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

We do know what some unnamed Liberal senators are doing, though. They are backgrounding journalists and saying that Holden is going to pull out of Australia. But today we heard from the CEO of Holden himself at the Productivity Commission that no decision had been made.

No decision has been made by Holden, so why are coalition ministers, unnamed, going around and saying that Holden is going to pull out of Australia? Why are they forcing their own minister—Minister Macfarlane—to try to defend and reclaim his portfolio space? What is this all about? What is the hidden agenda of those coalition ministers who are backgrounding journalists?

Is it because the economic dries have taken over the Liberal Party completely? You would have to think so, wouldn't you? Because they are the people who believe in a no-holds-barred, no-strings-attached complete economic freefall for all, and whose ideological obsessions blind them to the fact that governments do sometimes need to support industries. But there is more to supporting an industry than letting go of the levers and watching the freefall that happens, and hoping that some people and some organisations survive out of that. We know that the member for Mayo, the member for Sturt and the member for Higgins all have that ideological obsession. They want to let the automotive industry fall, basically.

I would like to conclude, however, by noting that one South Australian senator has made some comments about this; one South Australian senator, and that is Senator Bernardi. I do not know who saw Senator Bernardi interviewed last night, but it sent shivers down my spine when he was asked about the automotive industry. What did he do? He reverted to type, and he said that what they should do in the auto industry is to look at those union agreements that they have negotiated at Holden. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Is this what it is all about, really? Is it about attacking ordinary working people and their unions, who have negotiated decent enterprise agreements for the automotive industry? That is probably what it is all about.

I can tell you, Mr Deputy President, that the unions will stand behind automotive workers in South Australia and Victoria and in the other industries that are dependent on the automotive industry. South Australian Labor senators will stand behind automotive workers. The people who will not stand behind them are Liberal South Australian senators, who have refused to participate in this debate and who are standing by watching the auto industry come to its knees. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.