Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Wortley for her question and I am sure all senators would appreciate the importance of the automotive industry for South Australia. The government’s new car plan will secure investment in new technologies, new capacities and new jobs. The $6.2 billion 13-year New Car Plan for a Greener Future will drive innovation across the industry. The automotive sector employs over 60,000 people directly and many more indirectly. In 2004-05 the car industry used $3 billion worth of inputs from other branches of manufacturing and $8 billion worth of inputs from the service sector. Thousands of people were employed in providing these inputs. It has been estimated that at least 200,000 Australians owe their jobs to car making in this country. This industry is the cornerstone of Australian manufacturing and the lifeblood of communities across the nation.

A New Car Plan for a Greener Future is about making the industry stronger, greener and more innovative so it can go on building high-wage jobs now and into the future. It is about reinventing the industry. We want to see Australia produce fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles for the world market, and that is what this plan will achieve. It includes an expanded Green Car Innovation Fund of $1.3 billion, which will be brought forward to 2009 and run for 10 years. It includes a better targeted, greener $3.4 billion assistance program; the Automotive Transformation Scheme, which will be run from 2011 to 2020; and support for structural adjustment and business improvement in the component sector. It will also involve an enhanced market access program, the new Automotive Industry Innovation Council and an expanded LPG vehicle scheme that doubles payments to purchasers of new vehicles using LPG technology. This is the most comprehensive plan ever devised for the Australian car industry. It is a long-term plan to deal with long-term challenges. These challenges include growing environmental concerns, volatile petrol pricing, increased competition and changing consumer preferences. The answer to these challenges is innovation. The government’s new car plan will give a huge boost to research and development.

Our aim is to create a green car industry that will provide quality, green-collar jobs—substantial and sustained jobs; quality jobs—that will be an essential part of tomorrow’s low-carbon economy. Our aim is to give Australia a head start in developing fuel-saving and carbon-cutting technologies that we can use at home and then sell to the world. Our aim is to give Australian consumers greener, safer, better designed, more affordable cars to choose from. Above all, our aim is to secure long-term investment that will see us through today’s global slowdown and set us up for a much stronger future. This plan is an essential part of the government’s broader green investment strategy to maintain Australia’s prosperity and living standards in a carbon constrained world. It is a great plan for the Australian car industry, for Australian manufacturing and for Australian jobs.