Media Release

KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter addressed the Parliament
pleading for Australia to rescue our motor vehicle industry, following an announcement by GM Holden that they will cease car manufacturing in Australia from 2017.

Mr Katter said that it is not possible to write a history of Australia, without telling the wonderful story of the Holden family and Lawrence Hartnett and how they created for Australia - a motor vehicle industry; as he held up his book, An Incredible Race of People.

“The simple and immediate necessity is to legislate that all vehicles bought under Government contract be Australian made.

“Media has reported that 25 per cent of the vehicles in Australia are purchased under a Government contract, and even if the real figure is lower this measure will still guarantee a continuation of a motor vehicle industry in Australia.

“Such proposal has already been passed into policy in the United States of America in the steel industry. The policy ensures that all Government construction uses exclusively American steel,” Mr Katter said.

“Holden stated today, the major reason for closure is an overvalued Australian dollar. 

On the dollar, Mr Keating initially did the right thing, and allowed it to free-float, where it found its true level of 49c, Mr Costello similarly allowed a free-float and the dollar went to 52c.

Both proceeded to drive the dollar up, in Mr Costello’s case, over 90c.

“Our terms of trade, have collapsed since then, with $50b current account deficits.  Such deficits ensure that a free-floating dollar will certainly fall into a 50-60c range and rescue this industry as well as Australian agriculture."

Mr Katter said to be an advanced technological economy requires a manufacturing industry.

“The loss of car manufacturing will be one of the great and most tragic of watersheds in Australian economic history.

“Hundreds of thousands of jobs have already gone and clearly many more are to go; our country cannot produce a tyre or an electric motor - and now a motor car,” Mr Katter said.

In June this year, Mr Katter introduced to the Parliament of Australia a motion, calling on the Federal Government to mandate that all motor vehicles purchased by local, State and Federal Government be Australian-made.