to ensuring that Australia boasts the right conditions for all of our manufacturing industries to remain competitive in the long term.

We on this side of the chamber want a viable automotive industry in Australia. We expect the car manufacturing industry, like any industry, to be able to stand on its own two feet. The Labor Party is anxiously waiting for Holden to make an announcement about its future. The Labor Party is hoping—

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting—

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield is the cheerleader on this because he—unlike those on this side of the chamber—more than anyone in this place, would love to see the demise of Holden, because he could use it for his base political advantage. I have a little bit of advice for the member for Wakefield. His mate the Premier is coming over, I understand. The member for Wakefield should hock him around his colleagues in the Senate so that the Premier can talk to them about the carbon tax. That is what the member for Wakefield should do if he wants to do something serious about this industry and if he wants to send a message to the workers in his electorate—the few of them that still support him.

I must say I was really impressed by the behaviour by the member for Wakefield during question time. I thought, 'Why is he being so well behaved?' Then I thought, 'He would hate to be kicked out when he was due to be speaking on an MPI.' It is so nice to have his company in this place between three o'clock and four o'clock! It is a novel concept, and I am really enjoying it.

Let us get to the subject of the matter. We had a fringe benefits tax, which was an albatross around this industry's neck. Who came up with that genius idea? The people over there. Who came up with the carbon tax? Bear in mind, this was a carbon tax we were never going to have—who came up with that idea? You did—sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker; those on the other side of the chamber did. I would never impute that to you.

Mr Sukkar interjecting—

What did you say about FBT? What they said about FBT is, 'You know, the car industry is going so well we're going to tax the car industry.' Those on the other side of this chamber are like the arsonist who says, 'I'm complaining about the scorched earth.' They are arsonists who complain about scorched earth.

I might be new to this caper, but I will make one observation: credibility is an important thing. Those opposite came into this place yesterday armed with a question: tell us why you are putting at risk 200,000 jobs in the car industry. I thought to myself: that is a question; it has been researched; I had better go away and make sure of my understanding of that. So I spent some time looking for observations in the media about how many jobs are at risk and all these things.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Use Wikipedia!

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I did not use Wikipedia, but someone on your side obviously did, because the highest recorded number of possible job losses I could find was 90,000. That is a long way from the 200,000 of yesterday. As if we did not learn over the last six years that you cannot count! Bear in mind, politics should be about never forgetting and about learning how to count. Those opposite have obviously forgotten they were in government and they cannot count.

I have a memo to those in the community who manufacture calculators—read the memo. Get a calculator to every single member over there, because they need them and because they cannot count. We are not talking about 200,000 jobs; it is nowhere near 200,000 jobs. But I will say this: if you are interested in these jobs, stop politicising this and get behind us. Get behind the Productivity Commission.

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

The people of Hotham returned a Labor Party member to this House in the September election because they wanted to be represented by a person and by a party that would stand up for their interests and protect their jobs. It is in this spirit that I rise today to make a contribution to this very important debate. I will talk about my local area, but before I do that I want to talk about the impact of this appalling public policy decision on the economy more broadly. Other speakers have talked about the importance of the automotive industry for the Australian economy. I want to add my voice to this.

The industry employs 45,000 people directly. The member for Barker could look up the difference between direct and indirect employment a little later, perhaps on Wikipedia, because 200,000 jobs depend indirectly on the automotive industry. It produces $5.4 billion in net output and the auto industry is the largest research and development contributor of any industry in Australia. Seven hundred million dollars was invested by that industry last year. But all of this is at risk and we will be particularly affected in my home state of Victoria.

Those are some of the direct impacts on and direct threats to the economy, but I also make the point that what we are seeing here is the Abbott government threatening to renege on a deal that was made by the last government to co-invest in the auto industry. I am a person in this chamber who does have direct experience in business and I know that the most important thing that businesses want from government is certainty. What we have here is a government that is supposedly pro-business but feels very comfortable about making a deal with the auto industry and then reneging on it later. This has much more severe impacts. It is basically saying to the private sector that they cannot rely on anything that this government says.

The impact on Hotham will be very significant. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that almost everyone in my electorate will be affected, either by direct job loss or through someone they know losing their job. I want to talk about Mackay Consolidated, a manufacturer of rubber parts I visited in September, in Chesterfield Road in Moorabbin. There are 120 people employed there and they signed a contract with Holden in April 2012 to supply engine and ancillary hoses for the current Commodore model. I met many of the workers in that factory and can I just say that these are people who are not easily going to transition into another line of work. That is just not the reality of the people who work in this important industry.

I want to talk about Venture DMG. They are a plastics component manufacturer who manufacture for Holden. They provide bumper bars and door panels. Three hundred people are employed in their Keysborough site, just outside my electorate, and a further 250 are employed in Campbellfield and work mainly for Ford. ZF Boge create engine mounts and transmission mounts for Holden and 40 workers are employed in their Dingley factory in my electorate. These are jobs at risk. Knock-on effects are going to be felt all over Hotham that will probably impact some of the 5,000 small businesses in my electorate and the hundreds of local families who rely on jobs directly or indirectly due to the car industry.

