Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:06): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question because this is a very serious subject. As I have said before and will say again, these are sad times for everyone associated with Holden—the workers, the families of the workers and the communities where the major Holden installations are based. As members on both sides of the chamber would know, governments of both persuasions have offered very considerable support to the motor industry over the years and certainly this government stood ready and stands ready to continue to offer very significant support to the motor industry. The difficulty is that, as the local MD of Holden, Mike Devereux, made clear on radio today, Holden's difficulties have been building up over many, many years. The truth is, as the Holden spokesman said publicly yesterday, 'It would be wrong to simply attribute their departure— Mr Burke: Madam Speaker, on the issue of direct relevance: there was no prelude to the question at all. It was specifically on how many meetings. The SPEAKER: The question was concerning the closure of Holden. I call the Prime Minister. Mr ABBOTT: As the spokesman for Holden said yesterday, 'It would be wrong to simply attribute it'—that is to say, this impending closure—'to action or inaction on the part of the government.' So there we have it: 'It would be simply wrong to attribute it to action or inaction on the part of the government.' I am not seeking to play the blame game here, I am not seeking to play politics here and I think it would raise the reputation of the Leader of the Opposition if he did likewise. I had several meetings with the motor industry as Leader of the Opposition, including with Mr Devereux, and since the election there have been regular meetings between the Minister for Industry and the Holden company.