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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-11-14 Daily Xml
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GM HOLDEN

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:22): Today I rise to support the motion that we heard earlier in the house supporting the retention of Holden. Sunday week ago I was helping out one of my local primary schools at their barbecue fund raiser at the local Bunnings. It was a beautiful day and the place was full of people buying for their DIY. One of the key images that stayed with me that day was the number of people proudly wearing their Holden T-shirts. I was reminded of how excited my brother and I were when mum and dad bought our Holden jackets in 1985 from John Martins, Elizabeth. In the north we are proud that we produce great cars. Not only do we value the jobs at the Holden factory, but we know that we are making a piece of Australia to be sent out to the world.

This is a time of leadership. We need the commonwealth government to commit to a co-investment package which ensures Holden invests in two more models and continues to operate beyond 2016. It is cruel to make the people of South Australia dangle while the Abbott cabinet is undecided about its commitment to advanced manufacturing. We know globally that many other countries support their automotive industries at a far higher amount in Australia. It is estimated that the government per capita funding for the automotive industry in Australia is US$18 a head, in Germany it is $90 a head, and in the USA it is $96 a head.

Australia is now the 12th largest economy in the world, and we stand next to other advanced manufacturing countries proudly, and in this I want to continue our position. Only 13 countries in the world manufacture a car from the ground up. This is something to be proud of and this is something to fight for. Holden is vital to South Australia. It is a strategic industry for the future of manufacturing. If we let this go, we are dumping this skills base and that makes no sense. It makes no sense as a South Australian or as an Australian. It is time to stand up. It is time to show leadership for all South Australians and say to Prime Minister Abbott, 'We know in your heart that you want Australia to manufacture cars. We know this, and you need to take leadership and show your cabinet that you are prepared to support manufacturing in this state.'

While we talk about numbers, I see every day the people of my electorate, the impact this indecision is having on them and the personal decisions they are putting off because they do not know what the future will hold. These people have great skills and we should be proud of their skills. We know that their great skills in advanced manufacturing spill over to mining and defence. We have made it clear on this side of the house that manufacturing is in transition and we are ready to step up to advanced manufacturing.

Why is manufacturing so important? Because it is a key driver of productivity. It is critical for export earning. It is the largest driver of high-value services and the largest generator of employment. As Göran Roos has made very clear, each job in manufacturing contributes and adds to between two and five indirect jobs. Very few other industries have this multiplier effect. Co-investment is crucial and we must show leadership in South Australia and demand Prime Minister Abbott support us for this co-investment.

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