Transcript of interview with Ali Moore
ABC 774 MELBOURNE
ALI MOORE: We talked about the Steve Bracks plan, the proposal to certainly cut tariffs but also put in another $500 million in assistance over five years, plus another billion between 2016 and 2020. The man who's going to have to make the decision about whether or not that plan is adopted is the federal Industry Minister, Kim Carr. Kim Carr is currently in a meeting but I spoke to him just a couple of minutes before we came to air.
ALI MOORE: Kim Carr, job losses of this magnitude at Ford. What does it mean for the Bracks car plan?
KIM CARR: Well, first of all, my deep concern goes to the workers who are directly concerned. Our first priority is to ensure that workers and their families are looked after in these circumstances.
What this means is that there - well, it highlights the difficulties that the industry is facing, the acute problems that have arisen as a result of increases in interest rates, increases in petrol and changes in consumer demand.
The industry's facing the most acute challenges it has faced in recent times.
It's my view with the right investment decisions the industry can go on and be much stronger and we can maintain a very strong industry in this country.
ALI MOORE: You say that, Kim Carr, but if you look at what Steve Bracks has proposed, another $500 million in assistance over five years plus another billion between 2016 and 2020, we've got these job losses, we know that there'll be jobs that will go when the Geelong plant closes in 2010, in June Holden said there'd be 500 jobs that will go. All this assistance that is being proposed for this industry, to what end?
KIM CARR: The question is, do you want a car industry or don't you? Now, 15 countries around the world…
ALI MOORE: Isn't the question really can we sustain a car industry not do we want one?
KIM CARR: Well, that's a very important part of the same question. The fact is that a car industry is extremely important for Australia's economic and social wellbeing. It is a vital part of our manufacturing base. It provides the spillovers that allow us, in a whole range of other manufacturing industries, to do very well. It even provides the foundations for advances that we make in the mining industry.
You can't make a jet fighter without having a strong car industry and that's precisely what we are doing now. It means that we can actually make railway rolling stock, we can provide services to a whole range of other sectors. So it's extremely important that we maintain the capacity and once you lose it, you never get it back.
ALI MOORE: But why can't you do that? What's the connection between railway stock and a car industry?
KIM CARR: Because it provides the foundation stones, the skills formation, the investment, the research and development. The skills that we use to build a motor car are transferable to other industries. It's the basis on which you develop your glass, your steel, your plastics, your electronics. It provides the foundation for so much of the rest of the manufacturing industry that it is strategically vital for Australia to maintain this industry. The question is…
ALI MOORE: So, Minister, do you protect it at all costs?
KIM CARR: It's not a question of protecting it at all costs. The fact is that governments all around the world share the Australian government's view that we must have an Australian car industry on a sustainable basis and the reason that those governments do is because they understand the benefit it is for their countries.
Now, the fact is, in recent years, under the previous Howard government, this industry was left on auto pilot. That's why we've got the problems we've got today. For years we've faced a policy of neglect and now we've got a government that's actually committed to ensure that the problems are worked through, in partnership with the industry, to ensure that we can reduce the cost of motoring, we can reduce the impact on the environment and we can produce vehicles that people want to buy and we can ensure that we have a much stronger export focus and that we can ensure that there are new investments decisions are taken which will allow this industry to transform itself quickly.
ALI MOORE: So we need the sort of support that Steve Bracks is proposing? In essence, are you ticking that?
KIM CARR: What I'm saying is that the Government will very carefully consider Steve Bracks's report. It's a very high quality report.
It will get a very high quality response.
Now, 15 countries around the world have partnerships between their industries and their governments. The question is, do we want a car industry in this country or don't we? Do we want to be able to sustain a high-skill, high-wage manufacturing sector? Do we want to ensure we have a balanced economy that we can provide the sorts of opportunities beyond the mining boom that we have had in past times?
This is a very important economic and social question for this country and it is understandable that there would be a very serious debate about these matters.
The facts that Ford has highlighted to us reflect a much deeper problem and, of course, indicate that the industry is facing acute challenges. The question is, what does the industry do about it, what does the Government do about it, what does this country do about it?
ALI MOORE: So, given the backdrop, what help or what comfort can you provide to these workers and I guess the workers who are going to lose their jobs in 2010, the ones who will go next year, what can you do?
KIM CARR: We're working with the car industry to ensure that new investments are made so new job opportunities arise. I'm confident that we can see those opportunities emerge but it will require the right policy decisions being made, particularly by the companies. This is about the companies making choices and also ensuring that the supply chain - because this is where the real heat is now on, these 200 or so companies that actually supply the Australian big three, up to a third of those are facing distress and we are seeing a much more serious situation below the surface than these headlines would suggest.
ALI MOORE: Minister, thank you very much for talking to us this morning.
KIM CARR: Thank you.
ALI MOORE: Federal Industry Minister Kim Carr. Well, what do you think? What do you think we should do with the car industry? Do you work in it? You heard Kim Carr say it's a vital part of our manufacturing industry and yet, all too regularly, we're told more jobs are going.