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

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

The Government’s failure to act to protect Australian jobs including at Toyota, Holden, SPC Ardmona and Rio Tinto at Gove.

I call upon those honourable 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—

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government has failed to protect Australian jobs at a range of important Australian employers. There can be no more important obligation on a government other than the defence of the nation than to create the economic circumstances where jobs are created and jobs are maintained. We have a major jobs crisis looming in this country. This is not just another day at the office, as the government would have us believe. The rollcall of announced job losses since 7 September 2013 is horrendous: at Toyota, 2,500 direct jobs; at Holden, 2,900 direct jobs; at Qantas, 1,000 direct jobs; at Rio Tinto at the Gove refinery, 1,100 jobs; at Electrolux in Orange, 544 jobs; at Simplot, 110 jobs; at Peabody, more than 200 jobs; at Caterpillar, 200 jobs; and many other indirect jobs and many other small businesses. What we have here is a government who would much rather play political games than fight for jobs.

We have seen 54,000 jobs lost since this current government has come to power. The challenge of jobs in Australia is a real challenge—we get that. We get that there are challenges in the Australian economy from the dollar and the fluctuating currency as well as the challenge of making sure that we constantly innovate. But the Prime Minister has failed to support Australian manufacturing jobs in particular. He could have done more to keep Holden here. I seriously doubt that he has done anything to try and keep Toyota here, and certainly the car component manufacturers who are here have a very bleak future indeed.

This poor car industry, which the government keeps saying was going to die anyway, did not expect the sort of economic euthanasia where the government is just going to pull the plug and speed up the challenges faced by the car industry. As I said earlier in this House, I have a bit of time for the Minister for Industry. I know a number of government MPs are concerned about jobs, including the courageous member for Murray, but I do not have any time for a view that the loss of jobs is not a catastrophe. Labor in opposition understand that unemployment is a misery. We stand firmly for making sure not only that people can find work but that people can keep work. People do not choose the liberation of unemployment after working for years on a car line at Holden or at Toyota. There is no great life on the unemployment queue. Imagine, if you will, the people who are losing their jobs, many in their 50s and 60s. The labour market is incredibly tough.

Of course, the government say, 'We're all for the level playing field,' but somehow if Australia has any form of industry policy that is not good economics. First, that is lazy economics from the government who do not understand it is not a simple proposition that if you do not spend some resources to help companies update and innovate somehow you save money and there is no cost. Why is it that the government so wilfully ignore the consequences of companies closing? What do they not understand about weeks and weeks, months and months of people in the unemployment queue and how that saps your morale? How does that help kids whose parents have lost their jobs? How does that help relieve pressure on families?

This government will give you money for marriage counselling but not help to keep your job. Let me tell you, if you do not have a job that puts bigger pressure on your marriage than will be helped by some $200 voucher from the member for Menzies. When you look at what they will not do, not only do they not have a genuine view on helping Australian jobs but the mob opposite are also inconsistent. They fail to grasp the big difference between a can of SPC baked beans and a bar of Cadbury chocolate. The only difference I see in terms of government policy—

Mr Stephen Jones interjecting—

You would want watch out: there is a health issue—I get that. Why is it that the government will bail out Cadbury and not help SPC? If the new definition in Abbottland is that you have to be a tourist attraction, the only tourism attractions being created in the car industry are museums. What are they doing about SPC? They say no-one is interested in visiting it, but a lot of people go to the Goulburn Valley because of its healthy economy and there are things to do there. If the new test for industry policy is tourism, why are they bailing out a fish farm in Tasmania when they will not go to the Gove refinery?

I went to Gove last Friday with Senator Nova Perris and the member for Lingiari and saw the disaster unfolding there. This is a regional centre, a small country town of 4,000 people. Last year, Rio Tinto said, 'If we can get a gas contract from the government of the Northern Territory, we're going to invest for a long time to come.' Rio Tinto held a party and invited everyone to come when the gas contract was signed. Then the CLP Chief Minister, Adam Giles, said, 'We're not doing this contract anymore.' Bang, boom—there goes the future! Then Rio Tinto said it would shut the refinery by August. That is called curtailment, in business-speak; I call it the loss of livelihood, in straight-speak. Where are the government? Have they picked up the phone to call Rio Tinto? It is not as if they are not helping Rio Tinto by giving back hundreds of millions of dollars in mining tax. Why not spend 50c to ring Rio Tinto and say: 'We get that there are a thousand houses there and only 200 people with jobs living in those houses. We get that self-funded retirees bought houses in Gove based on the promise of ongoing work.' Why not offer to help buy back the houses at the value people relied on when the houses were built?