It is not just about the workers who work in these industries. There is no secret that manufacturers in Australia are doing it tough. It is something that is very top of mind for us in Victoria. In fact, I note that the Liberal Minister for Manufacturing in Victoria, David Hodgett, has talked about the devastating effects that this could have on our economy in Victoria. Over there we hear time and time again that this is really just about the car industry—'This is about their poor management and their poor decisions.' It is not something that most of Australia's economists agree with. Most of Australia's economists can tell that the biggest challenge that faces our manufacturers today is the high dollar. Our dollar is probably double in value what it has been over various points in the last decade.

We face a choice in this chamber—the government over there face a choice. How are they going to manage this period of time when we have such a high dollar in Australia? Are they going to let the rest of our economy decay? Are they going to let workers join the dole queue while we have this very high dollar situation? We will still need to have an economy when the mining boom ends and the dollar comes down again, and this is going to require industry support. It is another example, I think, of what we have over there: a government of economic ideologues. It is time they pulled their noses out of the economics textbooks, went out into their communities, talked to people who work in these factories and tried to understand what the devastating impact of these decisions could be. That is certainly how we feel about it in my electorate of Hotham.

Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great privilege to speak on this matter of public importance for South Australia and Australia more broadly. I thought it would be interesting for the member for Wakefield that we are having this debate because he will recall that he said he had saved Holden.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It'd better be a good speech, mate, or you won't be here long!

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield might not be much longer in this chamber either if he makes interjections like that!

Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield distributed this to his electorate, and I quote:

I have secured guaranteed support for GM Holden, Elizabeth, ensuring production until 2022.

So I am sure the member for Wakefield must be dismayed at the reports that Holden is now contemplating its future in South Australia. I have met many suppliers—good, honest workers—in my electorate in South Australia. I have been out to Holden with the member for Wakefield. We had a tour. We met the industry bodies and we met the unions. And they have been trying to help, unlike members opposite in this debate.

We are all looking for ways to help this industry and to build our manufacturing industry together. We are co-investing. The member for Hotham and also the member for Makin failed to acknowledge this. We are investing $1 billion in this industry, as said previously by the Treasurer and the Minister for Industry. Just like the member for Wakefield said, the Labor Party should be opposing the carbon tax. They should be taking your advice, Member for Wakefield. We all know that it is a direct tax that drives up the costs of manufacturing cars by $400.

After six years of Labor, the public are crying out for relief on taxes. We need to remove the carbon tax—a point we have made endlessly. We have moved quickly in government to support the automotive industry. We have introduced legislation to remove the carbon tax, we have scrapped Labor's $1.8 billion fringe benefits tax and we have asked the Productivity Commission to look at the industry as a whole. We want this to work. I know the minister wants this to work and for Holden workers to have a future. We have made our timetable clear from day one and Holden has not raised any concerns about this timetable.

Let me give you a few facts, because the member for Makin referred to the facts. Under the previous Labor government, Australia lost one manufacturing job every 19 minutes. When Labor took office, vehicle production was 335,000. When they left, it was down to 221,000. We had Mitsubishi go, we had Ford close. We had 200 businesses in the supply chain when Labor took office. When they left, guess how many there were? Fewer than 150.

The reality is that things went downhill under Labor's watch and they know it. The reality with Holden is that their production has gone down, their exports have dropped and that happened under Labor's watch. And what about the member for Port Adelaide and the other Labor members? Where have they been during this debate? The member for Port Adelaide should do his good friend the South Australian Premier a favour by removing the carbon tax. But no. Where is he? Nowhere to be seen. This highlights the challenge. We need to all work together, remove the carbon tax and help the industry. It is up to those opposite.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate has suffered the closure of the Ford Motor Company, an iconic employer. It will end production in 2016 and with that will go thousands of jobs. The impact on our community will be long term and devastating. So any discussion around the possibility of job losses in the car sector is a very sensitive and difficult one for not just my own community but also the broader Australian community.

We do not want more job losses in the Australian community, especially when we in this place can be proactive in helping the Australian automotive industry maintain its viability. There is a case to be made for assisting and preserving the long-term viability of the car industry.

The Labor Party has always been committed to the long-term success of the automotive industry. We understand that it is a job-creating sector, with some 250,000 jobs. The sector actually has a world-class track record of innovation.

While in government we have proven our commitment to the industry. However, the same cannot be said about those opposite. At this stage, I do want to acknowledge that Minister Macfarlane in fact does support the industry and is genuine in his attempts. But it is not the minister who is so much the issue; it is other members who sit behind him and with him around the cabinet table who are the issue.

The government have been hammering away at manufacturing industries and have in fact been committed to hollowing out the automotive industry from the years when they were in opposition. So we should not be surprised at their actions now that they are in government.

In fact, I well remember the opposition leader, now the Prime Minister, was very happy to walk through many factory floors, wearing a fluoro jacket, shaking hands of Australian workers and giving them the very firm impression that he was on their side and committed to protecting their jobs. But we know now that that was a bit of a con and, even though he has said that he wants the motor industry to survive and flourish in this country, it would seem that the Prime Minister and other ministers do not understand what that actually involves. I can tell you one thing: it certainly does not involve cutting $500 million to the automotive industry.

