Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister also advise the Senate what challenges Australian manufacturing companies, such as Bridgestone, face in the present environment? What are the specific challenges facing firms in automotive manufacturing? To what extent are recent trends in the manufacturing sector the result of long-term developments and to what extent are they a consequence of the global recession? What measures have the government taken to support our car and vehicle component makers and to drive the modernisation of Australian industry more generally?