That does not require taxpayer money; that just requires a bit of government heart, a bit of government courage. When talking about Gove, for instance—although this is not limited to Gove—why don't they build some Defence facilities there? Why don't they talk about making it an educational hub for the Indigenous people living in the Arnhem Land area? Of course, they will not do anything, but what really disturbs me about the government is not their lack of action on Gove, appalling as that is, or that they rubbish the food-canning workers at SPC—I agree with Sharman Stone, the government did lie about the conditions of food-preserving workers and have never apologised because they are so arrogant they do not know when to admit they are wrong, even when the whole of Australia knows they are wrong—but that they do not have a plan.

We will fight the jobs issue every day till the next election. It really worries me that we have a government who will not fight for anything except their own jobs. We know this is not just another cycle in manufacturing. Members of the government are on notice that Labor is saying there is a tide dragging our jobs overseas and they are collectively responsible if they do not speak up and do something. I acknowledge the member for Murray who has some courage. I suspect the Minister for Industry has been mugged by his colleagues, but I think he has shown some signs of having a heart. I tell you, hearts are in short supply in those opposite. Was this car industry death a foregone conclusion, other than by the Minister for Employment who is running around blaming the workers? Whatever the question, Senator Abetz will blame workers and unions. He is a pre-programmed automaton on that question.

The real issue is what plan do those opposite have for all these people who are losing their jobs? What plan do you have? They cannot all make chocolate at Cadbury in Tasmania. They cannot all work at the fish farm in Tasmania. They cannot all work at GrainCorp, that you stopped the Americans from buying. So it is not as if you are fair dinkum ideologically. You can be as consistent or inconsistent as the politics demands. What is your plan for real people? What is your plan for the voters and the constituents in your electorates and mine? What do you really think about people who have lost their job? What is your plan to retrain them? Our challenge to those opposite is to start fighting for Aussie jobs. Our challenge to those opposite is: have a plan for the people they are selling out through neglect and negligence. (Time expired)

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

We have just heard 10 minutes of confected rage by the Leader of the Opposition. Let me read this quote:

Our nation is facing an historic shift the like of which we have not seen in two generations. That does not mean that change will be easy or swift. These are incredibly challenging times.

That was Senator Kim Carr in 2011, then Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. The Labor Party in opposition are pretending they knew nothing about this in government, that this has all happened since our government was elected. Nothing could be further from the truth. The seeds of what has happened in the last four months were sown well and truly by the previous government. Why are we taking a considered, careful and long-term approach to the solution? It is because we want a solution that is sustainable. We want to protect jobs in the long term. We do not want bandaids, which were so prevalent from the previous government. They simply get ripped off three, six or nine months down the track. How about a couple of examples.

In 2012, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced $34 million for Ford, saying it would create 300 new jobs. What happened? Three-hundred and thirty jobs were lost at Ford inside eight months. Is that a constructive, long-term solution or is that chequebook diplomacy where you run down the street, throw as much money as you can at the problem knowing that it will not solve anything? The then Prime Minister did it again and announced $215 million for Holden, saying it would secure its future in Australia until 2022. Within months, 670 jobs were gone.

This is a problem that needs to be solved. It does not need to be politicised. The workers who are going to lose their jobs in these factories do not need to be frightened by words like 'catastrophe'. They need a policy, a long-term solution. They need to know that the government will help them transition from an industry which has become a commodity industry, arguably one of the most competitive industries in the world, certainly an industry which is going through enormous restructure wherever you go. We are trying to compete in a world market. Surely no-one on that side will deny that. Surely no-one will deny that the Australian car market is the most diverse car market in the world. No-one will deny that. No-one on the other side will deny that if we are to have a future for an industry in Australia, we need to export. Rather than running around throwing $34 million cheques here and $215 million cheques there, only to see it all unravel, our government have a very careful and considered approach to this issue and we have had it since day one.

From day one, I set out to put in place a policy for the car industry, but they had already made their decision. We know now, because the GM executive said it at the Detroit motor show when he said that no amount of money would keep Holden in Australia—no amount of money. So the Labor Party says, 'Just throw more at them and more at them.' It is taxpayers' money that has to be borrowed, because we are so far in debt and deficit thanks to the economic mismanagement of the previous government. It is taxpayers' money that has to be borrowed. There has to be a solution, not a six- or eight-month fix, not a 24-hour news cycle fix, not a bucket of money thrown in—to find that 330 jobs have evaporated.

We sat down and talked with industry generally. We looked at where the trends were. I was in South Australia last week talking with industries which are world leaders in their field, industries like Redarc that set out to produce the best battery charger in the world and do it, industries that set out to build the best high-frequency radios in the world and do it, industries that set out to build the best metal detectors in the world or the most advanced air conditioning systems in the world and do it.

