Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

As I indicated to the Senator, the $35 million is a capital grant. Toyota and the Australian government will develop an appropriate contract with milestones for payments. As a condition of the capital grant, the Commonwealth will require the $35 million to be invested in research and development, retooling the plant and equipment to produce the hybrid. Quite frankly, this means that this investment will occur in Australia, not in Thailand. I would have thought that the opposition would have welcomed this commitment by Toyota to support the ongoing development of Australian car manufacturing. This government will work with Toyota on a contract that builds in R&D and innovation milestones and helps ensure the development of the hybrid vehicle in Australia.