Independent SA Senator Nick Xenophon wants Senate inquiry into impact of high Australian dollar

SENATOR Nick Xenophon will move for an urgent Senate inquiry into the impact of the high Australian dollar on industry, as Holden moves to sack 500 workers.

Nick Xenaphon

INDEPENDENT SA Senator Nick Xenophon will move for an urgent Senate inquiry into the impact of the high Australian dollar on manufacturing and farming.

It comes after the announcement that Holden will lay off 500 workers.

The inquiry would consider the merits of intervention to bring down the value of the currency and measures to cushion the economy when the dollars rises or falls significantly.

Senator Xenophon sought support for a similar inquiry in 2011 but was rebuffed by both the Government and Opposition.

"It is now situation-critical," Senator Xenophon said. "The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates over 140,000 Australian manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last five years - the high Australian dollar must be a significant factor.

"The export-killing effects of the high dollar also have a huge impact on agriculture, especially in the Riverland, reflected in job losses and falling farming incomes.

"The major parties need to get their heads out of the sand and grapple with the impact of the high dollar as a key and urgent policy issue."

Senator Xenophon said the Government could adopt the Swiss and Japanese approaches by directly intervening to bring down the value of the currency, or put in place strategies to adapt to changing values of the currency which impact on exporters and importers.

"The problem with doing nothing is large portions of manufacturing will turn into an industrial wasteland," he said. "Once they shut their doors it's likely they'll be lost forever.

"The dollar will eventually come down - the problem is if factories close down and farmers walk off the land, there'll be no capacity to capitalise on that."