Senator SESELJA (Australian Capital Territory) (16:10): What we have here from the Labor Party with this motion to take note of answers is what we have seen with so many other issues. It is a failure to recognise the mess that they have created. The former government now wants to blame everyone for the situation that they created. But first we have to go back to the dishonesty of the previous government in talking about Holden and in talking about the car industry. We go back to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, speaking in March 2012. She said: Holden will be here in Australia producing cars for at least the next 10 years. That's great news. And it's as a result of a more than $1 billion co-investment between the Federal Government, the South Australian Government, the Victorian Government and of course Holden … And then we see the accompanying media release states: The Prime Minister said the Federal Government’s contribution would be $215 million … That was in March 2012. In November 2012, having apparently saved Holden, 180 jobs were cut at Holden's plant in Elizabeth in South Australia. Some months later, in March 2013, another 500 jobs were cut—400 in South Australia and 100 in Victoria. Then we saw Nick Champion, the member for Wakefield in South Australia, claiming: I have secured guaranteed support for GM Holden, Elizabeth, ensuring production until 2022. That was not true. They did not tell the truth before the election and, as we see with so many other areas of the former Labor government, they failed to tell the truth the right throughout. They created the conditions that made it more difficult for Holden to exist. Senator Jacinta Collins: Oh, right. Now you're going to hide behind the carbon tax, are you? Senator SESELJA: Let us look at what the players have said. Senator Jacinta Collins: That is not true, and you can't substantiate it. Senator SESELJA: Well, we might go to some quotes. Senator Jacinta Collins: That is not true, and you can't substantiate it. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Whish-Wilson ): Order! Senator Collins! Senator SESELJA: Shall we hear from Mike Devereux? Let us look at the conditions. Senator Jacinta Collins: You can't call someone a liar and then not substantiate it! Senator SESELJA: I will respond directly to your interjection, because it is ridiculous. Now I am going to give you some facts. This is what Mike Devereux said: We cut a deal with the prime minister of the country in the Lodge back in 2008, showed our business plan, as did Ford, as did Toyota, made investments and then midway through … the rules of the game changed. So it certainly worries a multinational parent company when sovereign risk begins to be something that is bandied about in terms of doing business in Australia. Senator Jacinta Collins interjecting— Senator SESELJA: Who said that? Mike Devereux. Mike Devereux talked about you changing the game. He talked about the Labor Party— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Respond through the chair please, Senator Seselja. Senator SESELJA: He talked about the Labor Party changing the game. That is what went on here. So we had a government that was prepared to add additional tax imposts on the industry, and perhaps Senator Collins is denying that that was the case. We saw it with the fringe benefits tax—the $1.8 billion announcement that hurt sales. We saw the carbon tax that added hundreds of dollars to the cost of building a car in Australia. Senator Jacinta Collins: He didn't mention the carbon tax. He made no reference to the carbon tax. Senator SESELJA: He made no reference? Let us hear from Mike Devereux, in response to Senator Collins. He said: There is no question that a tax on electricity, in making it more expensive in input costs, makes it more difficult for me to make money building cars. So, again, you are wrong, and we hear it again and again. Senator Jacinta Collins: No; you are misrepresenting. Senator SESELJA: You can interject all you like, but he said it. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Seselja, I remind you again to direct your answers through the chair. Senator SESELJA: Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President. Through you: Mike Devereux said it. In fact, the former industry minister, Kim Carr, also made some suggestions in terms of the government policies and what they did. Kim Carr said: Unfortunately the Green Car Innovation Fund was abolished, leaving international company executives wondering just what they had to do to get a consistent government policy commitment in Australia. So there we have it. It is not just the coalition saying it; it is Mike Devereux saying that the conditions put in place by the former Labor government hurt and changed the game, and it is Kim Carr, the former industry minister, saying that the Labor Party changed the policy and that undermined the industry because it was hard to get consistent government policy in Australia under the Labor Party. This is rank hypocrisy from the Labor Party and should be seen as such. (Time expired)