Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was announced last week that CMG, the manufacturer of electric motors in Australia—the last manufacturer of electric motors in Australia—is closing its doors. There will be no more electric motors made in Australia. One-third of Australia's electricity goes into electric motors; a country not able to make an electric motor is like a country not able to make a wheel.

I watched with considerable pain and shock the announcement by Qantas that half to two-thirds of their international operations will be going under the control, effectively, of foreign operators. They should not be allowed on the runs that are allocated to Australian operators. It will not be an Australian airline. Two-thirds of it will be overseas owned. The pilots will be overseas based and the maintenance will take place overseas—almost all of the maintenance. In the same period, we had the announcement by BlueScope that they were also going overseas.

We are watching the haemorrhaging of the Australian workforce. There will be only two industries left: iron ore and coal quarrying. That is all that will be left in Australia. (Time expired)