Sales of Australian Cars slumped by almost 20 percent in 2006 according to figures recently released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Imported cars now account for approximately 80% of all car sales in Australia.
Only 3 Australian made cars made it into the top 10 list of best selling cars for 2006.
"The Australian car manufacturing industry has been in crisis for some time. Calwell relies heavily on this industry for local jobs. Locally, we’ve seen over a 1000 jobs lost in the past few months" Ms Vamvakinou said.
“The only way to arrest this trend is to focus on finding long term solutions which will ensure the long term viability of Australia’s car manufacturing industry, and safeguard the job security of Australian workers and their children."
"I will be seeking meetings with both car manufactures and union representatives to find out how they think we can best ward off the ongoing crisis that car manufacturing faces in Australia."
"There are clearly changes in the car market, in what sort of vehicles people are buying and why. The Australian government has a responsibility to work out what measures need to be taken to best help the Australian car industry adapt"
"In particular, there is an obvious need to further assist the car industry in the area of research and development, especially when it comes to the development of alternative fuel supplies."
"Car buyers are shifting to smaller, more economical cars imported from overseas because of rising fuel prices and the cost of petrol. We need to therefore focus on developing cheaper and cleaner alternative fuels in Australia."
"The commonwealth also needs to give additional support to the Australian car industry in the area of market facilitation. That is, the government needs to do more to promote Australian cars overseas, and to open up new overseas markets for vehicles built here. We need to see a much more focused and sustained effort from Australian trade officials when it comes to opening up the international market to Australian made cars."
"Manufacturers like Ford, Toyota and General Motors are global companies that operate around global market strategies, aspects of which will not always suit the local industry in Australia. We need to work with both the car manufacturers and the unions to find the right solutions that both protect the interests of Australian workers as well as the long term viability of Australia’s car manufacturing industry."
Contact: Alex Kouttab 0417 541 465
