Last week we had Labor Senator Kim Carr crowing that he wants the next state poll in Victoria to be a referendum on federal manufacturing policy. Perhaps he should check Labor’s record.

Under the post-war Menzies Liberal Government Australian manufacturing grew dramatically. When Menzies opened Chrysler’s Tonsley Park factory in Adelaide in 1964, it was the largest area under a single roof in the Southern Hemisphere. Soon Valiants were being exported even to Britain and Japan. 

The two millionth Holden came in 1969 while the Liberals were in office. Holdens were exported worldwide. Australian motor vehicle production peaked at over 475,000 vehicles in 1970 just before Whitlam took office. 

Whitlam began destruction of the motor industry with a sudden 25 per cent tariff cut in 1975. It was aimed at curbing runaway inflation, but the first casualty was Leyland that had been experiencing massive strike problems at their Sydney plant. Current owners of the classic Leyland P76 will tell you it was a great vehicle.

Whitlam legislated Australian Design Rule 27, to begin in 1976. Premature introduction of ADR 27 demanded emission reductions quicker than Australian manufacturers could adapt. Sales of Australian vehicles dived. Imports gained a foothold. 

By 1980 Australian production had dropped to 361,000. In 1981 the Fraser Liberal government commissioned the $300 million Holden four-cylinder engine plant at Port Melbourne. Two thirds of Holden’s production was being exported

Hawke Labor introduced the “Button Plan” aiming for fewer models and lower tariffs. Sudden introduction of unleaded petrol led to a VL Commodore with an imported Nissan motor. There nearly was no VN Commodore.

In 1992 Nissan closed its Australian factory under Keating Labor. As Paul Keating was to say later, “Did we ever hurt anyone liberating them from the car assembly line?”

Mitsubishi received grants from the Howard Government but closed under Rudd Labor in 2008.

Meanwhile Menzies’ era truck manufacturer International soldiers on at Dandenong as Iveco. Menzies specified high Australian content for defence contracts, which led to Australian-made Internationals dominating long haul transport. Australian Iveco “ACCO” trucks celebrated 40 years in 2012, and still dominate garbage collection and other specialised services.

Toyota sprang from Menzies’ era Australian Motor Industries, and had produced its two-millionth Toyota by 2004. While government grants in the Rudd era saw production extended to hybrid vehicles, industrial disputation aided by Gillard’s elevation of union power has finally brought the last surviving car plant to its knees.

As Toyota CEO Max Yasuda told the Fair Work Commission, Australia Day 2012 fell on a Thursday, and thirty per cent of Toyota’s 3000 workers reported sick on the Friday. Australian-made vehicles were down to 209,730 in 2012. 

Ford closed under Labor, setting the stage for Holden and Toyota. Senator Carr, it was  Labor that destroyed the Australian motor industry.