Yet if you listen to those on the other side of the chamber, the world is over for manufacturing in Australia. Can I assure the workers of Australia that that is simply not the case. That is raw, frightening politics from people who have done nothing for industry in six years except put on bandaids, which are now falling off left, right and centre. No amount of money would have kept Electrolux in Australia. I spoke to the global head of Electrolux. He said, 'We want to move that factory to Thailand and we are going to do it. No amount of money will help.' I said, 'Let's sit down and talk about it.' He said, no, and he had made the decision. The seeds of that closure were sown in the previous government.

The same thing is the case in Gove. Rio Tinto asked for gas and we got them gas. Rio Tinto asked for underwriting of the pipeline and we offered it. Rio Tinto then said, 'We are never going to keep it open.' They had made their decision. Yet those who sit opposite now cry and frighten workers in Australia. Rio Tinto had made that decision when those people opposite were in government.

Mr Champion interjecting—

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

Order! There's only one speaker who has the call at the moment and that's the minister.

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

We must look forward. We are in a time of great adversity—no-one denies that. We are in a situation where industry in Australia will be changed forever, but we have an opportunity to make sure that we do this properly to ensure Australians have jobs in the long term. That is what government is about. We are responding. We are reviewing. This was already rolling because from day one when I became industry minister I could tell that industry in Australia was on its knees. Industry had been battling a carbon tax, battling regulation, battling red tape and battling to remain competitive with the high dollar. It needed a complete study done and that is what we are doing. We have reviews going on in South Australia and Victoria. We are assisted in those reviews by ministers and by local members. I congratulate businesses in Victoria and South Australia for their input last week. We have a task force chaired by the Prime Minister to develop a national industry investment and competitiveness agenda. We have already set aside $1½ billion for infrastructure projects in the next six years in South Australia and $6½ billion for infrastructure projects in Victoria.

We have made it clear that we are more than happy to work with the Victorian and South Australian governments. We want to see industry continued to be a driver in the Australian economy but, unlike Labor, who want to see government at the centre of business, we want to enable business to be competitive, to grow their exports, to put in place long-term jobs. We want to make sure we have an industry base that is sustainable and strong. We will not do that with the policies of the previous government—taxes, regulations, interference, constant attacks on industry itself. This government has a plan and we will make sure that that policy is put in place. If we do not, we will simply have let down not just the workers at Toyota, not just the workers in every industry in Australia but all Australians. We are an innovative, clever country. We have arisen from adversity before. We have taken up the challenges which have presented to us. I am absolutely confident, when I look at the Australian workforce, that we can do that again. This challenge must be met and this government will continue to stand behind the workers not only of Toyota, not only of Ford and not only of Holden, but every worker in Australia so that they know their job is secure and that there is a sustainable industry policy in place. This government will make responsible decisions to make sure that happens.(Time expired)

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

I understand the difficulties the minister has in this debate because, clearly, what he has sought to do has not been supported by any of his colleagues. I do not think it is reasonable for the opposition to be lectured to by the government on scaremongering workers. In the last three years the then opposition leader, the now Prime Minister, spent his entire time scaring workers with false claims about an industrial Armageddon as a result of policies of the previous government, none of which came true. The other thing I would note is that the Prime Minister, when he was in opposition, spent his entire time using blue-collar workers as a backdrop to media conferences. There he was, with his vest and his hardhat, standing with journos in front of him and workers behind him as he went on about his scare campaign. But he is nowhere to be seen now in the workplaces which are threatened by a number of things, not least of all by government policy or government inaction. So it is completely ludicrous for the minister to assert that somehow we are raising the spectre of concern when we are seeing thousands of jobs leave our shores against what we witnessed when the Prime Minister was opposition leader.

The other thing to note most importantly in this debate about why we should support the car industry is the comment made by the minister when he said we were providing too much support for the car industry. To make some comparisons: we are one of only 13 countries building cars from beginning to end and that includes developed nations. We spend $17.40 per capita of taxpayers' money in this country, compared with Germany which spends $90 per capita, and the United States which spends $264 per capita. So it is clear that whatever support we have provided, which 250,000 jobs ultimately rely upon, it is far less per capita than many other nations. For the government to pretend otherwise means they want to fly in the face of facts.

What we have seen this week is a tragedy for, firstly, the Toyota workers who face an uncertain future, the 170 component companies which now have a very uncertain future and all their employees, and then when those companies hit the wall the devastating and rippling effects which will go beyond the automotive sector. We need to hear the Prime Minister not blaming the workers or blaming unions but providing a jobs plan for the future. Today we heard the Prime Minister in question time and we heard the minister in this debate but they had no plan about what they will do to provide support for workers who will lose their jobs very shortly. We have heard no plan whatsoever about emerging technologies and the so-called new economy and what they will do to create the environment for workers to be sufficiently capable to transition into that area—no plan whatsoever.

