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

It walks away because it is obsessed with the ideological battles within the Liberal Party about ensuring the free market policies it should pursue. Up to 200,000 workers in this country are to be sacrificed on the altar of economic rationalism so that a few, like Senator Ryan here, can pretend that they are all hairy-chested when it comes to the market principles of economics. Nowhere else in the world does this apply—nowhere!

In fact, Australia's support is incredibly moderate—less than $20 per person, less than the price of a footy ticket is what we support the automotive industry with. Up to $300 per person is the rate in the United States; $90 in Germany. Even the United Kingdom, a Conservative government, is putting billions of dollars extra into its automotive industry because it understands the basic principles of economics when it comes to this industry.

What we have noticed is that the Productivity Commission's former chairman described the car companies as 'just rent seekers'—never mind the extraordinary wealth the industry has brought to this country. I quote from the material that was put before the commission today:

From 2001-2012, Holden generated $32.7 billion of economic activity in Australia.

During that period, Holden received $1.8 billion in … Government assistance, returned $1.4 billion to the Government as … income tax revenue and paid $21 billion to other businesses in Australia for supplies …

For every dollar spent by the Commonwealth, it had a return of $18 to the Australian economy.

And what does the Productivity Commission ask today? 'Oh, is that a fair return?' Of course it is! Has this government woken up to that yet—that is, for every dollar the Commonwealth puts in, $18 is generated across the economy? And of course the cost of closing this industry down would be so much more than that: the costs to social security, the costs of lost income tax, the costs of lost investment—and of course the auto industry being at the core of manufacturing is also a cost.

Of course we know the simple facts. The number of workers involved in this industry has declined because productivity has improved so much. Productivity has gone up from one worker producing 10.9 cars in 1991 to one worker now producing 19.6 cars. That is the situation. Wages in this country are very similar to manufacturing across the board—$54,548. It is a fraction more in automotive as a rule. So the claims being made that it is the workers' fault are completely wrong. What we have is an ideological obsession by the economic dries in the Liberal Party aiming at driving this industry out of the country. They see this as a great victory, as a great success, as something to be celebrated. They ought to hang their heads in shame.