Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Clearly we are facing a challenge as a result of the decision that was announced by Holden yesterday. The important thing is that we pull together in an effective policy response to deal with the impact of the decision. The Prime Minister has said that the government will be announcing measures in coming days which will build on the strengths that we have and that will offer hope for the people of the regions impacted. That is what this government is working on. It will be part of a considered package of measures designed to rebuild confidence in the long-term economic future of those regions, in the long-term future of manufacturing in this country. If the Labor Party were truly interested in the future competitiveness of manufacturing in Australia, what they would be doing here today is voting with us to scrap their job-destroying carbon tax. Their carbon tax has caused absolute wreckage across manufacturing in Australia, and every day that they stop us from scrapping the carbon tax they are putting more jobs at risk. (Time expired)