Eight years ago, former treasurer Joe Hockey uttered two short sentences which spelled the death knell of Australia's long-established local car making industry.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
"Either you're here," he roared from the despatch box in Federal Parliament.
"Or you're not."
And within a few short years, falling like dominoes, they were all gone. Ford, Holden and finally Toyota.
And with them went thousands of jobs, from motor trimmers to machinists, casting specialists, electronics experts, electricians, metallurgists, fluid dynamicists, thermal engineers, acoustics experts and a host of other specialist, skilled professionals whose collective knowledge and capabilities underpinned the manufacturing of complex, robust machinery.
At the heart of the dispute was government subsidies. In 2013, it was revealed that Holden had received an average of $150 million a year for the previous 12 years in duty reductions and cash handouts.
At the time, it suited the Abbott-led Liberal-National Party Coalition government to foment public outrage at such taxpayer-funded largesse.
But as Margaret Thatcher once said: "the wisdom of hindsight ... is so sadly denied to practising politicians".
This week in Victoria as the Prime Minister launched his future fuels and vehicle strategy, the irony in his choice of launch locations was palpable.
As he and Industry Minister Angus Taylor spoke about the "practical challenge" ahead and the $500 million they intend to invest in their party's strategy - accompanied by tub-thumping and political finger-pointing - they did so from the same building which once hummed and thrashed with the activity of advanced manufacturing from what had been the most modern car-making facility in the country.
When the Coalition sent the local car industry packing, also lost were a lot of very clever and capable people with all the skillsets needed to jumpstart a new electric vehicle-making capability here, rather than waiting to filter its way in from overseas.
Australian electric vehicle sales are barely creeping along and make up less than 2 per cent of total sales. In the UK, it's 15 per cent and China, 11 per cent.
Car makers are protecting their technology fiercely in the current environment, prioritising markets which deliver the richest yields and provide the best buyer incentives. Australia isn't one of them.
The PM's plan here is to remove one impediment to electric vehicle buyer reluctance by supporting a more extensive recharging network. That's just one component to a faster take-up.
More importantly, EV prices need to come down fast and the market offerings diversify or potential buyers will keep walking away. There also needs to be an immediate easing of the red tape which strangles small volume importers bringing secondhand EVs in from overseas.
Australia's car buyers have been milked for easy government revenue for decades. Now, to suit the PM's agenda, they are being asked to support a fast-cooked plan with no genuine, cash-in-the-pocket incentives.
Given the PM is a former marketing man who (hopefully) has a handle on consumer behaviour, he knows it's not nearly enough.
