Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My electorate has suffered the closure of the Ford Motor Company, an iconic employer. It will end production in 2016 and with that will go thousands of jobs. The impact on our community will be long term and devastating. So any discussion around the possibility of job losses in the car sector is a very sensitive and difficult one for not just my own community but also the broader Australian community.

We do not want more job losses in the Australian community, especially when we in this place can be proactive in helping the Australian automotive industry maintain its viability. There is a case to be made for assisting and preserving the long-term viability of the car industry.

The Labor Party has always been committed to the long-term success of the automotive industry. We understand that it is a job-creating sector, with some 250,000 jobs. The sector actually has a world-class track record of innovation.

While in government we have proven our commitment to the industry. However, the same cannot be said about those opposite. At this stage, I do want to acknowledge that Minister Macfarlane in fact does support the industry and is genuine in his attempts. But it is not the minister who is so much the issue; it is other members who sit behind him and with him around the cabinet table who are the issue.

The government have been hammering away at manufacturing industries and have in fact been committed to hollowing out the automotive industry from the years when they were in opposition. So we should not be surprised at their actions now that they are in government.

In fact, I well remember the opposition leader, now the Prime Minister, was very happy to walk through many factory floors, wearing a fluoro jacket, shaking hands of Australian workers and giving them the very firm impression that he was on their side and committed to protecting their jobs. But we know now that that was a bit of a con and, even though he has said that he wants the motor industry to survive and flourish in this country, it would seem that the Prime Minister and other ministers do not understand what that actually involves. I can tell you one thing: it certainly does not involve cutting $500 million to the automotive industry.

Unfortunately, this government's actions place at risk thousands of Australian jobs. In my home state of Victoria, 28,000 jobs are directly linked to the automotive industry. In my own electorate alone, we still have 1,465 jobs and, in the neighbouring electorate of Gorton, some 1,970. In the electorate of Lalor—and the member for Lalor sits in front of me—we have 1,683 jobs. In all, the northern suburbs of Melbourne are heavily reliant on the survival of the automotive sector for people to have jobs.

I do not think this government understands and does not appreciate the importance of the manufacturing sector to the Australian economy. But, worse than that, this government seeks to drive a wedge between the Australian community and government assistance to the automotive industry by shamelessly pitting one Australian job against another. The member for Kooyong recently commented on Sky TV:

We cannot use the taxpayer as an ATM for the car industry.

That is a reflection of a government that does not understand or care about the long-term success of this industry.

On the other hand, the Labor opposition have always supported and continue to support the Australian automotive industry. We understand and appreciate its strong track record. We also understand that it provides 250,000 employment opportunities for Australians.

We should be proud of our Australian automotive industry. We are one of 13 countries in the world with the capacity to design and manufacture a motor vehicle. In fact, Minister Macfarlane was recently at Ford, in my electorate, where we were given a tour of the design and engineering plant. I am sure that he would agree that it is a world-class and cutting-edge facility. Such innovation capacity is too valuable to jeopardise, because of the ideological blindness of members of this government.

This government does not have the right to jeopardise an industry whose exports are worth some $3.7 billion. It does not have the right to strangle future jobs and job prospects of young Australians, especially those in my electorate and in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The Leader of the House is on record as saying—before the election, mind you:

I have a long-standing commitment to keep Holden in South Australia.

Now is his opportunity to deliver on that so-called longstanding commitment to protect the production of Holden in South Australia. (Time expired)

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