Carbon tax: Rudd’s timing dodges Devereux backlash

THE federal government’s surprise announcement yesterday that it would slug car leases to help pay for a $3.8 billion budget black hole was missing one significant player – Holden boss Mike Devereux.

Mr Devereux – a vocal, American-accented champion of the Australian car industry and a strong advocate for continued government support of the industry – is overseas this week, leaving a long silence in the wake of the government’s controversial call.

The company he heads is currently in talks with unions, attempting to thrash out a deal to help the car-maker cut labour costs in an effort to keep it turning out Commodore large cars and city-friendly Cruze hatchbacks and sedans – as well as make it viable to build a new generation of cars beyond the current ones.

Holden social media and digital communications manager Andrea Matthews – just like the industry, Holden’s public relations team is in a bit of a state of flux at the moment – said Mr Devereux was due back in Australia next week.

In the meantime, she said, Holden was attempting to work out what effect yesterday’s announcement would have on the car-maker’s business.

“We’re still assessing the policy changes, but our initial look at what those changes mean have indicated it will have a significant effect on the new-car market,” Ms Matthews said.

“What we’ve said all along, what Mike has said and what the industry has said is that we need clear, consistent policy and a long-term vision to sustain manufacturing here in Australia.

“That hasn’t changed. Obviously the news that came through yesterday didn’t have consultation with the industry, and that’s why we’re working through the FCAI (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries) to start a conversation with the government.

“The FCAI yesterday called for a meeting with the government and we’re supporting that position.”

She said it was too early to make a call on the suggestion that yesterday’s announcement would spell the end to Holden’s manufacturing operations in Australia.

“We’re still assessing what the specific impact will be. It’s possibly too early to draw that conclusion,” Ms Matthews said.

“The issues that we’re facing at the moment, as you well know, have been widely reported.

“I wouldn’t say that this makes any change to that at this stage, but obviously ... long-term policy is what is needed for our industry – our investment decisions are made on a long-term basis – and that’s what we’re looking for,” she said.

Ms Matthews said more than just cars would feel the affect of the tax revision.

“It’s the whole of the industry that is being impacted by these changes – it’s not just the local industry,” she said.

“We’ve got teams now since that news came out yesterday that are focussed on what are the implications.

“What we’d be keen to see is the FCAI meeting with government to review those policy decisions and to think that there’s an opportunity for them (the government) to reconsider.”