Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

It should not be necessary for us to save Holden, because, according to members opposite, when they were in government, they had already saved it. And if the $275 million more that members opposite tipped in in March last year was not sufficient to save Holden, what on earth do members opposite expect us to have done? To have doubled the money? Seriously: what exactly do they expect us to have done? How much money does the Leader of the Opposition think taxpayers should have put in? For how long should taxpayers have put in that extra money?

We made it absolutely crystal clear that we were prepared to continue to offer Holden a generous level of support, and we deeply regret that that has not been enough. So, the challenge now is to take appropriate steps to build on our nation's enduring economic strengths to try to ensure that our economy is as flexible and as low-cost as possible. That is why we are cutting the carbon tax. That is why we are abolishing the mining tax. That is why we are cutting regulation. And we just wish members opposite would get out of our way and let these sensible measures go ahead.

See this speech in context