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Political brawl may hasten industry death | comment

It costs four times more to build a car in Australia than it does in one of our many neighbouring Asian countries.

Imagine what executives in Detroit and Tokyo have made of all the fuss, as all sides of politics lob grenades at each other and unnamed sources in Canberra background the media with their hidden agendas.

Politicians in the State and Federal Governments -- and the Federal Opposition -- are all trying to blame each other for a lack of action.

They may be trying to position themselves as the saviours of the industry, but in fact each and every one of them is contributing to its demise.

The global investment executives at General Motors and Toyota are a long way from being convinced to inject more money into their Australian operations for one more model cycle (in general terms, the cars they will build from 2016 to 2022).

It costs four times more to build a car in Australia than it does in one of our many neighbouring Asian countries.

General Motors and Toyota do not need factories in Australia. They can build the cars cheaper elsewhere and sell them at a higher profit as imports.

Only 30 per cent of Toyota's Altona production is sold locally, and those cars only represent 15 per cent of Toyota Australia's total new-car sales.

About half of Holden's line-up is already imported from South Korea and Thailand. Figuratively speaking, Holden's proposal for investment in two new models is sitting in an in-tray in General Motors headquarters in Detroit.

Toyota, too, is due to decide on its future production plans some time in 2014.

Both companies are waiting for a cheque (and an assurance) from the Australian Government before their future plans are even considered for approval. But as the political bunfight continues, the outlook for Holden and Toyota darkens. Their head offices have bigger things to worry about than a country which represents a fraction of their global production.

In the meantime, spare a thought for the families of the 1700 Holden factory workers -- and the many thousands of others at parts suppliers -- who have been riding a wave of uncertainty for years.

Spare a thought, too, for the 2500 Toyota factory workers who are about to be asked to have their working conditions changed and bonuses cut, just like the Holden workers did.

The Government needs to get the future of Australian automotive manufacturing resolved -- one way or the other. In the meantime, please spare us the rhetoric.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling