Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I suppose the contribution from Senator Ryan really does set the coalition's position very clearly. They give us a skewed history lesson and say, basically, that we cannot support jobs in the industry. I think the simple facts are that the Australian automotive industry is our largest contributor to manufacturing research and development, some $693 million in 2011-12. That gives an avenue for all those bright people who go to university and study to get into design research and development. I dare say they do not continue their career entirely in the manufacturing of motor cars, but I think they add to the economy as a whole. If we are to be a smart nation, if we are to be a value-add nation, then we do need research and development, and $693 million worth of investment, were it not there, would make Australians and the Australian economy much worse off.

Despite Senator Ryan's comments about the Australian dollar, we still managed to export $3.7 billion worth of vehicles and components in 2012. Despite the difficulties associated with the high Australian dollar, $3.7 billion worth of vehicles and components in a single year were exported. I take the caveat from Senator Ryan about the number of people employed in the automotive industry. There are fact sheets about which say that 260,000 people across more than 20,000 enterprises along the supply chain are employed. I take the point that it might be an ambit figure but, if we agree on 50,000 Australians working directly in the manufacturing area, and we do agree that there are people supporting them, then it may not be 260,000 people that would be affected but a lot more than 50,000 and probably closer to the 200,000.

The simple fact that we are one of the eight nations that can design and build a car from scratch is something that we cannot ignore, and the fact that we need to subsidise it is relevant but needs to be put into context. Basically, they receive about $18 per person in government funding—which equates to about $500 million—but the return to the economy is $21.5 billion, equating to a return investment of $934 per person. The industry has an annual turnover of $160 billion and pays more than $10 billion in tax to Australian governments.

This is not a small thing. A senator coming in here and give us a skewed history lesson about the Hawke-Keating government being an aberration and saying that Labor are into protectionism does not give any comfort to any of those thousands of workers, either in the state of Victoria or the state of South Australia, who are looking at a very bleak future. They may well have skills and will transition to another part of the economy, but if they are happy and doing a great job at the moment the future is looking extremely uncertain for them.

As we speak, there is not one South Australian Liberal senator in this chamber. Senator Birmingham, Senator Fawcett, Senator Ruston, Senator Bernardi—I think Senator Edwards may make a contribution later, and we will judge the content of that contribution as to where he sits—do not care enough about their own state to get in here and listen to the debate.

South Australia has 33 direct suppliers and 700 indirect suppliers. Make no mistake, if this goes ahead through wilful neglect of the Abbott government, and if they do not act to attract a billion dollars worth of investment in the automotive industry, we will see the impact on thousands or, as Senator Ryan has admitted, perhaps even over 100,000—we did not actually get the figure from him, but we know it is between 50,000 and 250,000—people affected by this very important decision, which is characterised by this incoming Liberal government.

I read the other day that their first 100 days can be characterised by 100 delays. We see caution and inaction. 'I won't be bullied!' says the Hon. Joe Hockey, the Treasurer, and yet foreign investment into GrainCorp was denied. I think I know why: it is because there are people on that side of the chamber in the coalition who do stand up for workers in rural Australia, and they could see that GrainCorp being taken over by a company like ADM may have impacted on some of their rural communities and jobs.

We on this side of the chamber get accused of only standing up for union workers—well what is wrong with that? Why wouldn't we stand up for the 13,000 direct employees in South Australia? Why wouldn't we stand up for their families? Why wouldn't we stand up for the deli down the road from General Motors Holden who will be out of business if those workers do not drive past it every day? Why wouldn't we stand up for the video store or the pizza parlour—all those people out of work and no longer able to give into the economy. Why wouldn't we stand up for those small businesses? In our state that is what we do—although I do note a distinct lack of South Australian Liberal senators in here at the moment—and we will never, ever give up on this sort of stuff.

This is a huge contributor to the Australian economy; it is factual, it is researched and the amount of subsidy is not in the vein that Senator Ryan alleged it was. If the Australian dollar were to take a nosedive, we may go back to exporting Camaros to America, which is where we were when the General Motors plant in Elizabeth put 1,000 people on night shift to design, build and send Camaros to the Californian police force. They are still a very much sought-after car, but the vagaries of the Australian dollar have made that export avenue less attractive.

Senator Ryan is right about one thing: the Australian dollar is a significant challenge to manufacturing, but what he is not right about are the reasons why Holden is at risk. The basic reason that Holden is at risk is that this government is not doing the right thing and is not willing to make an investment to attract a billion dollars worth of investment in Australian manufacturing and jobs. I am sure that there are any number of countries in our part of the world—Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia—who would make all of the right decisions with respect to a billion dollars worth of investment if it were offered to them.

I think Senator Carr has put on the record that the most significant threat to the future of the car industry is that senior ministers in the Abbott government look like they are trying to kill it off. As I said, Senator Ryan's contribution will give no comfort to a family at General Motors, whether it is in Victoria or at the plant at Elizabeth. The government are talking to journalists in secret rather than talking to workers or talking to General Motors. The Hon. Tony Abbott should end this debate with a commitment to invest the money needed to save this car industry.

Our fearless opposition leader in the great state of South Australia did not put in a submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry, has made no comments about this and is sitting quietly behind his mask of silence waiting for someone else to stand up for South Australia. I think South Australians will recognise who is standing up for them. The challenge that we have is to keep this noise as loud and as public as we can and not allow the opposition to not attend the chamber, not participate in debate and instead send Senator Ryan down here to give us a lecture on his skewed version of the economic chain since the Hawke-Keating years.

The automotive industry is too important to this country, to Victoria and to South Australia for us to let it die. It needs investment and it needs decisions—it does not need another 100 days of delays from this coalition government.