Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was a ridiculously overreaching government intervention that forced the car companies to swap bodies and drive trains. So, if you bought a Nissan ute, it was the same as a Ford Falcon ute. If you bought a Holden Commodore, it was the same as a Toyota Lexcen except for the badge. If you bought a Nissan Pintara, that was the same as the Ford Corsair. A Nissan Pulsar was the same as the Holden Astra. A Toyota Camry was the same as the Holden Apollo. A Toyota Corolla was the same as the Holden Nova. And a Nissan Patrol was the same as a Ford Maverick. This was the sort of government intervention into our car industry that undermined it. It made Australians not want to purchase Australian made cars, and it led to the decline and eventually the death of the car industry. It was government intervention that led to the death of the car industry.