Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the success of car manufacturers in Australia does not depend on government handouts.
Labor says the federal government will be abandoning manufacturing workers if a support package for Holden and the car industry isn't unveiled in Tuesday's mid-year economic and fiscal outlook .
Holden has announced it will stop local vehicle production by the end of 2017, with thousands of manufacturing jobs on the chopping block.
Labor has accused the government of daring Holden to leave, and ripping away $500 million in support for the car industry.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said Mr Abbott must announce a fully-funded, comprehensive support package in MYEFO, which is expected to forecast deficits totalling more than $120 billion over the next four years.
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"If this urgently needed package is not delivered today, it will be yet another blow to workers and their families from the Abbott government," he said in a statement.
But the prime minister said government assistance wasn't the answer to Holden's woes.
"Government handouts are not the way to go," he told reporters in Sydney.
"A competitive, successful, creative business is the way to go if we are to succeed."
