Plan is not just for struggling overseas car makers-govt

US car giants Ford and GM are seeking billions of dollars from the Bush administration as a looming recession and the global financial crisis hits their bottom lines.

Both companies operate Australian manufacturing subsidiaries.

"It's not just the international motor firms, it's also the 200 or so Australian firms that underwrite all of those (overseas) companies," Senator Carr told ABC Radio on Tuesday.

The car industry package, announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday, was about protecting 200,000 Australian jobs, Senator Carr said.

"We're in the business of taking decisive action to protect jobs for the future to ensure that we have a balanced economy, that we underwrite the social fabric of this nation and the automotive industry and manufacturing more generally is a very, very important part of that equation."

Senator Carr said governments provided financial support to groups all the time.

"Whether it is to support the Olympic team, whether it's to support roads, whether it's to support schools, whether it's to support a whole range of economic activities," he said.