It is quite concerning that the member for Murray is not on the speakers' list in this debate. The member for Murray deserves to speak in this debate. She should be given the opportunity by the government whip to speak so that she can articulate on behalf of the workers and SPC and, indeed, the community of Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley what they know about the lack of government support for that company. We accept that the government cannot save every job—we understand that. We are not pretending that the government can protect every job but they need to be doing everything they can to do just that. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister, when he suggested that SPC workers were getting certain conditions of employment, was found to be completely and utterly wrong. The cabinet decision was predicated on a lie. The member for Murray deserves to speak in this debate along with many members on this side who have some terrible stories to tell about their constituents who will lose jobs as a result of government inaction which has occurred on their watch. (Time expired)

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on what is a very important debate in this parliament and let me open by saying: every job loss is a tragedy; every job loss has impacts on communities; and job losses on a large scale are a particular tragedy. That is why the coalition is absolutely focused on creating one million jobs over the next five years and two million jobs over the next 10 years.

We inherited a very difficult budget position. We inherited a financial position which had, as the Treasurer pointed out, $123 billion in projected deficits and a debt that was spiralling towards $667 billion if nothing is done. That was the waste and the profligacy that we inherited from those members opposite as a result of their irresponsible economic management.

The government is focused on creating new jobs, but it is the private sector that is the generator of jobs in the Australian economy. We need to get the economic settings right so that businesses can prosper and grow. That is why the coalition is committed to axing the job-destroying carbon tax, the tax that is weighing so heavily on businesses large and small, the tax that is weighing on the spending power of households. How can the members opposite feign concern for autoworkers at the same time as insisting that this job-destroying tax be retained? We will also be axing the mining tax, a tax that is destroying confidence in the mining industry. How can members opposite argue that improved employment outcomes could occur through imposing a mining tax?

We propose to cut a billion dollars worth of red tape from business. Businesses are complaining they are drowning under the burden of red tape. The former government was expert at imposing red tape on business. An additional matter I would wish to bring to the attention of the members opposite—one that they do not wish to countenance—is the reintroduction of the ABCC for the return of the rule of law to construction sites, the return of a more efficient construction sector, the return of more job opportunities and more effective contracting. Why is it that the members opposite are so keen to take steps that actually discriminate against workers' prospects of getting a job? We are committed to creating new jobs; the members opposite are absolutely committed to standing in the way of every measure the government is proposing to create new jobs. We are very focused on that.

We have seen the members opposite complaining that this government has somehow caused the problem. I would like to bring to the attention of the House a couple of points that were made. In 2012 the then Prime Minister, Ms Gillard, announced $34 million for Ford, saying that it would create 300 new jobs, but the result was 330 employees losing their jobs within eight months. Prime Minister Gillard also announced $215 million for Holden, saying it would secure its future in Australia until 2022, but within months 670 jobs were lost and we all know the history of Holden's decision.

We see manufacturing firms making commercial decisions which unfortunately have had an adverse impact on workers. The coalition believes we need to strengthen the economy. That is the best way to create the sorts of opportunities that people need to move into jobs. Over time, our economy will remain in transition. We will see sectors contract and expand. It is vital that the government does everything it can to put in place the correct economic setting so that those seeking work have the best prospect of getting a job and those in work can move to better jobs.

The coalition is focused on creating jobs; the opposition is absolutely hell-bent on standing in the way of the government's reforms of eliminating the carbon tax, eliminating the mining tax, reducing red tape and reducing thuggery on buildings sites. They are in the way of that agenda. They are in the way of new jobs. (Time expired)

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today angry and disappointed at the events of the past 24 hours. The Toyota plant in Altona, in my electorate, is a fixture of Melbourne's west. It has called Altona home for the past 36 years and generations of workers in my electorate have honed their craft building the Camrys and Orients that so many Australians drive. But recently, Toyota, like so many of our manufacturing companies, has faced a perfect storm of external challenges. A high Australian dollar, a tough export market and muted demand domestically have created conditions that make it impossible to face alone. The key word here is 'alone'. With the right leadership, Toyota and our auto industry could have received the assistance it needed to continue operating in Australia. With the right captain, a way could have been found through this storm, to sail through these storm clouds, and steer the ship to safer seas.

Toyota confirmed in its press conference yesterday afternoon that they were 'close to making the decision' to initiate a new production line for the new Camry. This was a company that wanted to stay in Australia. But, since the announcement of the closure of Holden in December 2013, Tony Abbott has done absolutely nothing to fight for the jobs of Australian workers. Instead of trying to find a way to save the Australian car industry, the Abbott government's—

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

Mr Deputy Speaker, on a point of order. I ask you to draw to the member's attention the need to address members by their correct name or title.

Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sure you will adhere to that as we go along, member for Gellibrand.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Abbott government spent the Christmas break floating a work-for-the-dole scheme and blaming workers at SPC Ardmona for the situation facing their company. In this perfect storm for Australian manufacturing, Captain Abbott has been more concerned with abandoning ship, blaming the crew and punching holes in the lifeboats than steering the ship to safety. His Treasurer, in the weeks leading up to Toyota's crucial decision, lectured Australian workers on the age of personal responsibility. In this age of personal responsibility, why is it okay to support chocolate jobs at Cadbury but not car jobs at Toyota? It sounds more like an age of hypocrisy to me.

The loss of Toyota to Melbourne's west is devastating for not only the 2,500 Toyota workers but also the hundreds of manufacturers of component parts who are reliant on Toyota's business. We need a government with a bigger vision for these workers than picking up rubbish at the Hosken Reserve for less than minimum wage on a work-for-the-dole scheme across the road from an empty Toyota Altona plant. As Robert Kennedy once said, 'The answer to the welfare crisis is work, jobs, self-sufficiency and family integrity.' We need decent employment to fully engage society—the kind of employment that lets a man say, 'I helped to build this country.' We have seen overseas the consequences of letting the ship sink. We have seen the consequences of mass unemployment. We only need to look to the United States—where the impact of the global financial crisis has been felt most keenly by blue-collar workers—to understand that reality. In the US, more than 10 per cent of workers in blue-collar industries lost their jobs between August 2007 and August 2009.

The loss of manufacturing jobs has a significant emotional toll. The stress of unemployment has a physical impact. The life expectancy of laid-off middle-aged workers decreases by one to one and a half years. Mass unemployment affects the whole community—including, most heartbreakingly, the children of laid-off workers. A child whose parent loses their job is 15 per cent more likely to repeat a grade at school and, in time, will have lower home ownership rates and higher divorce rates. This is the future that confronts Melbourne's west under the Abbott government.

With the jobs of 1,400 workers at the Williamstown shipyards also on the line, almost 4,000 families in Melbourne's west are confronting the fear of sudden unemployment. The alternative to this sudden unemployment is to act to protect these workers and communities who will be hit hardest by this perfect storm.

Labor acted to protect jobs during the global financial crisis, and we acted to protect the auto industry through this period of global turmoil through the ATS. But it was not just Labor who supported manufacturing workers with these assistance schemes. Under John Howard, manufacturing workers were protected with the automotive industry assistance package. In 2002, John Howard's industry minister, Ian Macfarlane, worked with John Brumby, the then Treasurer of Victoria, to put aside politics and ensure that auto workers had the support they needed in trying times. Why was it good enough for John Howard to support Australian auto manufacturing jobs in 2002 but it is not good enough for Tony Abbott to do so today? Why would John Howard let Ian Macfarlane do his job and protect Australian jobs in 2002 but Tony Abbott will not let him do so in 2014? It is because the Liberal Party has been taken over in the past 10 years by economic extremists who are out of touch with what the Australian public want their government to do. Tony Abbott promised a million new jobs for Australians. We have not seen one in my electorate, and it is time for this betrayal to be held to account.

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

I know as well as anyone in this House how the devastating recent developments in the auto industry and across manufacturing have been. Thousands of workers across my region are employed in the manufacturing industry and many will be affected by the shutdown of the automotive manufacturing industry right across Australia. A number of companies in the Geelong region supply components to car manufacturers, including Toyota, and this is terrible news for the industry. But let me assure the member for Gellibrand, and let me assure those members opposite that—despite the spin, despite the deception, despite the untruths—we are fighting for jobs. We are fighting for a future.

We are in very difficult times. This is a very tough time for Australian manufacturing. But, unlike members opposite, we are confident that we have a bright future in manufacturing. I come from a proud manufacturing city, and I am going to hang onto that and do whatever I can to work with my community leaders and my community to ensure that we have a bright future.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Let me tell you what we are doing. You say we have no plan. That is absolute rubbish. We are focusing on new opportunities, new industries, new markets and new jobs. Consider what we are doing. We are trying to get rid of the carbon tax, which members opposite are blocking. This is a tax on jobs, a tax on Geelong and a tax on the people of my electorate. This is a tax on manufacturing. This is driving up the cost of energy and it is hurting manufacturing. Two million businesses are being hurt by the carbon tax, and what do those opposite do? Not one cent of compensation—absolutely nothing We are working hard to get rid of the mining tax, which is being blocked by members opposite. We are working hard to build a strong economy and to boost investment and confidence. But the more you drag our nation down as a centre of manufacturing, the more damage you do.

Consider the basket case of the economy we inherited. Unless we get the budget back under control, we are heading towards $123 billion of accumulated deficits—$667 billion of government debt. We are slashing government debt.

