Senator SMITH (Western Australia) (15:19): If you are a South Australian, you can find no comfort whatsoever in the Labor Party opposition's defence of the Australian car industry or, by extension, the workers in South Australia. Let us be very clear. The effort by the Australian Labor Party to talk about the car industry is really an effort to disguise their carbon tax position. We heard from Senator Colbeck that the carbon tax imposes a $400 production cost on Australian cars. The carbon tax does not discriminate; it applies everywhere across the country, so it is just as important for South Australians to eliminate the carbon tax as it is for Western Australians in my home state. So let us be very clear. The Labor Party's effort to talk about cars is really an effort to hide from the carbon tax. Why would the Labor Party today want to hide from the carbon tax? Let us just think about what the Labor Party said recently about its carbon tax position. Wayne Swan, on 15 August 2010, said: No it's not possible that we're bringing in the carbon tax, that is a hysterically inaccurate claim being made by the Coalition. What did we see under the previous, Labor government? A carbon tax. What did former Prime Minister Julia Gillard say? She said, 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead.' Just in case you thought that that was a historical position, let us look at what the Labor Party was saying in this month of this year about the carbon tax. Let us go to the South Australian House of Representatives member Mr Butler: It is all well and good to say that you want to terminate the carbon tax, the relatively high price on carbon immediately. On that we agree. Who said that? The South Australian opposition spokesman Mark Butler. Let us look at what the House of Representatives member Richard Marles said—oh, there is silence on the opposition side. Let me speak clearly so you can all hear. Mr Marles said: We do need to acknowledge the fact that Tony Abbott won the election and we lost, and we need to face that reality and questions of mandate are issues that we need to consider and where I completely agree with Nick Champion is that we do need to be choosing our battles very carefully when we are in opposition. What did Nick Champion say, you ask me? Senator Bilyk: No, I didn't. Senator SMITH: Thank you very much. Nick Champion said: I think we should abstain in the Senate, allow the Abbott Government to implement its policies in their entirety in terms of carbon, that is Direct Action and the repeal of the carbon price and that would basically make him responsible for climate policy in Australia. That is absolutely correct. By making him responsible for climate policy, we will reduce the costs on Australian manufacturers. You would think that was simple. Let me be clear. The Australian government has a position. If you go to the internet, you can see it as well. On 30 October it was made very, very clear. The media statement reads: The Coalition Government has been clear since day one. We will take a careful and methodical approach to considering the future of the Australian automotive industry, and that response will be based on the Productivity Commission review of the sector. The media statement goes on: The only way to give this industry and its future the detailed consideration it deserves is to put the politics aside. This is still my— that is, Mr Macfarlane's— intention. It's up to Premier Weatherill— the South Australian premier— to decide if it's his intention also. There is no mistaking that government senators from South Australia support the Australian car industry and support the car industry in their own state. If I had more time, I would share what happened under the previous government when it came to the Australian car industry. Let me be quick. Vehicle production in Australia was over 335,000 units a year. When Labor left office, it was down to 221,000. There were 200 businesses in the automotive supply chain; now there are fewer than 150. That is a 25 per cent reduction. Let's be clear again. What did Labor cut? They cut the Green Car Innovation Fund twice, by $200 million each time. Then they abandoned it altogether, reducing support to the automotive industry by a further $800 million. (Time expired)