Victorian MPs sound warning on federal support for car industry Victorian Liberal MP Dan Tehan says subsidies will need to be withdrawn over time. A FEDERAL government backbencher has warned it would be a poor decision to go "cold turkey" and cut off support for the car industry. But Victorian Liberal MP Dan Tehan says subsidies will need to be withdrawn over time. And as debate rages within the Federal Government about the future of the troubled auto sector, the Victorian Government has been accused of being asleep at the wheel. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries also stepped up pressure yesterday, releasing a report that predicted 33,000 direct jobs would be lost in Melbourne if the car industry shut down. The report, first revealed by the Herald Sun in August, said $21.5 billion would be wiped from the national economy, hitting Victoria hard. Mr Tehan, who holds the rural seat of Wannon, said support for the car industry came at the expense of help for other sectors, such as agriculture, and should be phased out. Just to go cold turkey and pull out overnight would be poor decision-making. But at some stage the car industry has to stand on its own two feet," Mr Tehan told the Herald Sun. Governments created the situation and have to be careful in how it withdraws. People's lives are built around that subsidy. Veteran fellow Liberal MP Russell Broadbent, from the Victorian seat of McMillan, said he wanted the car industry to be saved - but not at any cost. "We should do all we possibly can to keep the car industry here," Mr Broadbent said. But it depends on what we can afford. Mr Broadbent, who spent three years restoring a 1949 Ford Anglia, said: "I love cars and I love the car industry being here." But he said he supported the review by the Productivity Commission and "if the car companies can't wait for a decision, that's their decision to make." Other Victorian federal MPs, who did not want to be named, are taking a hard line and say taxpayer assistance should be immediately slashed. Victorian senator John Madigan, from the Democratic Labour Party, wants to keep the industry to protect jobs, and criticised the State Government for not doing enough. He warned the state faced dire effects if car manufacturing were shut down. Is the Victorian Government asleep at the wheel? Senator Madigan said. Huge numbers of Victorian workers and families rely on the car industry to put food on their table. Premier Denis Napthine said yesterday the car industry was a "vital part of the economy of the state." Dr Napthine said he recently met Toyota officials in Japan and had been given "promising words about the future of the car industry in Victoria." But some industry observers believe if the Federal Government cuts subsidies, and either Holden or Toyota pulls out, the other will also be forced to close, as the market will not be big enough for component makers.