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're the government now!

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

Yes, we are the government—and, boy, have we got a job to do! We have got a very big job to do because of what you have done to wreck our economy. In my electorate we are fighting for important new industries. There is the Geelong Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases. We are investing money in a new intensive agriculture precinct.

Mr Watts interjecting—

I know it does not resonate in Gellibrand but agriculture is incredibly important right across this nation. There is the $18 billion Defence project, the Land 400. I am very proud of my community, led by the Mayor of Geelong, and what we are doing to fight for that project which would do so much for our city and our state. I understand that members opposite have not been following the news and have not read the papers, obviously, but—led by the industry minister, Ian Macfarlane, we are conducting an economic review of the South Australian and Victorian economies. I am on that panel—the Industry and Manufacturing Economic Review Panel—and I can assure you that we are absolutely focused on what we need to do as a government to grow jobs, to grow confidence and to help transition this economy. We are focused on innovation, on advanced manufacturing, on food processing, on IT and on communications. We have a plan.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Not on the NBN, though.

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

Yes, we are focused on the NBN. We are focused on responsible government. We are focused on responsible economic management. We are very proud of the work that we are doing. We are getting on with the business.

What members opposite do not understand is that governments do not create jobs; people do. People create jobs. We need to put the policy framework in the right place to ensure that we build the confidence, we build the investment and we grow the jobs. I remind those in this House that, in my own electorate, the loss of Ford under Labor's watch has been a terrible blow. Rather than throwing money and promising money, as Labor did, which led to more job losses, we are focusing on what we need to do. In this process, the economic review panel and our $100 million growth fund are vital for jobs and for our future. (Time expired)

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this afternoon we heard from the Leader of the Opposition when he talked about the community of Gove. Indeed, the Leader of the Opposition, Senator Nova Peris and I visited Gove last Friday. On 28 or 29 November, Rio Tinto advised the community of Gove that they were going to curtail their refinery at Gove, meaning the loss of something like 1,200 jobs, and that this curtailment would start from the beginning of February and be completed by the end of July. This is not the period we are talking about with Holden or with Toyota—this is not some years; this is some months.

The community at Gove are concerned not only about the loss of jobs but also about the loss of infrastructure, the loss of community support and the loss of social services. We heard this morning from the mouth of the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory that the population of Gove dropped from 4,000 people to 1,200 people—4,000 to 1,200. Businesses in Gove made decisions based on advice they had received from Rio Tinto in February and May last year to invest in the Gove community. As a result of this announcement, their investments are no longer worth the paper they are written on. We are seeing property values fall astronomically, we are seeing services being withdrawn from the community and we are seeing the future of education and health services gravely in doubt.

Yet we have not heard a word—not one single word—from the Prime Minister or any other senior minister from this government. In fact, although those opposite, and particularly Senator Scullion, were all over Nhulunbuy and the region like a rash during the lead-up to the election campaign, Senator Scullion has not been sighted since this announcement was made. These are his constituents. He is a senior cabinet minister in this government and he has abandoned the people of Nhulunbuy and the region. There has been no effort. Not one scintilla of hope has been given to this community by this government.

What the Prime Minister has proven yet again today is that he cares nothing for people who live in the regions of Australia, cares nothing for people whose jobs are going, as they are in Gove, and cares nothing for the Aboriginal communities of north-east Arnhem Land—because they are the ones who, in the long term, will suffer most. I met with people at Yirrkala last Friday, with the Leader of the Opposition, the local member, Lynne Walker, and Senator Peris. We were told by these people from Yirrkala, the Yolngu people from north-east Arnhem Land, that they were concerned about the future of Gove for a number of reasons—not only the loss of jobs for the people they called their brothers and sisters who worked in the Gove refinery but also the future jobs that may have been created had the refinery stayed. They are worried about the future of their kids and are concerned about the loss of opportunities that would have been there had this infrastructure remained.

There are no transition plans being proposed by this government. We know from a task force meeting that Rio Tinto advised the government about this potential closure 18 months ago. Yet we hear recently from a government member on this task force that the government told the Northern Territory government and Rio Tinto that there would effectively be no package. So what the Northern Territory government now know is that the Commonwealth government has abandoned them and abandoned the people of Gove. In addition to being abandoned by the Commonwealth government, we also know, as a result of a statement made by the Northern Territory Chief Minister, Adam Giles, in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly this morning, that the Northern Territory government have abandoned the people of Gove as well.

