Fleet SA

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (16:48): My question is to the Treasurer. What percentage of the government vehicle fleet presently comprises locally manufactured Holden vehicles, and does the government have any plans to increase that percentage of Holdens in the fleet or to turn vehicles over more regularly between now and 2017 to help the company?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Automotive Transformation) (16:49): I hope it's a vast a majority. I will check and get back to the house. I certainly think that the Holden brand makes a perfectly good vehicle: a vehicle that we are all very proud of, a vehicle that has got me into a lot of trouble in the past. I have to say, given its status as one of the fastest selling and highest grossing vehicles in Australia, it makes a very good investment for the South Australian government, especially in resales. I certainly encourage people to buy a Holden. It is a very good vehicle. I will come back to the house with the exact percentages that we have in Fleet SA. I encourage all the new members who have come into the parliament to buy a Holden.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Good. Excellent. No, that is right. John Howard let us down terribly with Mitsubishi. Kevin Rudd wasn't in time to save Mitsubishi. However, we all expect Holden to be manufacturing motor vehicles until 2017 at a bare minimum. It is a very well-made car that is selling. I think it has captured the imagination of consumers across the country, which is the irony in the decision that Prime Minister Abbott took when he chose not to invest in South Australia's automotive industry.