Unfortunately, this government's actions place at risk thousands of Australian jobs. In my home state of Victoria, 28,000 jobs are directly linked to the automotive industry. In my own electorate alone, we still have 1,465 jobs and, in the neighbouring electorate of Gorton, some 1,970. In the electorate of Lalor—and the member for Lalor sits in front of me—we have 1,683 jobs. In all, the northern suburbs of Melbourne are heavily reliant on the survival of the automotive sector for people to have jobs.

I do not think this government understands and does not appreciate the importance of the manufacturing sector to the Australian economy. But, worse than that, this government seeks to drive a wedge between the Australian community and government assistance to the automotive industry by shamelessly pitting one Australian job against another. The member for Kooyong recently commented on Sky TV:

We cannot use the taxpayer as an ATM for the car industry.

That is a reflection of a government that does not understand or care about the long-term success of this industry.

On the other hand, the Labor opposition have always supported and continue to support the Australian automotive industry. We understand and appreciate its strong track record. We also understand that it provides 250,000 employment opportunities for Australians.

We should be proud of our Australian automotive industry. We are one of 13 countries in the world with the capacity to design and manufacture a motor vehicle. In fact, Minister Macfarlane was recently at Ford, in my electorate, where we were given a tour of the design and engineering plant. I am sure that he would agree that it is a world-class and cutting-edge facility. Such innovation capacity is too valuable to jeopardise, because of the ideological blindness of members of this government.

This government does not have the right to jeopardise an industry whose exports are worth some $3.7 billion. It does not have the right to strangle future jobs and job prospects of young Australians, especially those in my electorate and in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The Leader of the House is on record as saying—before the election, mind you:

I have a long-standing commitment to keep Holden in South Australia.

Now is his opportunity to deliver on that so-called longstanding commitment to protect the production of Holden in South Australia. (Time expired)

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I must say that I find some of the statements being made in this debate absolutely extraordinary. I represent the seat of Corangamite, which is a very important part of the country in terms of employment in the car industry. We are a proud home of Ford. I refer to a report in the Geelong Advertiser on 24 May 2013. 'Shattered' is the headline. The report says: '510 Geelong jobs axed by 2016. No Fords to be built here. We are gutted.' That is what the workers say. Guess when this happened? This happened under Labor's watch.

This is from Henry Fuller. I will ask to table this in a minute. For 25 years, Henry Fuller has packed his lunch and headed off to work at the North Geelong Ford factory. Yesterday he and hundreds of workmates were told their jobs will go as Ford ends all production in Australia. What an absolute joke that those opposite are saying we do not care about manufacturing and the car industry. That is an absolute joke. We have committed $1 billion between 2015 and 2020 and we are taking action to repeal the carbon tax, which will be an enormous benefit to manufacturing. What are the members opposite doing? They are stopping this. They are stopping helping workers in this country, and that is an absolute disgrace.

We see money being thrown at the car industry. The big problem that we have seen under Labor for the last six years is that money has been given to the car industry with no accountability. That is a key issue. We support the giving of money, but we do not support the fact that money is given with no accountability. What that means to the people of my electorate is no guarantee on jobs. I will tell you what happened in January 2012. Prime Minister Gillard came to Geelong and announced $34 million for Ford. Guess what she said: 300 new jobs. Fabulous. The only problem was that that money did not guarantee one job. This is indicative of how Labor does business. Eight months later, 330 jobs were lost at Ford. What we have seen is an unmitigated disaster in the way that Labor has managed the car industry and car industry support.

Let me remind you of some other momentous decisions that Labor has made. There was an $801 million cut to the Green Car fund; there was a cut of $429 million to the cleaner car fund; and there was the $1.2 billion, as we have heard. This is a demonstration that Labor is simply all over the shop when it has come to managing the car industry. Let us not forget the fear caused over FBT changes. That was an utterly disgraceful decision. That would have resulted in 80,000 direct and indirect car industry jobs being lost, a one-third drop in vehicle production, a 27 per cent fall in exports and an 18 per cent decline in turnover. And guess what—no-one was falling for the Ruddish and the Labor rhetoric that we were hearing before the election. The people of my electorate, the people of Geelong, knew that that was an utter disaster, and that ricocheted throughout the whole country.

We understand how important the automotive industry is to the people of Geelong and to Australia. The government appreciates the automotive industry's value to Australian manufacturing and the role it plays in innovation and the development and application of new technologies. We want a viable car manufacturing industry in Australia. Let's face it—that is why we have committed $1 billion. The reason we are taking this to the Productivity Commission is that we want the money to be spent responsibly. We are not going to promise money and then see jobs lost. That is what happened under Labor. We are going to ensure that that money is invested in Australian jobs and that that money is invested in the car industry, and that will reap fantastic benefits for the people of my electorate, because what we have seen is an unmitigated disaster from Labor. We are determined to turn this around. We are determined to turn around Labor's reckless management of the car industry and we are very proud to do so.