Toyota Hockey at odds over shutdown

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TOYOTA and Treasurer Joe Hockey are at odds over whether workers' conditions and unions are to blame for the company deciding to pull out of car production in Australia in 2017.

As federal parliament sits for its second day this year, debate is raging in Canberra over who is to blame for the end of Australian car making.

Mr Hockey said he was told by Toyota Australia president Max Yasuda in December last year the company could continue if workers agreed to a new set of conditions.

"The fact is they were very concerned about the conditions that existed at Toyota in Australia," he told Fairfax radio on Wednesday, adding that this included union "militancy".

But the company has a different version of events.

"Toyota Australia has never blamed the union for its decision to close its manufacturing operations by the end of 2017, neither publicly or in private discussions with any stakeholders," it said in a statement.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Mr Hockey had made a bad week worse for the families of Toyota workers.

"This is the most difficult time for these workers - they don't need Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey kicking them in the guts while they're down," he told AAP.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said the Toyota statement was a "blow to the government's credibility".

The treasurer gave the example of the Australian plant closing for 21 days over the Christmas period, just when the Middle East market was demanding cars.

Toyota had wanted the plant to close for just 10 days but the manufacturing union challenged it and won.

Toyota, in its initial statement about the closure, said the "cost of production" in Australia was a key factor.

Mr Hockey said the cost of production included excessive regulation, taxes and workers' conditions.

"We all have to do the heavy lifting ... and the militancy needs to be addressed by the unions themselves," he said.

"We have got to compete with the rest of the world."

Toyota Australia's statement said there was no single reason for its decision.

Factors contributing to the decision included the unfavourable Australian dollar, high costs of manufacturing and low economies of scale for vehicle production and the local supplier base.

A further problem was increased competition due to free-trade agreements.

The treasurer said he did not agree with an estimate that 50,000 jobs would be lost in the automotive sector as a result of Ford, Holden and Toyota ending production over the next three years, saying it would be "significantly less than that".

He ruled out tax breaks for regional areas affected by the shutdown, but backed the idea of the government's tax review looking at dropping tariffs on imported cars.

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the government would find money for industry restructuring.

"We are going to make sure that industry re-positions itself," he told ABC radio.

"We will supply money for that to happen."

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said he had received a good hearing from Mr Hockey and Prime Minister Tony Abbott on the possibility of extra funding for infrastructure to create jobs.

link:http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/unions-create-problem-for-toyota-hockey/story-fnihsfrf-1226824514769