No information has been given to the community about the social, economic, environmental and demographic impacts on them. But we are to believe that, somehow or other, given the contribution we have heard this afternoon from members opposite, this government is concerned about jobs in the community. They are not concerned at all. They have abandoned working people in this country. They do not like talking to working people, particularly those who are members of unions, and of course the workers at Gove are unionised—'So we can't be talking to them; God no!' Of course, they will eventually get the blame. We will hear the Prime Minister get up and say, 'If the Gove workers had done things differently this would not have happened.' Well, of course, we know that that is rot, and Rio Tinto know that as well. They would tell the government that that is rot.

We understand that sometimes these commercial decisions are taken, but it is up to Rio Tinto and this Commonwealth government to slow down this eminent process of closure to allow the adjustments that need to be made in this region to be properly made and to allow for investments to be made in infrastructure that will provide long-term opportunities, jobs and services to the people of Gove and north-east Arnhem Land.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We could all stand up here today and play the blame game. I could say to the member who just spoke: 'Where was that passion for the workers when the carbon tax was introduced and it was detailed what the carbon tax would do to the aluminium industry in this country?' Was there the force of words directed at that policy then? I do not remember there being any at all. We could look to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard's words when she announced packages of money for Ford and how that was going to secure workforces. We could look at when she announced more money that was going to secure Holden until 2022. We could keep detailing those things. We can do the blame game.

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You pulled it.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are getting more of it from the learned colleague opposite. The blame game is not going to help in these situations. We have to be looking at what we are going to do in the future to grow the economy, to grow jobs and to make sure that this country has a bright future. That is what this government has been doing since it came to office. We have decided to draw a line in the sand to say the last six years have not worked; that is why we were in this situation and that is why manufacturing is suffering in this country. What we want to do for manufacturing workers—and we do not care whether they are unionised or not—is give them jobs, sustainable jobs which they can have into the future, which are not dependent on the government providing money and more money and more money to ensure that those jobs continue.

There comes a time when government, like business, has to live within its means and that is what this government will do. We took a commitment to the election that we would get the budget mess that we inherited under control, that we would get debt under control. That is what we are going to do and we are going to do it by growing the economy, by growing new jobs.

It was fantastic to see the Prime Minister's response to what happened yesterday. He understands as everyone does on this side the disappointment, the dismay for those workers whose jobs are going to come to an end. But he also knows that he has to work cooperatively with the Victorian and South Australian state governments to ensure that those workers at Holden and Toyota and the rest of the workers in that state have a future. We are providing much needed infrastructure funds to make sure that those economies grow and that jobs will be provided. And it will be successful, especially if it comes along with the Labor Party getting out of the way and allowing us to abolish the carbon tax. It will be successful if they get out of the way and allow us to get rid of the mining tax. It will be successful if they get out of the way and allow us to get the budget back into a decent state. The hypocrisy of those promised cuts that they delivered in government, which they are now opposing, knows no bounds. That is the type of thing which will hold this country back.

We know that we have to grow the economy. We have said that creating jobs will be a first point of call when it comes to this government. The Prime Minister spent a good three years in opposition going around talking to industry, talking to workers, talking to businesses to find out what they need to make sure the economy continued to grow so that we could provide jobs for the families of Australia, and that is what we are hell-bent on doing. We will do it by encouraging industries which have been hit by this manufacturing decline, by this structural decline into those areas. We will ensure that the policies are there so the investment goes into those areas to create and developed new industries. We will work cooperatively both at the federal and state level to ensure that that happens. (Time expired)

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

We woke up today to these dreadful headlines. The one that tells the story is in The Age: 'Road to recession'. These are not headlines that we have seen in Australia despite all of the challenges that we faced during the global financial crisis. We never had headlines like that before because in the past we had a government committed to jobs and committed to growth. But the people of Elizabeth in my electorate, of Shepparton in the electorate of Murray, in Nhulunbuy and in Altona know what the Abbott government is all about. These are communities that are shattered by the actions and the inaction of this government. What do we get from those opposite while these communities are reeling? The member for Gellibrand articulated it and the member for Solomon articulated it.

We do not see the member for Murray. We know she must be the most confused member of parliament because the 'lines in the sand' and the 'end of the age of entitlement' were not supposed to apply to rural communities. They were not supposed to apply to bean farmers in Queensland and Tasmania. They were not supposed to apply to the conservatives' heartland. She must be very confused because the government could not find $25 million for Shepparton. That is what it would have taken to save 500 manufacturing jobs in that electorate. That is what it would have taken to save a whole rural economic ecosystem with blockies and farmers. They could not find $25 million, yet they can find $16 million for Cadburys because apparently that is to promote tourism. They can find $3.5 million for Huon Aquaculture—probably a very good venture but nobody has ever heard of it. I do not know how many people it employs. Those opposite were happy to spend $100 million on a witch-hunt. They were happy to spend $20 million on a pilot scheme for marriage counselling. That was on the front page of the Daily Telegrapha bit of a thought bubble, but we get used to that. I believe one of the members in the party room raised the arrogance of government ministers floating things in the press.

