AMBASSADOR: Good morning ladies and gentleman. I'm Murray McLean Australia's Ambassador to Japan. Welcome to today's media opportunity.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the honourable Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister of Australia.
Katsuaki Watanabe, President of Toyota Motor Corporation.
Senator the Honourable Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
And, Mr Tokuichi Uranishi, Executive Vice President, Toyota Motor Corporation.
I'd first like to welcome Minister Carr to the lectern.
CARR: Your Excellency, thank you very much for that introduction.
Can I just say that Australia is proud, in fact very proud, of its car industry.
We are proud to be one of only 14 countries around the world with the know-how to design, engineer and manufacture a car from scratch.
I firmly believe our economy benefits from the investment, from the jobs, from the skills, from the research and development, from the innovation and exports generated by the automotive manufacturing industry.
There are many landmark dates in the history of the Australian car industry.
1894 was when Australia first produced a motor vehicle.
1963 when the Tiara was assembled at Port Melbourne, and became one of the first Toyotas ever built outside Japan.
And in 1984 when the late John Button unveiled his visionary plan to build an Australian car industry based on innovation and exports.
And in 2006 when Toyota fulfilled that vision by exporting its 500,000th Australian-made vehicle.
Working with the industry to meet new challenges and secure new investment is a high priority for me, and for the Australian Government.
Indeed, with the Government sworn in on the 3rd of December last year, I think I first met with Toyota executives, in my new role as a Minister, on the 12th of December last year.
And in February, I was here in Nagoya and toured Toyota's remarkable plant - or at least part of it.
It is a great pleasure for me to be back here today with the Prime Minister, the Honourable Kevin Rudd MP, to mark another important milestone in the story of the Australian automotive industry.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd.
PM: Twelve months ago I asked the question, why Australia did not have an Australian manufactured hybrid car. Twelve months later, we are now much closer to turning that vision into a reality.
Because today what we are announcing with our friends from Toyota is that from 2010, Toyota will produce 10,000 Toyota Camry hybrid vehicles at its Altona plant in Victoria.
We are pleased by this announcement, and we thank Toyota Motor Corporation for its cooperative involvement with the Australian Government in this important project.
This hybrid will use one third less petrol than a standard car. One third therefore less by way of emissions. And, therefore, for an average family driving some 20,000 kilometres a year, saving up to $1,000 a year.
Therefore, for a project like this, this is an important step forward for Australian motorists and fuel efficiency. An important step forward for the Australian motor vehicle industry. And an important step forward also for the environment.
This occurs at a time when as Australia, of course, must do whatever we can to assist motorists who are faced with the challenge of rising fuel prices and also assist in our overall efforts to bring down greenhouse gas emissions.
The Industry Minister advised me just before that we have something like a million cars sold each year in Australia. And only 5,000 of those at present are hybrids. Australia, we believe, needs to do better and more on the question of fuel efficient vehicles.
Of course, this arrangement has come as a consequence of negotiations between Toyota and the Australian Government. And as part of the Government's new car plan, we've decided therefore to commit a grant from the new green car innovation fund of some $35 million.
The Victorian Government is also making an investment.
We decided to make this green car innovation fund available, of course, to all motor vehicle manufacturers and for all those engaged in various forms of fuel efficiency technology because our overall objective is to drive home a better bargain for Australian motorists, in terms of their fuel costs. But also, to drive home a better bargain also when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions.
I repeat - 12 months ago, we put out a vision which is, ‘how about Australia having its own Australian manufactured hybrid car'. 12 months later, we have, therefore, this important announcement with our partners here in Japan for that vision to begin to be turned into reality.
Thank you very much to our friends from Toyota, and I look forward very much also to welcoming President Watanabe to Australia very soon, in the next month or so, where we intend to discuss, again, the long term future of the cooperation between Australia and Toyota, the long term future of hybrid manufacture in Australia, the long term future of fuel efficient cars in Australia. And I look forward very much to welcoming President Watanabe when he visits. Thank you very much.
WATANABE: [Remarks in Japanese]
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, you're giving $35 million assistance from the Green Car Innovation Fund. Can you tell us, or maybe President Watanabe could tell us, what it will be used for?
PM: Well, I'll make a general comment and then I'll turn to Minister Carr and then to President Watanabe.
This Green Car Innovation Fund is all about how you assist with the start up of new technologies in Australia. It is not a production subsidy, it's about starting up a new business. And, that's what we set as an ambition last year. We are proud of the fact that we are now able to realise that ambition. We think this has been a good partnership between the Government of Australia and Toyota.
As I said, good for motorists, good for fuel efficiency, good for the car industry in Australia, good for the environment.
CARR: This fund will be used to, obviously, the car industry development of new production facilities within the existing Camry line in Altona. And it will add capacity to the Australian manufacturing industry. It will enhance the capacity of Toyota's research and development centre in Melbourne. And will provide a platform for future developmental work for future Camry productions at Altona.
WATANABE: [Response in Japanese]
JOURNALIST: President Watanabe, Tim Lester from the Nine Network in Australia. Would you first tell us what price you expect the hybrid Camrys to retail for in Australia compared to their traditional counterpart - how much more will Australian motorists be paying? And can you also give us a picture of how you think this will change the plant at Altona in terms of numbers of employees and its long term operations?
WATANABE: [Response in Japanese]
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, yesterday you were talking about the clothing industry, the whitegoods industry, how countries should play to their strengths in manufacturing. And that is unfair for Australian families to be subsidising uneconomical industries. How does that fit with the car industry in Australia and how do you justify supporting that industry when other countries obviously make cars cheaper and better than we can?
