Both Ford and Holden have announced they will cease manufacturing in Australia in 2016 and 2017 respectively. copy &paste THE Productivity Commission has recommended that all government assistance to the Australian car manufacturing industry be ended by 2020. The decision means Toyota, the only manufacturer that remains committed to Australia, would not receive any government assistance after the end of the decade if Tony Abbott adopted the decision. The policy rationales for specific assistance to automotive manufacturing are weak, the Productivity Commission found in a position paper released this afternoon. It argued the community would benefit from an end to automotive assistance and there was no compelling evidence that spillover benefits to the wider economy exceeded the costs of assistance to the industry. Decades of transitional assistance have forestalled but not prevented the structural adjustment now being faced by the industry. Both Ford and Holden have announced they will cease manufacturing in Australia in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Toyota will this year decide the future of its plant as the company decides on where to build a new Camry. The company is currently seeking to renegotiate workplace arrangements with its employees and the federal government has joined the case. The Abbott government announced a $100m package to provide assistance to South Australia and Victoria following the announcement of Holdens decision to cease Australian manufacturing. But the Producivity Commission has cast doubt on the idea, arguing regional adjustment programs could be of limited value. Infrastructure investment and labour adjustment programs, where warranted, need to be designed in ways that generate net benefits for the community as a whole, the PC said. Labor said the report advocated an end to the automotive manufacturing in Australia. It is a cold, calculated and baseless attack on automotive workers, opposition industry spokesman Kim Carr said in a statement. The majority of claims the commission makes were not only factually wrong, but downright absurd and offensive. Unions warned that adopting the PCs recommendations would likely drive Toyota out of Australia. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union says the commissions report has been tailored to support government policy. We are dismayed ... but we are not surprised, said national secretary David Smith. This government forced Holden out of Australia, now it seems intent on destroying of whats left of the Australian car manufacturing industry. theaustralian.au/national-affairs/end-car-industry-aid-productivity-commission/story-fn59niix-1226815027630
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 09:14:48 +0000