Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, in my capacity as chair of the Labor manufacturing caucus, I had the great pleasure of meeting with a delegation of auto workers from South Australia and Victoria—and I am pleased to see them here in the gallery today. These workers are lobbying all sides of parliament to tell of their deep concerns about the future of their industry, their jobs and their livelihoods. Their No. 1 concern is the certainty around government policy. This is important because it dictates long-term investments in the automotive industry. That is in turn important because the automotive industry directly employs over 46,000 Australians and employs another 3,000 in research and development and, through the supply chains, over 20,000, keeping their families in a livelihood.

Directly in challenge is the future of the Automotive Transformation Scheme, a scheme by which the government is providing over $50 million worth of assistance to help the automotive industry transform and compete in a competitive international environment. This side of the House supports the scheme. The other side has said that if it ever gets to sit on this side of the House it will do away with the scheme. This is a dagger at the throat of the automotive industry. It matters not only to those workers directly engaged in the automotive industry but also to electorates like mine, where there is a steel industry that delivers about $1.3 billion worth of local steel into the automotive industry every year. It is a dagger at the throat of that industry as well. We call on those opposite to change their position. They have got it wrong.