Oz Local manufacturing

[Digga]

For those who believe strongly in local Ozzie manufacturing & would like to contribute in some way to help keep it going here, then have a read of the letter below from the SA Premier & then log onto the website link at the bottom of the page to register in the petition

Dear More than Cars supporter
You may have seen media reports today suggesting that Holden has made a decision to close its Australian manufacturing operations.
I have been told these suggestions are untrue.
When the first media reports emerged last night I immediately contacted the Federal Government’s Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane.
Mr Macfarlane told me that Holden has denied the media reports and that the Federal Government was still in discussion with Australian carmakers.
I have also spoken to Holden’s chief in Australia, Mike Devereux. He has confirmed the rumours in the media are untrue.
However, the ongoing speculation about the future of the car industry is damaging. It is creating huge anxiety for thousands of workers and their families at Holden, their suppliers and all the businesses that rely on the auto manufacturing industry.
It is an issue that must be addressed.
We need the Federal Government to commit to national investment in the industry urgently.
Next Friday, the Premier of Victoria and I will be raising this matter with the Prime Minister at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra.
For us to make the case as strongly as we can, we need as much community support as we can get.
Forward this email to your family and friends, explaining why we need national investment in the auto industry and ask them to show their support by signing up at www.morethancars.com.au
Remember these facts:
up to 13,000 South Australians stand to lose their jobs if auto manufacturing closes
we would lose up to $1.2 billion from the SA economy
Australia invests just $US18 per person in the car industry, Germany invests $US90 and the United States invests $US265
Together we can make a difference to thousands of people’s lives.
Thanks for adding your energy and voice at this important moment.
 
Premier Jay Weatherill

[evo550]

I gotta say this is becoming a curley one for me, as bail outs for Ford and Holden have been going on for a few years now, with no real changes to try and address why they can't keep their heads above water...
How many other smaller companies have gone to the wall with no government assistance at all ?

[topari]

Contrast the different perspectives. For Labor and their unions branches, Holden and Ford are political problems. For the Liberals, this is an economic problem. No matter how much I read, I cannot not figure out what the core problems are.  Our partisian MSM offer little insight. As someone who has employed people, the biggest brake on progress in Australia , is the Industrial Relations systems. IR feeds the Labor party, and 10000s of lawyers and who knows what else. Just look at Fair Work.
Simply put, Australia is not a desirable place for doing business.

[FourstrokeForever]

I gotta say this is becoming a curley one for me, as bail outs for Ford and Holden have been going on for a few years now, with no real changes to try and address why they can't keep their heads above water...
How many other smaller companies have gone to the wall with no government assistance at all ?

I agree. I would of thought it would be far more important to assist our food growers than any car manufacturer. How many fruit growers have gone to the wall because of cheap foreign imports. Clothes manufacturers don't exist in Oz anymore. Canneries have wound up because of OS "investment". And now OS "investment" is doing the same to Holden....They already did it to Ford. Doesn't anyone find it more than just a coincidence that both our Aussie car makers are US owned and as soon as the industry began struggling in the US, Aussie subsidiary's are culled. No doubt so that the US fords and Chevs can be sold to unsuspecting Aussies......
All we do in this country is pull crap out of the ground to sell to someone else so we can buy back more crap! It pisses me orf no end. 

[Nathan S]

The federal Liberals are trying to force it to happen as early as possible before the SA state election next March.
They have been highly inconsistent in their demands from Holden, which is surely further harming the chances of the bigwigs in the USA agreeing to keep the place open.

---------

If we want manufacturing in this country to thrive, then we need to cut wages across the board (yes, including your's), and slash property prices (including your's).
Either way, we're screwed, really.

[Mike52]

Read a story about the Fiat factory in France [ if I recall properly].
Apparently there was 2 yes TWO humans working there.
Later I read a news story where one of them stepped over a yellow line and got welded to death.
Anyhow that's what Holden Australia has to compete with , two wages in the entire factory.
The writing has been on the wall for years this is not something new.
We've priced ourselves out of the market , end of story.

