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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-03-04 Daily Xml
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General Motors Holden

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:24): When the last Holden rolled off the assembly line on 20 October 2017, it marked the end of an era for people living in the Gawler area and the northern suburbs. The closure was more than the loss of thousands of jobs: it was the end of a way of life for the whole community. As part of the Holden family, I am personally aware of the important role the plant has played in the lives of many families, including many 1950s and 1960s migrants to the country.

My family arrived in South Australia on 13 March 1963 and the very next day my late father, Raffaele, started work at Holden, and he did so for over 20 years until he retired. There were many other stories like this. For example, Brigitte Bassanese started at Holden in 1994 as an assembly operator and moved through to spray painting, cutting and finally plastics. She was at Holden for 23 years until she was retrenched during the wind-down in Holden's final weeks. For her, her work represented her house, her car and helped her put her daughter through school. Holden was very important to her.

Coming to Australia from England in his early 20s, Adris Salih started a 30-year career at Holden in the paint shop. He progressed to become a team leader in the plastics plant and remained in that role for 20 years. Mr Salih was shocked when the closure announcement was made. He said at the time, 'I thought I'd be there when I retired.'

Graham Hill began his career at Holden on 4 March 1968 at the age of 19. Starting in plant 1, he worked as a press operator before becoming a die setter and moving to the vehicle assembly plant in 1975, where he stayed for the remainder of his time at Holden. After nearly 38 years at Holden, Mr Hill retired in 2005 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He said, 'It was a good job. It had its ups and downs, but it was a good income, a safe income.' He said that Holden still plays an important role in his life. He was so proud of his time at Holden that he still has his very first payslip, going back to 1968.

Fritz de Bruin was born in Holland and moved to Australia in 1960. Mr de Bruin started at Holden on 6 October 1992, initially in the body shop as a spot welder. He said that Holden's closure had been a huge upheaval for his family. 'Holden gave us a house, a car, a good lifestyle,' he said.

Keith Hamilton worked at Holden for 36 years, commencing when he was 19 years old. Mr Hamilton ended his long career with Holden as a team leader in the warehouse, and he was honoured with the task of turning out the lights on the final day. He said, 'It has been my life; it has given me my house and helped me provide for my family. Without Holden's, I would've been on the streets.' He was there at the very end when he turned off the lights at the plant.

Craig Carmody summed up the importance of Holden to the local area when he said that generations of workers in the area relied on Holden for their livelihoods. He said, 'We expected it to always be there for the next generation. It offered young people the opportunity to learn the trade and provided them with a foundation for their adult life.' He added, 'So important was Holden to the community that everybody knew someone who worked there.' As you can see, Mr Deputy Speaker, Holden has played an important role in the lives of individual people, their families and the community.

It was very sad to hear recently that after 160 years the Holden era is over, after the parent company General Motors announced it will cease the car brand in this country at the end of this year. It is unfortunate, too, that the Holden plant was closed down under the watch of the federal Liberal government, and now the brand is also leaving Australia under the watch of the federal Liberal government. You may recall that famous comment by former treasurer Joe Hockey, who dared Holden to leave. They did, and now they have actually taken their brand with them. This is the legacy of the federal Liberal government: the loss of jobs and the loss of an industry in the Gawler and northern suburbs.

Not to be outdone, the state Liberal government in its first budget cut a number of programs to support the transition of Holden workers into other employment areas. While the former state Labor government, with the Amalgamated Metal Workers' Union and Holden, worked hard together to help displaced workers to retrain and transition to new jobs in the region, in their first budget the Marshall Liberal government cut this scheme, along with other investments, which has actually led to a decline in the economy.

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