The Australian car industry is almost 120 years old, and has become part of the nation's industrial and social fabric. With protection from the federal government in the early years, and co investment more recently, the industry thrived, and dragged Australia out of the farm era and into the ranks of industrialised countries. These days, the industry has provided a great return on the taxpayer investment; income tax paid by automotive workers repays the taxpayer three times over. But this was not good enough for prime minister Tony Abbott, or his austerity-minded treasurer, Joe Hockey. They decided to bully the carmakers into leaving so the government could save a few dollars.