PM: Because I've long said that we believe in innovation. We believe in innovation policy, we believe in industry policy.
It was very clear last year when campaigning for the last election that I didn't want to be Prime Minister of an Australia where did didn't manufacture things anymore. I was very upfront about that. Very upfront about the fact that we believe in industry policy and we believe in innovation policy.
And therefore, when you look at the important innovations which are occurring with hybrid technology and other fuel efficient technologies, and given the overarching environmental imperative here, and, the new imperative when it comes to the cost to family motorists with the cost of fuel, we believe this is the right way to go.
Innovation policy across the board when you're talking about support for R&D efforts, of course means that you are injecting public investment into R&D operations which may occur within private companies - we understand that. But we have long done that. We have long done that in the past. And we'll continue to do so in the future.
And what is the additional public policy benefit for Australia? Providing Australian motorists with more options when it comes to Australian manufactured hybrid cars and fuel efficient cars. Helping the family petrol budget and on top of that, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We think it's the right policy decision.
And, this framework for the green car innovation fund is open to other fuel efficient innovation and technologies and of course, to other motor vehicle manufacturers.
But, our friends in Toyota have been engaged in this negotiation, as the Minister said, from the earliest days of the Government. And we're proud of the decision. And we're proud of our cooperation with Toyota who have been long term friends and partners of Australia. And as I said to the President before, we have a long and strong history of cooperation. We also believe we're going to have a long and strong future.
JOURNALIST: Question to Minister Carr, you're going to Detroit, as I understand it, to meet with the Ford Motor Corporation. Do you think this decision by Toyota will assist? Will you try to convince them to compete?
CARR: Yes I do, and it's not just with Ford, it's with General Motors as well.
The Australian automotive industry is extremely important for the rest of manufacturing in Australia. It is a highly internationalised industry so it's important to talk to decision makers. It's important to talk to people who can make the call on new investments and that's what we're doing.
We want to see a rapid transformation of the Australian automotive industry because it is so important. Not just to ensure that people have the freedom of movement, its a great liberator, but also because the effects it has on so many other things. Whether it be steel, whether it be plastics, whether it be the electronics industry. I mean, building a skills base for automotive also means we have the skills capacity to build a fighter aircraft.
You know, it's very important for the aerospace industry.
So it's vital that we get these connections right.
This is an industry that's been under a bit of pressure. The Government wants to work with the industry in meeting the challenges of the future, and that means reducing the impact on people's wallets and reducing the impact on the environment.
QUESTION: Mr Watanabe, my name's Matthew Franklin, I work for The Australian newspaper.
I've got a question for both of you.
Mr Rudd, really this is just a subsidy is it not? Why should taxpayers be funding the production of a new car? And isn't this further proof that large car manufacturers really require Government assistance to stay in Australia?
And, Mr Watanabe, would you have been producing this car in Australia without access to the $35 million grant?
PM: I think the first thing to say is that you have here a combined partnership between the Australian Government and the Victorian Government. So, there is an investment from the Victorians as well.
On the question that you posed specifically to me, it's a bit like saying that all innovation policy which involves the injection of a public investment into private R&D operations, is wrong. I don't have that view. I never have had that view. I never will have that view.
R&D, particularly those related to clean, green technologies, constitute a public good. And whether those public goods are executed through formally public research, or in private research associations and institutions, or, associated with private companies, is immaterial.
What we have here is an important underpinning technology which we will now have manufactured in Australia.
And as the Minister has just said, in his upcoming discussions elsewhere, what we need to do as a nation is in fact to have smart investments in new innovations and new technologies right across the entire generation of fuel efficiency and energy efficiency.
Why? Motorists and consumers need lower prices in an age where we now have a global oil shock. And secondly, on top of that, we have now a new global environmental imperative called climate change.
WATANABE: [Response in Japanese]
JOURNALIST: My name's Karen Middleton, from SBS television Australia.
Question to you, Prime Minister Rudd, can I ask you, what if any conditions are you placing on this company, is there a timeframe involved in production of any employment or any other conditions will be placed on this funding?
And secondly, to President Watanabe, can you tell us what bench marks you will set for the success of this program? Is there a time frame in mind (inaudible) review the success (inaudible)
PM: I'll ask Minister Carr to supplement my answer.
But the bottom line is this. We said last year, very clearly, let's have an ambition for Australia to have an Australian manufactured hybrid car.
12 months later, we are now in the process of realising that vision.
That's not bad progress for a Government that's been in office for six months.
And there's a core reason for it. That is, if you speak to motorists, a lot of them like to actually support cars which have been made in Australia. Because they like to support Australian manufacturing jobs. There is 66,000 Australians that are employed in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry. Therefore, if you can bring these things together, which is the natural desire of many consumers to buy a car which is made in Australia, and a car which helps the family budget over time because of the use of hybrid technologies and helps the environment - that's the core benchmark which I established.
Minister, do you wish to add?
CARR: Yes, thank you Prime Minister.
The negotiations have been going on with Toyota Australia for a six month period. Yes, we have set quite definite milestones. These are of course are matters are discussions between the Government and the company and we're not at liberty to discuss the commercial in confidence nature of those conversations.
But the primary objective here is to ensure that we have high skills, high wage jobs for Australian workers, producing advanced technological means of ensuring the industry is able to cope with the challenges of the future.
And I'm absolutely confident that all of those conditions will be met.
WATANABE: [Response in Japanese]