news The Senate has backed a motion from the Australian Greens calling on the government to “refocus” South Australia’s car manufacturing industry on electric vehicles.
“It’s great to see the Senate backing this motion for more job creation in SA,” said Senator Robert Simms who introduced the motion on 1 March. “Electric car production is a multi-billion industry and one of the fastest growing in the world.”
“Investing in this industry provides an opportunity for us to harness the skills and experience of our manufacturing industry and create new jobs,” he said.
The decline of the car industry in South Australia and the large number of job cuts have had a “devastating effect on the state”, according to the Senator, who added: “We need to shift our focus to 21st century technologies, utilising existing manufacturing skills by building a world leading electric car industry that will get our state economy back on track.”
“This motion calls on the government to use industry assistance such as the Automotive Transformation Scheme to encourage investment in the manufacture of electric and other non-fossil fuel powered vehicles,” Simms concluded.
Holden’s factory in Elizabeth is due to close next year, putting over a thousand people out of work, according to ABC.
Belgian entrepreneur and owner of the Punch Corporation, Guido Dumarey, had come up with a proposal to continue manufacturing cars at the plant, but this collapsed on Friday.
In the motion, the Senate acknowledged that the South Australian automotive manufacturing industry has been an important part of the South Australian economy for over 50 years.
Further, that it has been a difficult time for South Australian employees in the car manufacturing industry due to the scheduled closure of the Holden Elizabeth Plant. And finally, that electric car manufacturing is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
The Senate called on the government to:
- Develop a strategy to support South Australian workers as they transition into new jobs due to the closure of the Holden Elizabeth Plant
- Refocus automotive industry assistance to encourage new manufacturing investment, including in the manufacture of electric and other non-fossil fuel powered vehicles.
Image credit: Tesla
As a South Australian, I welcome these kinds of ideas. I don’t know how feasible this proposal is, but it is worth investigating. I would even consider buying one.
+1
Although I dont work in the auto sector, the killing of car manufacturing has had a massive flow on effect already – I was forced to leave Adelaide for Melbourne again as the overall employment situation is extremely poor! It’s the 3rd time I’ve left SA in 20 years in search of work and the last, I wont be moving back.
It’s good to see this sort of thing. Killing the Automotive industry was a massive fail.
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