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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-28 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

GM HOLDEN

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (15:10): In making a few comments today, I just want to touch very briefly on the minister for industry and trade's comments about Holden's in question time today. I hope he was not reflecting on members of the house who do not drive Australian-made cars. Of course, we could go back to the media report of 25 January this year when the minister for employment was a touch embarrassed about a Toyota Prado and I understand, Madam Speaker, according to this media report, that you also at one stage had a Prado, and, of course, the member for Ashford is reported in the media report as having also that type of vehicle. I hope the minister was not reflecting on those members who, for whatever reason by their own personal choice, have decided not to support Holden.

Of course, we all know that the minister for industry and trade was a bit embarrassed that senior Labor Party minister Tony Burke came out, in the very same article that the minister was using to quote Joe Hockey, complaining about how the car manufacturing industry in Australia had been too slow to move to smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles. Poor old Tom was a bit embarrassed by his federal colleague—we all understand that.

But we know on this side of the house—go to the Hansard record—that we said we supported the Holden deal. All we want the government to do is to put the deal before the Economic and Finance Committee's Industries Development Committee so we could actually see the final detail of the deal. But, of course, this government is too gutless to do that, and we cannot understand why. At the end of the day, the record is clear about our particular view on Holden.

However, I really want to touch today on an issue relating to the newsagents in South Australia. Newsagents are getting a double whammy from this government. There are around 380 newsagents in South Australia. They are going to get a double whammy on the Lotteries sale yesterday with online sales which is going to, long term, undermine their sales (there is no doubt about that); but, also, let us not forget that the Minister for Finance went on to FIVEaa a week ago about the whole-of-government stationery tender and the debacle that is schools purchasing their stationery and back-to-school packages via this whole-of-government stationery package.

The Minister for Finance went on radio and said that he was going to 'move heaven and earth' to overturn this deal, to fix the mess. Before he gave that commitment, he just could not help himself—so typical of this government. Guess whose tender it is, Madam Speaker. It is the government's tender. But, guess whose fault it is that the South Australian newsagents did not win the tender. Apparently, it is their fault, because the government brought schools into the equation. The minister is on the record as saying if he had his time again he would like not to do that. In other words, the government, when designing the tender, did not do their homework, designed the tender wrongly and essentially developed a tender that was impossible for the local newsagents to win.

I am just going back to the minister's own words. A week ago he told the public on FIVEaa that he was going to move heaven and earth to fix this mess. It has been a week. What has happened? The reality is that nothing has happened. When the minister went on radio last week, did the minister already have legal advice to the effect that he could not do anything? If he did, why did he make those comments on the radio?

There are only two solutions here. One is that the government cannot change its decision and will not change its decision. If that is the case, come out and make the public announcement. The other possibility is that the government can change the decision. If that is possible, given the minister's comments that he is going to move heaven and earth, then let's move it and come out and announce that schools are going to be taken out of the decision.

The government cannot have it both ways, but it is the height of hypocrisy of this government to say that they called the tender and it was the newsagents' fault that somehow they could not possibly win it. I think everyone who has had a look at the deal realises that it is the way the government constructed the tender that delivered the outcome.

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