Coalition pressured on car manufacturing

The federal government is intensifying pressure on the coalition over its stance on funding for the ailing automotive manufacturing industry.

The opposition plans to cut $500 million in assistance from the industry, if elected at the next federal poll, due in 2013.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Monday the government had made a hard-headed decision to maintain its co-investment with the "innovative" car industry.

"We've got to understand we are in an international competition as to whether car manufacturing happens in our nation," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra.

"And other governments around the world are prepared to provide a great deal more assistance than we provide to car manufacturing."

The cost benefit to taxpayers wasn't just about jobs but the importance of maintaining skill sets and innovation for the whole manufacturing industry, Ms Gillard said.

“Clearly the opposition has come to a different view."

She added that 46,000 Australians working in the car industry were threatened and 200,000 Australians who relied in part on car manufacturing in this country also faced threats to their employment.

The prime minister's comments come as Victorian MP Darren Cheeseman, whose Corangamite electorate includes Geelong, where Ford's factory is based, is poised to table a petition in Parliament.

The national petition, to be tabled later this week, was launched by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the Australian Workers Union and the National Union of Workers.

It urges continued government support for the industry. Mr Cheeseman will table a further 'Save Ford' petition in coming weeks specific to Geelong, where the motor company employs more than 2000 people.

"Geelong relies more on the manufacturing sector to provide jobs for local residents than many other areas around Australia, with the census figures showing 15,050 people who live in the region are employed in manufacturing," he told AAP in a statement.