[Digga]

I agree. I would of thought it would be far more important to assist our food growers than any car manufacturer. How many fruit growers have gone to the wall because of cheap foreign imports. Clothes manufacturers don't exist in Oz anymore. Canneries have wound up because of OS "investment". And now OS "investment" is doing the same to Holden....They already did it to Ford. Doesn't anyone find it more than just a coincidence that both our Aussie car makers are US owned and as soon as the industry began struggling in the US, Aussie subsidiary's are culled. No doubt so that the US fords and Chevs can be sold to unsuspecting Aussies......
All we do in this country is pull crap out of the ground to sell to someone else so we can buy back more crap! It pisses me orf no end.

Its not just the USA, if Holden joins Ford & leaves, then guarantee, the Toyota plant in Altona will close shortly thereafter further compounding the impact to industry & community.

[Davey Crocket]

Every car manufacturer in the world is subsidised by the government in which country they manufacture in. If it was me, I would save our companies (wether they be Aussie or foreign owned), go back to an import tarrif on ALL imports (fark the other countries....lets put Australia first)....we will be farked up the arse big time if we loose all our manufacturing.....if Holden goes, Toyota will go....that would close so many feeder business that will never recover....hey, we have some very smart cookies here in this country and lead the world in all sorts of things. You have to weigh the cost up....close Holden and Toyota...maybe 100.000? jobs lost, how much is that on welfare payments? and how much is lost in TAX revenue (remember these people DONT have a job anymore to pay tax and probably wont get another), also, how much will it fark up the superannuation companies, how many houses will get repo'd, stuff up house values, stuff up the banks....South Australia would be broke.....it's a way bigger problem than most people think. Lets put Australia first and let other countries go broke.....then we will pick up the slack, we have been way to soft on the Asian countries as far as balance of trade goes, they don't give a shit about us. Survival of the smartest.

[topari]

While we lament the decline of Australian manufacturing, we just dodged a bullet by disposing of a Cabal of Crooks who saw themselves as part of a world government. The Don himself is now the "alternative prime minister". Cheap energy was one of the last advantages we had.  So what did they do ! Talk to people in mining and they will tell you about the Indigenous issues which slow and stall progress which when said and done is just extortion . As long as people barrack for a political party and demand no representation the decline will not stop.

Personally I do not give a shit. I have watched the IT industry die over the last 15 years and nothing gets a run in the MSM. 100000s of jobs went.  All the new NBN software work goes to India. Anyone complain about this ? We only hear about the automotive industry because it's one of the pillars of Labor's power base. Just look at Kim Carr. Yet we expand the crippling IR system by continually writing meal tickets for lawyers and expanding unions influence and we expect no consequences ! Notice the number of US law firms setting up in Australia ! Anyone here work in Industry and now find ladders are banned ? We are doomed. We just had 3 of 7 High court Judges state that injuries occurred while rooting when away on a work trip should be compensated. FFS !

The future is for those who can adapt the quickest.

[Matador107]

I was recently in China for two weeks,travelled extensively,Beijing,Shangai etc. I took particular notice of the cars, a Cadillac is also extremely similar to a Buick,which to my mind are both really Commodores. Saw three car carrying semi trailers one day travelling on an expressway, each one had 7 rows on the top deck x 2, therefore 14 cars and a further 8 cars below, a total of 22 cars per semi. By the way they were extra long and not B Doubles.There were 3 semis,66 cars, the size of say Hyundai I 30's.

We cannot compete,the workers are brought in from rural areas to do factory work for 6 months, live in company housing and go back home for a short stay.
STATISTICS.
The population is 1,400 million people, last year 7 million left university,which was 160,000 more than the previous year.  The wage is approx $300-$400 per month for a lot of people.With that many people there has to be a cashed up middle class, they are unable to purchase more than a couple of home units therefore Australia for them is gold.

Saw a number of building sites of apartment towers, 40 storey and 24 towers being constructed at once,another site had 17 tower blocks.

BEIJING,22 million people, 6 million cars. How do you get mobile with a car.
1. Enter a lottery type deal, 2000 tickets are drawn every month, if your number comes up, a rego plate costs $10,000 Aust,you then can buy a car. But there is an odds and evens thing happening,you can only drive it every second day!!!.

SHANGAI. well there are , 32 million there and the rego plates are cheaper. How good is that.

WE CANNOT COMPETE, we are a country of 22 million, and I think there are 10 million tax payers among us and 12 million living of that tax take.

In closing an electric type VESPA scooter costs about $400 Aust and you can ride it 24 hours a day.

