Prime Minister Wants GM Holden to Spell Out Oz Future

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says GM Holden owes it to its workforce to make a decision on its future as a local manufacturer.

Abbott says on Melbourne Fairfax radio 3AW he wants GM Holden to continue as a producer and the auto industry to flourish, but rules out any extra federal government assistance to the General Motors subsidiary.

“I do wish that Holden would clarify their intentions because at the moment, they’ve got everyone on tenterhooks,” he says in a transcript posted on the prime minister’s website.

He commented as Richard Phillips, executive director-GM Holden Manufacturing, issued a bulletin to workers denying an Australian Broadcasting Corp. report that it will end production in 2016.

“The ABC's report is speculative – our discussions with the government and General Motors are ongoing,” Phillips says.

“We understand how difficult this constant speculation is for employees. As always, any official developments or decisions will be communicated directly to employees first and foremost.”

Abbott says the message the government is getting in talks with GM Holden is that the automaker is of two minds.

“I would like them to clarify exactly what their position is,” he says. “I think they’re weighing their options and I think they owe it to the workforce, they owe it to the suppliers, they owe it to the people of Australia, to say what they’re doing: Are they staying or are they going?”

About half a billion dollars a year is available through the government’s automotive transformation scheme and other funding programs.

“It’s a lot of money,” Abbott says. “There’s more than enough money there on the table. It’s available to the motor industry, but there is no more. We stand ready to make that support available, but there’s not going to be any extra money over and above the generous support that taxpayers have been giving the motor industry for a long time.”

Meantime, Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane is challenging the ABC to name the senior government ministers who told the broadcaster GM Holden is ending production.

“I'd only say to the ABC, if they have senior government ministers speaking to them they should name them so that we all know who they are,” Macfarlane tells the ABC. “I know who I am and who I'm talking to. I spoke to (GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director) Mike Devereux last night. There is no basis to the story.”