Leader of the Opposition Address to workers at Repco Ingleburn Distribution Centre

09/09/11

TRANSCRIPT OF THE HON. TONY ABBOTT MHRADDRESS TO WORKERS AT REPCO INGLEBURN DISTRIBUTION CENTRE,

INGLEBURN

E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………

Well, John, thanks very much and ladies and gentlemen thanks for making me welcome. I reckon I spent some of the best weekends of my life fiddling with old cars trying to make them work; and the success or failure of my weekend critically depended upon people like you, who were able to get the right part for an Austin 1800 or a Triumph 2500 or a Leyland P76 to keep that thing on the road. So, as I look out at all of you I see people who are providing a vital service to all of the automotive enthusiasts, all of the mechanics and everyone else that keeps our cars going and our transport system going. So, good on you for the work you do and good on you for being part of this marvellous new centre.

I guess as I look around this centre and contemplate the $12 million that was spent building it and the $10 million that was spent equipping it, I sense the confidence and the enthusiasm that Repco and its supporters and its shareholders and its staff have in our country. When the decision was made to invest the money in this great new centre we thought there was going to be no carbon tax because we believed the Prime Minister, didn’t we John, that “there would be no carbon tax under the government I lead.” I know since the decision was made, we have got this carbon tax and of course this carbon tax has damaged confidence.

We know the carbon tax is going to make everything that is built in Australia more expensive; everything that is transported in Australia more expensive. It’s going to make imported parts relatively cheaper compared to Australian manufactured parts. It’s going to make the price of a car built in Australia about $400 more expensive. That’s going to put Australian made cars at a disadvantage compared to the foreign product. That’s why I want to save Australia from this carbon tax because I want our country to be a confident country. I want our consumers to be confident and buy and I want us to be a country that continues to make things.

So ladies and gentlemen, I am really pleased to be here today. I do think that investment, innovation, progress is what is represented by this marvellous new centre and I want to see more growth. I want to see more progress and more investment. That’s what I want to bring about to the greatest extent possible as a result of my time in the parliament and that’s why I’m so pleased to be here because I see that you are doing in practice the sort of things that I want to encourage as a member of parliament. So, thank you so much for having me here today. I’m honoured to be part of the opening and I wish you all the very best for the future.