John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is indeed sad for all of us who are supporters of Australian manufacturing to see the closure of the General Motors Holden, Toyota and Ford Motor Company manufacturing activities in Australia. Many economists and commentators, including the member for Wakefield and others in this House on both sides of parliament, have canvassed, in recent years, the international competition, consumer trends, costs of production and other reasons for this decline.

We know that over recent years, through successive governments, this has been a particularly difficult economic reality to deal with for none more so, of course, than those employees of these plants in this country. It has impacted significantly in South Australia, obviously, in Victoria and, if we look back at the history of motor vehicle manufacturing in this country, other states as well over the years, including my state of Queensland.

It is important to note the Australian government is supporting the automotive manufacturing workers, industrial supply chains and traditional manufacturing regions through what is clearly a transition period. One hundred and one million dollars has been invested into the $155 million Growth Fund to ensure workers in South Australia and Victoria are receiving the support they need. They have the opportunity to reskill, supply chains are diversifying, and regions are adjusting to new areas of the economy. For employees, $15 million has been committed to extend the Automotive Industry Structural Adjustment Program to help automotive workers find new jobs. It is open until 2018. For automotive supply chains, there is $20 million for the Automotive Diversification Program to help firms enter new markets. It is already generating $51 million in private sector investment. There is the $90 million Next Generation Manufacturing Investment Program to accelerate private sector investment in high-value manufacturing sectors in Victoria and South Australia. It has generated over $283 million in investment. For businesses in impacted regions, the $29.5 million Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund and the $24.5 million Melbourne's North Innovation and Investment Fund support innovation and job creation projects that ultimately strengthen and diversify these regions.

With all of that in mind, I want to share with the chamber my firm view that we all, as consumers in this free, democratic society, are free to make our own purchase decisions. I respect that and I celebrate that as a key principle in our free economy. I personally could regale this chamber with stories of the many vehicles that I have purchased over the last 30-odd years since I got my driver's licence. Suffice it to say that it began with a second-hand Australian-made 1967 six-cylinder Ford Fairlane sedan—my uni car, if you like—and has most recently involved my purchase of a 2015 Ford Falcon just before they went out of production. In my experience, they have been mainly Fords—in between a few Holdens, I must admit. I have always been a great fan and supporter of the Australian automotive product, a bent that not all in our country share, I must admit. I therefore, as a consumer, grieve for the loss of these vehicles to our market. I recognise that the sector has been the basis of engineering innovation across the economy for many years, but times are changing.

We should therefore celebrate the fact that design expertise in these companies is being retained in our country. I cite the Ford Ranger as an example. It is a very popular vehicle in Australia, fully designed here in our country and manufactured in Thailand. We should celebrate the fact that many of our automotive supply chain firms have continued to supply manufacturers around the world and, of course, we should recognise the government's efforts in promoting a defence industry plan that presents design and manufacturing opportunities not just in a few states but right across the country, including in my own regional electorate of Groom in Queensland.

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