David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian government fiscal situation is like an oil tanker. The government has it heading full-steam in the wrong direction. It is not something you can turn around on a dime. It is going to take us a long time before we can even stop that oil tanker moving in the wrong direction never mind actually turning it around and getting it going in the direction it should be.

Senator Conroy mentioned that Australian-made cars are the cars that Australian families drive. That certainly was the case once upon a time; every house had a Falcon, a Kingswood or a Commodore—depending on the time that you are talking about—parked in the garage. But that is not so much the case now. That is one of the things that the Productivity Commission needs to look at. We need to understand the challenges facing the automotive industry in Australia at the moment. (Time expired)