Wow, what a post. One thing is for sure, there is some passion about this topic and rightly so.
We are certainly the lucky country and I agree we should appreciate what we have.
There is no doubt though that some bad decisions in the past and right now have and will damage what we are collectively lucky enough to have.
I'm not an economist so I don't understand why Free Trade is so desirable for a naturally wealthy country like ours. If we are lucky enough to be a country blessed with wealth and a high standard of living, shouldn't the priority be to protect that first, protect our manufacturing industries, protect our agricultural industries etc? Protect our way of life? Is that such a bad thing?
Even if I have to pay $5000 for my 1 x flat screen TV instead of buying 3 at $899 each with a free laptop thrown in or pay $500 for a proudly but solidly & locally built timber desk rather than $99 for a piece of imported compressed cardboard crap from Ikea, I'll throw out in 18 months! Maybe it is because I am not an economist that I am looking at this in a much too simplistic manner, but isn't it obvious! The numbers don't add up. If you have half a dozen manufacturing countries in the local pacific area, and Australia has an economy where we earn up to 10 times some of those other countries, if you drop the tariffs, to me it is obvious that and equalizing effect will kick in, draining our wealth and dragging us down, not the other countries up.
With regards to manufacturing, in my view an economy isn't healthy unless it has a certain percentage of the overall is dedicated to manufacturing. We spend a certain amount of our income on things, so the make up of the economy should in some way reflect the production of those things. Like most systems in life, there needs to be balance. Balance in the make up of the economy and balance in the government tinkering with that economy. A controlled and planned improvement, not a flat out, within one generation, flavour of the month, back flip on what had served the country so well for so long. Perhaps a little less cockiness & ambition to lead the world and a little more humility and nurturing of our people would serve our politicians well.
I had the misfortune or perhaps the fortune of being a casualty of the drop in tariffs during the 90s and within a space of 3 years saw 70% of my business move to China, in the end, loosing that business I had spent my youth building and my house. It is an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone but it did teach me what is truly important in life. I would go through the turmoil at work each day as I struggled to keep the business going but when I got home, my wife was there with a kiss, dinner was cooked and I had two healthy and happy kids, completely oblivious to what was happening, excited and happy to see me.
Just a comment on OH&S. While OH&S is definitely a priority and it is common sense it should be taken seriously, perhaps the extremism in this area is driven by people desperate to feel like they are making a contribution in an economy they are struggling to find their place in.
I know I'm dreaming but wouldn't it be great if our system of Government included an apolitical brains trust of a long term planning organisation which transcended short term politics and mapped out a long term vision for the country. One that managed the future fund, set targets for industry sectors which contributed to the health of the economy and protected our resources and way of life. One can only dream.
Time to go prepare my bike for Mr VMX!!
