Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable Senator for his question and for giving me notice of the question. He is right to say that the Australian automotive industry is one of our key sectors. I had the opportunity a few months ago to open the Auto Aftermarket Expo in Melbourne, and that was huge. There were a lot of companies there doing a lot of innovative things. As the VACC and MTAA report states, it now employs nearly 400,000 people and makes a major contribution to GDP and is going through an unprecedented change. For SMEs in the sector, they're dealing with more technologically advanced products, more advanced materials and even higher consumer expectations.

In respect to your concerns about skills councils and vocational educational responsibilities, who gets what in government is really ultimately up to the Prime Minister. But the point I would make is that one of the co-authors of the report, the Motor Trades Association of Australia, has been allocated positions on four of the five industry reference committees, which help determine industry priorities for automotive training package development.