Hasbeen:>> Sonofgloin, you should remember that those tariffs only supported the blue collar workers of NSW & Victoria. All the the rest of the population, & particularly the other states were much poorer for that transfer of wealth to manufacturing.<<

Hasbeen, I can't see that. When you have an active manufacturing base the raw material suppliers, the logistic guys, and a load of other people who support that manufacturing base prosper, manufacturing begets other jobs, the flow on effect.

Because of free trade agreements we now import fruit and meat from countries with diseases that our island has been free of and we make nothing here because of these treasonous agreements. It may be a global economy, but nations go broke individually not globally. Sending manufacturing to cheaper climes only benefits the corporates. They ship it across the world and are still cheaper than locally produced products. Protectionism is good for a national but bad for a global corporate entity, and that suits me fine.

>>As a bloke who worked in industrial raw materials, [plastics] when we lead the world in developing new applications, & techniques, I hated to see our industry die. However you must remember that an FJ Holden was over a year’s income for many. Imports have reduced prices.<<

Our CSIRO was considered a world leader among research centre’s, and we took all the funding from it as manufacturing closed down, nothing left to research, here anyway. Have you heard of them lately?

Re the car, modern production techniques have more to do with the cost, all mass produced products are cheaper than their counter part of 50 years ago. Hasbeen there is no positive aspect for a society if manufacturing ends and we buy everything from overseas. Right now if we did not dig and grow we would be stuffed when it comes to balance of trade. We would not be able to afford even the cheap imports.

You know we have a serious problem when it costs more to have an Aussie look at your broken powertool, than it does to buy a new imported one.

There is a simple answer.

Stop cheap imports!

Now, there are those who say, "if we don't buy from them, they won't buy from us"

Well, we have one thing they don't, resourses.

rehctub:>> Stop cheap imports!
Now, there are those who say, "if we don't buy from them, they won't buy from us"
Well, we have one thing they don't, resourses.<<

The problem is we cannot legally stop the importation of cheap goods; we have signed away our rights with the free trade agreements. If we said no more imports tomorrow we would be taken to World Court as the defendant and we would lose. We have signed away our national sovereignty, rehctub it is against the law to do what you suggest but that is what must be done.

*Stop cheap imports!*

Ah Rehctub, that is easy to say, for you who are rich!

What about the pensioner mum who needs clothes for her
kids? She could not afford Australian made clothes.

What about the old age pensioner who wants a few power
tools to do a bit of work around the place? He
could not afford Australian made.

What if you had to pay 8000$ for your Aussie made
computer?

The biggest beneficiaries of globalisation are in
fact consumers.

Yabby,

Without agreeing or disagreeing with you, we need extensive studies to show whether trends over the past three decades have delivered benefits, including for families starting off today.

Sure, those supporting freer trade, including myself, can point to many benefits, but i am sure that much counter evidence also exists.

*manufacturing begets other jobs, the flow on effect.*

Manufacturing also costs other jobs. It adds costs to
efficient producers, making them less efficient and less
able to compete globally. So you have a downward spiral.

If I have to buy your crappy and expensive products,
just because you want protection, then I as an exporter
will be less able to compete globally. We have seen
it all before.

It is rubbish to suggest that its all down to low wages.
Germany up until recently was the largest exporter on
the planet. The US, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, all major
exporters of manufactured products.

Even Singapore and HK have high wages and are still major
exporters.

Where we have a problem, is all our bells and whistles.
If I am a manufacturer and the market changes, I need
to dismiss staff as I missed out on the contract, I
cannot just dismiss them. They want their entitlements,
like termination payments, which can bankrupt the company.

Robert Gottliebson highlighted a number of these cases,
during the GFC, where it was easier to shut the whole
company down and stop manufacturing, then to scale down
in size and adjust to the market. Bells and whistles were
the problem.

Protectionism solves nothing, it just increases costs
to both consumers and to efficient producers and
exporters.