[Sorelegs11]

The biggest pfoblem in Oz that I can see is compliance costs, toolbox meetings , excessive OHS bullshit that in the long run repeats itself over and over again.
How is anybody supposed to make a dollar when you have the whole workforce sitting on their asses listening to some uni grad telling them for an hour  that if they dont wear goggles that they could get something in their eyes? 
Having to fill out a report because you have scratched your arm and it is bleeding a little.
I cut my hand a while back and it required a couple of stitches, made the mistake of going to the ambulance station to get a bandage on it so I could pack up my tools and call into the local hospital or quacks for some stitches, out comes MR Rescue and shovels me into the ambo for a 12k ride $850!, sat in the JHH for 6 hrs.Cost unknown but at a guess they would have slugged workcover at least a 2K. Went to woirk the next day and got on with things, pulled the stitches out the next week I received a phone call 6 weeks later asking if I was ready to go back to work, when I told her I had been working she tells me that I can be fined and cannot work without a clearance - $150!
If I had been a wage earner it woud have cost the boss at least 2K plus increased premium next year.
So conservately 5k for a 2 inch cut, why would you not want to shut shop!
Try getting an 18 year old , first year apprentice to listen yo anything.
While it is important that you come home after work every day, things will always go wrong at some time or another and when it does fining the boss everything that he made for the last 2 years is not good business.
And don't get me started on licencing and insurances.

I am at a loss at what future generations are going to do for work.

No wonder everything is shutting down.

[VMX247]

Agree with all of the above,TBM our government along with NZ have the lease support for farmers.In some Europeon countries if your wanting to expand or start a farm there governments will support with all equipnment needed.
Though we do have some of the worlds best health system,centre link/dole and lifestyles.
Cheers

[Lozza]

Contrast the different perspectives. For Labor and their unions branches, Holden and Ford are political problems. For the Liberals, this is an economic problem. No matter how much I read, I cannot not figure out what the core problems are.  Our partisian MSM offer little insight. As someone who has employed people, the biggest brake on progress in Australia , is the Industrial Relations systems. IR feeds the Labor party, and 10000s of lawyers and who knows what else. Just look at Fair Work.
Simply put, Australia is not a desirable place for doing business.

What a crock of shit. The biggest problem is managers giving themselves way to credit and a continual mentality that if something goes wrong it's all the workers fault, if something works it was all their brilliant management. the company I work for all the process/inititiaves/ management tools are templates bought from Bain and company in the USA. Not 1 original idea ever, why should a level 2 manager be paid $120k pa to read powerponit presentations?

When you can see how the Thai set up is , its not a surprise . They rezoned the whole area as a Tax free zone that includes all suppliers . Enkei (wheels) NGK (electrics) NOK (rubber) and so on . Taxes will then only apply for the local market , Export is completely free of tax.  To compete with that and cheap labor  is very hard or nearly impossible . Protection barriers would only be a band-aid and with all the global treaties in place , perhaps even illegal now . Hello new world . Like Topary said , we have to adapt quick , if we havent already .

The whole reason the 'special zones' get set up is to benefit cronies of the Government that sets them up. eg as Gina Rhinehart wanted to do the same thing in the Pilbra to benefit herself

If the car industry in Australia goes under will be a sad day and the whole country will  hurt. Instaed of finger pointing lets hear some solutions. First is buy an Australian car.

[VMX247]

First is buy an Australian car.

And Australian VMX bike parts   

LIVE:No decision has been made from Holden.Sunrise 9am est

[Nathan S]

Our current standard of living is the brief period of time where we effectively spend the capital earned, but before our poor international competitiveness catches up with us.

The only way from here is down, as the Americans have shown - the real issues are:
1. How soon we realise this, and stop carrying on like a bunch of spoiled brats (the "doing it tough" mantra is a clear example of this).
2. How gently we can manage the decline.

It is an inevitable outcome of globalisation that the overall standard of living across the world will average out... The average standard of living in India and China will rise, while the western world's standard will decline.
The most effective way for Australia and other developed countries to combat this is to minimise inequality within our population - ensure we have a workforce with a good standard of education, and who remain active in the domestic economy. Once we start discarding people as "unproductive", and effectively remove them from the economy/productive workforce, then we put ourselves at a huge disadvantage globally.

Basically, the American model is suicide for our country. We all need to get over this bleating "I pay too much tax" attitude - the reality is that we are a lightly taxed nation, and we all benefit when everyone pays more tax...