House debates Questions without Notice
Automotive Industry
Mark Butler Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water
2:42 pm
Almost a year ago, in this very chamber, the Treasurer goaded Holden into leaving Australia. Yesterday the Treasurer said:
There would not have been any free-trade agreements if we hadn't made the hard decisions about industry assistance at the beginning of the year.
Ms Henderson interjecting—
Mark Butler Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water
Why did the Treasurer sacrifice hundreds of thousands of Australian auto industry jobs to sign a free-trade agreement?
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
2:43 pm
I completely reject the assertions of the member for Port Adelaide on a range of different fronts.
Ms Catherine King Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health
You said it!
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
At the Detroit Motor Show the Head of International Operations for General Motors, Mr Jacoby, said—
Mr Champion interjecting—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Wakefield is warned! One more utterance and he is gone. The choice is his.
Mr Champion interjecting—
Go immediately, under 94(a)—and be grateful you are not named!
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
The Head of International Operations for General Motors, Mr Jacoby, speaking at the Detroit Motor Show, said in relation to the decision of Holden to leave Australia—
Ms MacTiernan interjecting—
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
Mr Jacoby said:
The decision was not made based on any incentives or any reductions of incentives; it was a purely business-driven decision.
That is from the Head of International Operations at General Motors. We know that having the government continue to write out checks to any business—
Ms Claydon interjecting—
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
is unsustainable. And why? Because when you subsidise one business you are taking out of another business, or from consumers. You are actually taking money from one Australian and giving it to another business. And that is not sustainable, particularly in a globalised trading environment.
We regret that international manufacturers in Australia have closed plants. Others have opened plants, and in fact other manufacturers have expanded operations in Australia. But the fact is that if we continue to have protection of Australian industry then that will impede our ability to get other countries to break down protections for their own industries. Australia as a nation produces much more than we consume, and because we produce much more than we consume we want free trade. We need free trade, because ultimately trade makes us richer. It is like running a corner store: the more people who come in the front door and buy your goods, the richer the business is going to be. And that is what we need to be as a nation. So, if we can do anything to break down the trade barriers of other countries, that will help us. We are a reasonably sized open economy, and as such we need to ensure that there is freer trade around the world. Everything we are doing is about creating more jobs, not subsidising foreign companies.