Automotive Transformation Scheme

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:10): My question is to the Minister for Automotive Transformation. Has the state government made a formal submission to the Senate economics committee—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: —inquiry into the future of the Australian automotive manufacturing industry?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:11): I thank the honourable member for his continuing interest in the automotive industry and for his question about the Senate economics committee inquiry into the future of Australia's automotive manufacturing industry.

That committee had hearings in Adelaide on 13 March this year. I appeared before that Senate economics reference committee on that date, and at that hearing the state government asked the federal Liberal government not to proceed with their proposed cuts to the Automotive Transformation Scheme. The hearing noted that brave Labor senators, along with Greens and Independents, had stood up to the federal Liberal government and not allowed legislation to pass that would have scrapped the Automotive Transformation Scheme.

This hearing in March would have been the perfect opportunity for the South Australian Liberal Party to make a strong statement to say, 'We don't support our federal colleagues ripping the guts out of this scheme. We don't support our federal mates cutting funds that could go to diversification and to supporting new industries.' The state Liberals could have used this opportunity to stand up to their federal party, like our Premier bravely did to his federal colleagues over the River Murray.

Mr President, do you know what we heard from the state Liberal Party at this hearing? Nothing—not a single thing. All we heard from there was their federal representative, Senator Sean Edwards, sticking up for what they have done—the increasingly erratic Senator Edwards sticking up for cutting and ripping the guts out of this scheme.

The Hon. T.J. Stephens interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Will the minister sit down. Will the Hon. Mr Stephens try to contain himself. Just let the minister answer the question. The minister shall speak in silence.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Thank you for your protection, Mr President. The opposition backbench is firing again. The Hon. Terry Stephens is obviously coveting moving down one row of seats. The Hon. David Ridgway is shifting very, very uncomfortably at the strong performance from the people behind him.

The 2015-16 commonwealth budget has forecast that the Automotive Transformation Scheme will be underspent in its current format by some $795 million. The state government this week made a written submission to the Senate inquiry. Submissions have now closed, and I am pleased to inform the chamber that the South Australian government's written submission has recommended a number things, including that the federal government reinstate and extend the original date of the Automotive Transformation Scheme to at least the end of December 2020.

The state Labor government recommends that the Automotive Transformation Scheme guidelines be expanded to enable automotive supply chain companies to use the $795 million in funds currently designated as a federal budget saving to develop and implement diversification strategies. The South Australian Labor government's submission recommends that redirected, underspent ATS funds be used to create a targeted structural adjustment program to build economic growth and assist displaced workers to find jobs in consultation with state and local government and local communities.

As we know, following the announcement by Holden that it would end car production in 2017, the state government very quickly announced the Our Jobs Plan, a policy to prepare the South Australian economy for the closure of Holden. That is because we recognised, when the federal Liberals killed the automotive industry in this state, that our community would face economic challenges that would have repercussions on industry, business, jobs and workers across the state. We knew that the government had to assist to ensure that the automotive supply chain was able and best placed to transition into new global supply chains or into entirely new industries.

As a government, we also understand the challenges the industry faces and the need to adapt in policy responses to assist in meeting those challenges. That is what we are doing as a state government. For example, we have recently expanded the eligibility of support under the Automotive Workers in Transition Program to include labour-hire workers. I have spoken previously in this place about those changes which will ensure that many more workers in the automotive and automotive affected industries have access to the important support provided by the Automotive Transformation Taskforce and the Automotive Workers in Transition Program.

I can also inform the council that the government has developed a new fast track enabler initiative which will assist eligible businesses in the supply chain to access grants for projects such as web design, certification, consultation and market research. This change to the automotive supply diversification program is recognition that the state government is committed to reviewing and, where necessary, amending our support programs to give businesses the best opportunity to diversify their operations, and to secure alternative revenue streams for a sustainable future.

The federal Liberal government must act in a similar way. We are not asking them to do anything at all that we are not prepared to do. As I said, we have continued to advocate having the slated budget savings of almost $800 million from the federal Automotive Transformation Scheme repurposed to enable the South Australian automotive industry and supply chain companies to diversify once GM stops producing cars by the end of 2017, and we will continue to do this.

The South Australian state government is committed to working collaboratively with local councils, industries and communities to give businesses the best possible chance of making the transition. We want the federal government to work in a similar way. We want them to live up to their responsibility to South Australia and to South Australians. However, to achieve this there must be changes to the Automotive Transformation Scheme. We want the federal Liberal government to commit to allocating unspent ATS moneys for structural adjustment and to support new industries.

More than anything else we need the South Australian state Liberals to get on board, to support manufacturers, but they do not seem willing to help. They do not have a plan to do this. They do not have a plan to help South Australia. They do have plans—as revealed on the front page of The Advertiser earlier this week: they havesecret plans. They have secret plans to win elections; not one of them was standing up for South Australians.

Their genius plans were things such as: get good candidates; win more seats; talk to voters; whinge about the boundaries—these were their secret plans, as revealed. I am sure there was a sealed section we do not know about, about getting good leadership in the Legislative Council as well. We have seen the backbench here auditioning for it today.

Last week we saw the federal Liberals continue to lob depth charges at the SA sub building capabilities. This time industry minister Ian Macfarlane said that SA might not build the first new subs and that some of Australia's current defence efforts had been a shocker. That is what the federal industry minister said. This time members opposite can stand up for South Australia: go ahead, make sure that the self-declared most senior Liberal in South Australia, the member for Sturt, demands that the subs—all the subs—are built here in South Australia. We can't afford to sit on our hands and we can't afford to hear the member for Sturt issue vague platitudes.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Point of order: Mr President: the minister has been on his feet for eight minutes with his extraordinarily repetitive answer, and I ask you to direct him to bring it to a conclusion.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Maher, I want you to conclude this within 36 seconds.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I take on board the Hon. John Dawkins' erstwhile, if not entirely repetitive, points of order on these matters. There is one Liberal who is prepared to stand up for South Australia. There is one Liberal who is willing to fight for subs to be built here and fight for our auto industry. It is the Independent Liberal, the member for Waite, minister Martin Hamilton-Smith. Those present know how much he has fought for South Australia. He has fought for submarines to be built here. He is the one Liberal who is standing up for this state and standing up for South Australians.