‘Soulless Cars Made in China’: Hastie Calls for Local Manufacturing Revival

Shadow Home Affairs spokesperson Andrew Hastie has reignited the debate on Australia’s industrial future, urging a return to car manufacturing while criticising current government policy for pushing “soulless” Chinese-made electric vehicles onto local roads.

His comments, delivered in a social media video alongside an older Australian-made car, tapped into a broader argument over whether Australia needs to reboot its manufacturing base, which has largely been sent offshore to Asia.

“We used to make complex things in this country. In fact, with cars, we used to say, race them on a Sunday, sell them on a Monday. It wasn’t just a slogan, it was a way of life,” Hastie, the Western Australian MP said.

He warned that both major parties had allowed that legacy to disappear.

“We’re being told that we can forget our past forever, that we can no longer build physical things of value in this country, and both the Liberals and Labor have let us down in the past by letting the car industry disappear from our shores.”

Call to Harness Coal and Gas

Hastie who has made headlines for threatening to quit the Liberal-National Coalition frontbench if his party continues to back net zero insists coal and gas remain central to Australia’s energy mix.

In his post, he argued that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s energy and industry policies were cutting Australia off from its heritage.

“They want to fill our streets with silent, soulless cars made in China, packed with tech that we didn’t design and that we don’t control.”

China is the largest EV exporter to Australia, leveraging their cheaper price points against other competitors.

Hastie argued the key obstacle for Australia was energy.

“We have this abundance of coal and gas, which Anthony Albanese and Labor are willing to sell to countries like Japan, China and India. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. They’ll sell that stuff to countries that burn it, and they’ll deny it to the Australian people.”

Ending on a nationalist note, Hastie asked, “Do we want to be a country that is deindustrialised and is just effectively a nation of helpless consumers?

“Do you want to unlock our energy potential, make the most of our coal, make the most of our gas, and produce things again, build stuff with our hands?”

Tariffs on China Back in Play

Hastie’s call was echoed in a different way by commercial lawyer Dan Ryan, a Mandarin-speaking former board member of the Australia-China Council.

Ryan said Australia used to be a manufacturing powerhouse, including being one of the world’s largest car producers in the 1970s, but that has largely been dismantled under the globalisation ideology.

Common arguments now are that Australia should explore “advanced industries” or be content playing minor roles in larger global supply chains.

Ryan argues, however, that in the face of potential conflict in the region, Australia needs to ensure it has manufacturing skills and facilities onshore, and the first step should be to rip up the free trade agreement with China.

On top of this, Ryan says Australia should impose tariffs on Chinese imports, borrowing from U.S. President Donald Trump’s playbook.

“You will never be able to produce a manufacturing industry of any consequence, as long as you have a trade agreement with China that allows 100 percent of their manufactured goods to come in here duty-free,” Ryan told The Epoch Times.

“It is not going to happen. You’ve got to recognise that.”

Ryan argued that without intervention, cheaper Chinese imports would continue to overwhelm local producers, making ambitious manufacturing revival plans by both major parties unfeasible.

Labor Bets on Green Industry

Earlier this year, the Albanese government passed the Future Made in Australia Bill, part of a $22.7 billion program to attract private investment and safeguard strategic sectors. It follows the former Morrison government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy.

The package includes $13.7 billion in tax incentives for onshore processing of critical minerals and green hydrogen production. Five priority areas have been identified—renewable hydrogen, critical minerals, green metals, low-carbon liquid fuels, and clean energy manufacturing.

The government argues these investments are needed to seize opportunities in the global net zero transition and reduce reliance on China’s dominance in critical supply chains.

“The shift towards net zero emissions and greater international competition have created new opportunities for clean energy industries – poised to shape the global economy in the coming decades,” Albanese said earlier while pitching his policy.