Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

We want to have a strong and active motor-vehicle-manufacturing industry in Australia. We, unlike Labor, do not believe that manufacturing ought to be yesterday's industry in this country. We want, in fact, to see a manufacturing sector that is strong, vibrant, and able to stand on its own feet and make significant contributions to Australia. That is part of the reason we acted to get rid of the fringe benefits tax impost that Labor had imposed. That is why we want to get rid of the carbon tax now so that car making can be more competitive in this country.

On this day, though, we are most concerned about the capacity of those who have been working in this industry—some 1,600 at the Elizabeth vehicle-manufacturing plant and 1,300 at the Holden Victoria plant—who will no longer be employed by that company sometime between now and 2017. The government stands ready to work constructively with General Motors to support these people through this difficult time. We will do what we can, with General Motors, to achieve the very best possible outcomes for these people.

Holden will still have a significant presence in Australia and we want to make sure that their dealers and their employees are supported through this transition. But this is a difficult day for Australians, particularly for the Holden employees. And we will stand with them to work constructively to make sure that they can transition into good jobs in other parts of our industry.

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