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April 12th, 2013 
Holden chairman Mike Devereux arrives at the State Administration Centre to hold crisis talks with State premier Jay Weatherill. Picture: Calum Robertson
Source: adelaidenow
HOLDEN and the South Australia government will go back to the negotiating table to draw up a new funding deal after failing to reach agreement during a marathon three-hour meeting today.
The summit between South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and Holden boss Mike Devereux was earlier described by the car company executive as “half time” in the “contact sport” that is the automotive industry. After the meeting, however, it appeared the goal posts had shifted.
Despite threatening to pull the promised $50 million of state funding in the wake of the 400 job cuts at Elizabeth earlier in the week, the SA Government has left the money on the table. But the terms for receiving that money are likely to change.
“We want the original deal,” said SA Premier Jay Weatherill.
“We accept the reality of the change (in Australia’s economic conditions) that’s occurred but we are going to return to the negotiating table with that in mind.
“There is no doubt we will be revisiting the nature of our contribution. Just as we will be asking for the company to revisit the nature of its contribution to the people of South Australia.
“The events of this week have substantially changed (the terms of the original agreement) and we are now returning to the bargaining table.
“I’ve got no reason to doubt Mr Devereux’s integrity but … we have different views of the nature of the [original] agreement.”
Mr Devereux, who described it as a “positive” meeting, said: “We’re committed to making sure that we have the best path forward to be able to (build the two cars) that we had previously discussed and to bring $1 billion of investment from General Motors.”
However, he hinted that the car maker may need to go back to the Federal Government, with which it already has a signed contract for $215 million over the next nine years in return for its investment of $1 billion to build cars in Australia until at least 2022.
“We will need a review at the federal level of the conditions that the country is facing right now,” Devereux said.
“Those conditions have changed quite dramatically, not just in the last five six months but the last year. Both the coalition and the current government have been very open with regards to needing a review of the auto industry.”
When asked if Holden was asking for more money, Devereux said: “What I’m suggesting is the game plan you’ve got (must) be a winning game plan and it has to be current and contemporary. We’re going to continue negotiating the terms of that agreement.”
Premier Weatherill said his government was “doing everything within our power … to ensure there is a future for this car industry, but also be completely clear-sighted about the fact that it’s going to be a different car industry.”
He said “every country that manufactures cars” has government support. “Some countries like ours do it very explicitly with subsidies. Other countries do it with currency manipulation or tariffs.”
Premier Weatherill said “the cost of losing 16,000 workers, the social dislocation, the capabilities and skills that would be lost … could not be borne by the South Australian community. That is a reason to enter into this arrangement.”
Devereux said: “We are on the same team and we are fighting against the same basic challenge that this country faces. Nothing more, nothing less. We both understand how critical it is to make things in Australia, to not become a whole in the ground to ship stuff off into other places so they can transform it elaborately and then ship it back to this country. It is a bad future for Australia to have that be the economic condition of the country.”
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