please spare me.... another lazy 2.5 billion an industry that loses tax payer money
Call for $2.5b aid for car makers
The Federal Government has been urged to embrace a major new plan to promote the future of vehicle manufacturing in Australia, including $2.5 billion in taxpayer assistance to the sector.
The long-awaited Bracks report on the automotive industry also canvasses the idea of boosting car sales by cutting State Government taxes such as vehicle registration charges and stamp duties.
But it will disappoint unions and car-makers by recommending that a cut in the tariff on imported cars - from 10 per cent to 5 per cent - should go ahead as scheduled in 2010.
The government asked the former Victorian premier Steve Bracks to examine ways of helping the local vehicle sector cope with intense competitive pressures due to the high Australian dollar, the rise of low-cost manufacturers in developing countries and shifting consumer preferences for smaller cars.
The central recommendation in the report, which was released in Melbourne this morning, is for the existing government Automotive Competitiveness and Investment Scheme to be replaced with a Glocal Automotive Transition Scheme.
The report says this would be designed to support research, development, design and exports while helping restructure the Australian auto components manufacturing sector to be more competitive and reliable.
The new scheme would start in 2010 and would provide $2.5 billion in taxpayer funded assistance to the industry over the 10 years to 2020.
Other key recommendations are:
* doubling the government's planned green car fund to $1 billion to promote local development of fuel efficient cars;
* harmonising and in some cases reducing taxes on cars including state vehicle registration charges and stamp duties on car sales;
* go ahead with the planned cut in tariffs on imported cars in 2010;
* boost Australian car makers' export markets by negotiating more free trade agreements with countries in the Middle East, the Association of South-East Asian Nations and South Africa.
Mr Bracks said the goal is to achieve an economically and environmentally sustainable Australian car making industry by 2020.
"The Australian automotive industry has been transformed to a more globally integrated and competitive industry," he said.
"This transition needs to be enhanced and advanced so that the Australian automotive industry achieves economic and environmental sustainability by 2020.
"In doing so, the industry will continue to provide Australia's largest non-resource export product."
