Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Over the last hour, this House has been treated to a remarkable spectacle—the opposition drawing upon the learned authorities of Cromwell and Jerry Seinfeld to move a gag motion at question time. The reason they have drawn upon the learned authorities of Cromwell and Jerry Seinfeld to try to gag question time is that they did not want to talk about the economy. They did not want to talk about the economy and they did not want to talk about jobs, because it does not suit them to recognise that today the ABS announced an increase in employment and a decrease in unemployment and that, as the Leader of the House observed, today there are more Australians in jobs than at any other time in our nation's history.

I am very proud to come in here day after day and sit alongside MPs who understand the importance of manufacturing. I am very proud to come in here day after day and sit alongside MPs on this side of the House who understand and support the automotive industry. When I sit alongside my colleagues on this side of the House—people who understand and support the importance of the manufacturing industry and the car industry—I look across the chamber and I see an opposition which wants to close down the car industry. We on this side of the House support the car industry because we understand that it is absolutely critical to an advanced economy. If it is true that a country that makes stuff knows stuff, it is equally true that a country which makes cars has access to the engineering know-how which is at the heart of a modern economy. That is why we on this side of the House know that the car industry matters.

Australia is one of only 13 countries in the world which have the capacity to fully manufacture, end to end, an automobile. On this side of the House we want to ensure that Australia stays in that group of 13, as opposed to those on that side of the House, who have policy settings which are designed to close down the car industry. We want to be one of the 13 countries because we know that the car industry directly employs over 46,000 Australians and supports their families. On that side of the House they have a lot to say about families, but there are 46,000 families they cannot look in the eye—because they want to do them out of a job. It is not only those 46,000 workers they cannot look in the eye; it is the 200,000 workers in downstream supply chains reliant upon the automotive industry for their livelihood.

I am very pleased to see the member for Cunningham in the chamber today, because jointly we represent a region which relies very heavily on the steel industry, BlueScope and OneSteel in particular. We—the member for Cunningham and I—know that the car industry, and the continued viability of the car industry and the car components industry, is critical to the steel industry. That is just one example of the importance of the car industry to the overall economy. We know that over $1.4 billion worth of domestic steel is purchased by the automotive sector each and every year, $1.4 billion worth of steel the sale of which is vital to the economies of regions which rely on our steel industry—the Illawarra is just one example. It is not only steel; it is the polymer industry—over $44 million annually is purchased in polymers by the automotive sector—and research and development. You talk about wanting to be a smart country. Well, the automotive sector is the largest contributing sector to research and development within the manufacturing sector, and the manufacturing sector boxes well above its weight when it comes to its contribution to research and development in this country.

So, when you stack all of that up, it is easy to see why these facts are very well understood by each and every member on this side of the House. We understand that the automotive industry is important not only to those 46,000 people who are directly employed in it and the 200,000 workers working downstream but also to the fabric of our country and who we are as Australians. This is not knowledge that is shared by those who sit on the opposition benches. I was very interested to read an article in today's Courier Mail by renowned press gallery journalist Steven Scott, where he is quoting comments by Queensland Liberal Party Senator Boyce. He says:

Queensland Liberal Senator Sue Boyce has called for more cuts to taxpayer handouts for the car industry, even if this meant no cars were manufactured in Australia.

He directly quotes from Senator Boyce's newsletter, where she said:

I've never understood what it is about the car manufacturing industry that makes it so, so special in terms of government subsidies—

That says it in a nutshell. They do not understand what it is about the car industry that makes it so special. Of course, it is not just the senator from Queensland who shares those thoughts. There is the well-known columnist, the man who obviously did not get the memo from Ms Peaton that was sent around. He often writes very learned op-eds. I quote from the Australian of 13 October 2011, which quotes the member for Mayo as describing it—this is word for word; I am not making this up, Deputy Speaker.

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