You can understand why the member for Murray is confused, why she is angry, why she is lashing out at the Prime Minister and calling him a liar. We now have the spectacle of this government, despite telling us that they have ended the age of entitlement, reinserting an FBT tax concession which will now only benefit foreign car manufacturers and foreign car workers. So we have got $1.8 billion in Australian taxpayers' money going to German, Chinese, British and US auto workers. That is the end of the age of entitlement. You can understand the member for Murray being a touch confused. You can understand Australians being a touch confused.

We see factory workers, farmers, small businesses, all these communities, suffering from this government's actions. I can tell you other people who are suffering from the government's actions. There is a company called Carr Components in the Adelaide suburb of Netley, in the seat of Hindmarsh. Bill Sardelis was quoted in the Fin Review today under the headline 'Shocked parts makers out of options':

Mr Sardelis said he was angry at policymakers. "In the end, they didn't want an industry and they've got what they wanted."

The worst thing about this government is that there are all these drones on the backbench who claim that they are such tough economic warriors but then they always seek to blame someone else. It is always someone else's fault. It is the unions' fault. It is the workers' fault. It is the multinationals' fault. It is always someone else's fault, because they do not really have the courage of their convictions. They are not willing to don the fluoro just one more time, to go down to Altona or Elizabeth or Shepparton. We do not see them going down there. Then they talk about this $100 million fund, which was supposed to be just about South Australia but apparently is now being stretched right across the country to retrain workers in many, many different communities. We do not see a plan. We do not see any fairness out of this government. We are on the road to recession. (Time expired)

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

It is always interesting to sit back and listen to members of the Labor Party and their confected outrage, which is built up for nothing more than media appearances. The problem is that, when you speak in parliament, everything you say is recorded. As a result, everything you do not say in defence of an industry or an argument is not there. So when I say it is confected outrage I mean: where were the comments from the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Gorton—I will excuse the member for Gellibrand; he was not here—the member for Lingiari and the member for Wakefield when Mitsubishi pulled the pin in 2008?

A government member: What did they say?

There was silence, the sounds of silence, not just from the member for Wakefield but from all members. In 2011, the then Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, said:

Our nation is facing an historic shift, the like of which we have not seen in two generations.

…   …   …

That does not mean that change will be easy or swift. These are incredibly challenging times.

…   …   …

Many manufacturers have found the higher exchange rate extremely difficult to handle.

The face of the industry is changing, as indeed has been happening for many decades now. I feel very sorry for all those people who have lost their jobs to date or are to lose their jobs. I feel very sorry for the one person every 19 minutes in the manufacturing industry who lost their job while Labor were in government.

What can I say of this confected outrage of the Labor Party? I say this. I sat through when BHP shut down in Newcastle, that great big steel town—and BHP had reach across the whole region. It was disappointing. It was devastating. Yes, people lost their jobs. The coalition government, under John Howard, invested $10 million in a Newcastle structural adjustment package. That money was invested wisely, but, most importantly, the government sat down with industry, with the workers, and developed a plan. We now have lower unemployment in the Hunter region than we had when BHP was there. We have seen new industries, new growth, the establishment of the Hunter Medical Research Institute, a whole new sector of industries. We have seen an increase in broader education. We have seen mining support service industries pop up on a broad scale, the likes of which we have never seen. Why? Because we encouraged industry to invest. We sat down; we worked with them. We got rid of a lot of the backlog of red tape that was stopping this investment. People need to see a pathway forward. They need to see that a government cares enough to work with them, not against them. Most importantly, they need to see and understand that they do not have people with confected outrage.

I left out the member for Isaacs earlier, because he did not speak today, but he spoke on Q&A last night, and I have got to tell you, Member for Isaacs, it was not one of your most impressive performances. There you were, complete with the confected outrage, but what did you say about when Mitsubishi pulled the pin or when Ford announced its closure? Indeed, what did you say about when Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2012 announced $34 million for Ford, saying it would create 300 new jobs, only for 330 employees to lose their jobs, or when she announced $215 million for Holden, saying it would secure the future for Australia till 2022, yet within months 670 jobs were gone? It was the silence that was deafening from the members of the opposition when they were in government.

People need a team that will provide leadership, will create opportunities and, in particular, will create an air of confidence that businesses can invest. One of the things that helped kill this motor vehicle industry—and is killing other industries and is killing investment—is the carbon tax: $400 on every motor vehicle. But did I once hear a word from members opposite about the $400 of carbon tax on each and every car and the impact of that on the jobs and the supply? It was not there. So I say to these people: stop the confected outrage and work with people to create jobs.

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

Order! The time allotted for this discussion has now expired.