HOLDEN COMMODORE

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:29): I rise to inform the house today of what was a very positive event on Friday 15 February, with the unveiling of Holden's new V8 Commodore. It was a beauty, with 13 layers of paint to produce the orange jewelled appearance, and I was fortunate enough to try out the driver's seat amongst several hundred Holden workers headed by Mike Devereux, the chairman and managing director. Also in attendance were Premier Jay Weatherill, Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade Tom Kenyon, and Nick Champion, federal member for Wakefield.

It was a really positive day, with a response both nationally and internationally in the media to the expectation announced by Mike Devereux that the new V8 Commodore will generate more than $6 billion in economic benefits for Australia. The new car will boost job security at the Elizabeth plant and provide additional work for local component suppliers. While it directly employs more than 2,000 workers, the Elizabeth plant, as advised by Barry Burgan from Adelaide University Business School, has indicated that more than 16,000 indirect jobs rely on the future of the plant.

We were told by Mike Devereux that buyers are waiting for the new model, which will be on sale from June. Unfortunately, this has had the impact of fewer sales in the first half of this year, along with the challenges of the high Australian dollar. However, Holden intends to double the production of Commodore in the second half of this year.

On a very exciting basis, we will be exporting this model to North America. That will be recommencing in November 2013. It is sold in the US as the Chevrolet SS. It was debuted at the Daytona 500 on Sunday, where the car will be seen in the NASCAR competition. What is very exciting about this car is the world-class features with a high focus on technology. There will be a larger touch screen, which means we can listen to whatever we want; you can turn it up if you need to. There will be a rear camera display, heated leather seats as part of every model, a collision alert camera for the front end and rear self parking sensors to help you parallel park. They have LED daytime running lights and it will be provided in both V6 and V8 models.

Last year the South Australian government and the federal government secured the future of Holden with a $275 million co-investment package to support the future until 2022. This deal from Holden's was committed to them securing $1 billion in investment in local manufacturing, of which the VF is part and parcel.

The future of manufacturing is challenging. However, what is clear is the need for South Australia to seize opportunities offered by the advanced manufacturing sector. Premier Weatherill is leading the commentary about the future of manufacturing, publicly acknowledging there is risk without reform. Manufacturing is a cornerstone of the South Australian economy, with the sector directly employing 73,000 people. With a focus on innovation and upskilling, Australian manufacturing must follow the lead of nations like Germany and Sweden to focus on high value and specialised consumer products rather than compete on volume with low labour cost nations.

The Prime Minister's recent announcement of a new blueprint for protecting jobs, which is highlighted by creating manufacturing hubs that link research and commercialisation, supports this aim. In closing, I welcome the commonwealth government's recently announced funding for a manufacturing hub with a focus on defence in Adelaide.