Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Senator Sinodinos. As recently as yesterday in the Senate you claimed that the government is going to help workers that will lose their jobs when the Holden and Toyota factories close. Exactly how are you going to do that?

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

By continuing the programs that are already underway. We have had a $155 million Growth Fund, of which $100 million has come from the federal government. There have been contributions from the state governments and from the car companies. We are going to continue intensive employment assistance. That will be available to workers all the way through to 2018. With the Victorian government and with the South Australia government, we are looking at: community-based initiatives that make sure that workers who are transitioning are, as far as possible, being given the opportunity to find jobs in their local communities; and how to strengthen the bases of those local communities.

We are taking this very seriously. We are looking at upstream and downstream linkages. For example, there are automotive components and suppliers who have, obviously, traditionally relied on the automotive industry for orders. We have had programs underway for some time to help them to diversify. Not all of them will be able to diversify—we accept that. But, where possible, we are giving them the opportunity to diversify into related fields and, where possible, also providing export assistance so they can do more on world markets.

Over the next few months, we are also going to be looking at ways in which our trade deals can be made more specific in terms of the access that can be provided for people in these particular sectors. There is a lot going on. There is a lot more that can be done through existing programs, and, where we need to, we can provide additional resources—for example, in the employment services space—to fund priority projects. We are doing all of that; we are standing by the workers in those industries and we are promoting high-end research skills. Car companies have recognised that those skills are very important as part of their global value chains. It is an area we can really exploit—high-end engineering R&D.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, a supplementary question.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, in your answer just now and in your press statement of 1 February on the closure of the Toyota Altona plant, you said that money was available in the Growth Fund. Given that Commonwealth funding is not available for the supply chain or to retrain those workers who are about to lose their jobs, will you now acknowledge that your statement was actually incorrect?

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

We are providing funding which is helping the diversification process—at least $100 million of that $155 million. We are also looking at what more we can do for the automotive component makers. Yesterday I spoke to Wade Noonan, the Minister for Industry and Employment in Victoria, and I will be speaking further with my South Australian counterpart about all of this. We are doing everything we can, but the process is not helped by the idea that somehow there is a political divide on this. We all want the same outcome.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, a final supplementary question.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is a political divide on this. I ask you again: instead of misleading workers who are about to lose their jobs, can you tell us exactly what additional money your government will provide, given that the major job losses in this industry are yet to come?

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

We are already providing major funds to help the diversification of the auto component makers. What we will also do in the period ahead, as I said, is make sure that intensive employment assistance is available to workers going forward. This is on top of the money that the companies themselves are providing, and rightly should provide, because they have a responsibility to those workers. They have made the decision to go and they have a responsibility to those workers. Toyota and Holden have provided money and Ford has been providing money, and we will ensure that that money is appropriately used as part of a framework to promote local employment.