General Motors Holden

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:33): I rise today to speak about General Motors Holden in the wake of the closure of its site at Elizabeth after some 60 years of operations, marking the end of Australia's automotive manufacturing nationally. The history of Holden in Adelaide dates back to 1856, when James Alexander Holden started a saddlery business in Adelaide, South Australia. This unique business evolved over the years, firstly from repairing upholstery and supplying tram cars for Melbourne to becoming the exclusive supplier of American car manufacturer General Motors in Australia. In 1931, the companies merged, becoming General Motors Holden.

After World War II Holden returned to producing vehicle bodies, and in 1948 manufactured the first all-Australian motor vehicle. The first Holden, 48-215, which colloquially became known as the FX, was officially unveiled by Prime Minister Ben Chifley on 29 November 1948. Despite the cost of the car being $733, including tax, which at the time represented some 94 weeks wages for the average Australian, the car became an overnight success and Holden could not satisfy demand.

Remarkably, by 1958 Holden sales accounted for over 40 per cent of total Australian car sales, so within 10 years of their first car they had captured over 40 per cent of the market. That certainly is nothing to be sneezed at and something that Australians should be extremely proud of, and the fact that the uptake was so quick and so thorough. By 1962, Holden had sold a million vehicles and it took a mere six years for them to sell their next million. In 1964, Holden employed an impressive 23,914 people across seven locations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Despite competition from imported vehicles, Holden's sales continue to remain strong and they celebrated 25 years of continuous sales leadership in 1975.

Things changed in the 1980s, which saw tumultuous times for car manufacturers in Australia, and Ford actually overtook Holden in sales for the first time ever. In the 1990s, Toyota increased its Australian market share, outselling both Ford and Holden, but despite this Holden increased its market share from 21 per cent to 28.2 per cent over the decade, a very substantial market share, as no doubt members would agree.

Holden announced a $400 million V6 engine plant, to be opened in Port Melbourne, and shortly thereafter began exporting these engines to Korea, China and Mexico. This was the biggest investment Holden had made in Australia in 20 years and it certainly was an important move in diversifying the market for Australian manufacturers. Ten Holden plants throughout the nation employed thousands of Australians, with its Elizabeth site, designed to be the company's so-called model plant, opening in 1960. At its peak this plant alone built some 780 cars every single day.

My understanding is that most Holden employees loved their jobs and working conditions were quite good and were enjoyed by many. Of course, employees were very sad when ultimately the announcement to close the Elizabeth plant was made. South Australia's endearment for the iconic brand was certainly most evident when police had to be called in to subdue hundreds of its fans when the very last Holden rolled off the production line just recently, and I am aware that the red manual VFII Redline V8 Commodore is now being kept as a museum piece.

Holden has indeed formed a significant part of South Australian history. There are few people who live in South Australia who have not had some association with Holden, whether it be through purchasing one of their vehicles, working for the company or knowing someone who works for the company. In fact, my own brother Michael has worked for Holden for more than 20 years and will finish up there in December this year. Holden has shaped our automotive history and it is certainly something that we South Australians can be proud of, although of course we are very sad at their ultimate demise as a local manufacturer. Whilst they have ceased manufacturing, there are a handful of skeleton staff still employed at Holden who will progressively finish their work there over the coming months.