Yabby,

I wonder how many of the mining companies operating in WA that you enthuse about are actually multi-nationals.

Much of "free trade" actually means competition by local companies against multi-nationals.

The small banana grower in the Philippines probably sells his product to a multi-national, who then exports it around the world.

For free trade, read multi-national.

And if we keep importing everything, eventually we just become workforce fodder for faceless multi-nationals, and consumers of their products.

Continuous importation eventually means no identity.

*I wonder how many of the mining companies operating in WA that you enthuse about are actually multi-nationals.*

Oh lots of them. So what? BHP is a multi national. Its the world's
biggest mining company. Its also mostly owned by Australians.
If you have superannuation Vanna, then you too would be a part
owner of BHP. For that is who owns most of the multi nationals.

If a company makes good software, or good anything, why should they
not sell it around the world if they can?

CSL, Boral, CSR, our big banks operating in Britain, Asia and NZ,
many Australian miners operating in Africa, Austal, Amcor, Westfield,
Bluescope, etc, all Australian companies operating in other countries.

*And if we keep importing everything, eventually we just become workforce fodder for faceless multi-nationals, and consumers of their products.*

Well as you can see from the above, we also own many of them. They
send their profits back to Australian shareholders and our tax office
here. Better that way, then as it used to be, when most of Australia
was owned by British investors.

If you don't just want to be workforce fodder Vanna, you are free
to be a part owner in just about any multi national. Just buy
some shares with your hard earned savings. Then they will send you
too, a share of any profits, if they make one

Sadly many Australians would rather gamble away 20 billion bucks
a year on the pokies and other gambling, rather then invest in
Australia's future and own part of our industries.

For those interested, this weekend's Weekend Financial Review
has a 3 page article about what business fears most: no workers!

They are short of engineers, all the trades, healthcare workers,
accountants, you name it.

It just blows me away that parents don't get it through to their
kids, that if they want to do ok in life, so learn a trade, learn
a skill, become qualified in something.

Flipping burgers just ain't going to do it. So we are forced to
import skilled workers by the hundreds of thousands. In Perth they
even had to import such basic occupations as policemen!

That is why economies like Germany, Switzerland and others power
ahead. Their kids learn skills. Australia just hasn't twigged
yet and then we get all the nonsense on this thread, about the
unemployed.

Yabby,

Cross off of CSR sugar. Now owned by an Asian company.

There is a skills shortage, and not necessarily the fault of the population.

Most skills rely on science and maths (and even nurses now have to have part of a science degree) but maths and science have been almost eliminated from education systems (too male).

Someone can actually enroll in teachers training college without having done maths and science in grades 11 and 12. They know very little of maths and science, and when they become teachers, they teach almost no maths and science to their students.

The end results of that system: - In QLD it was found that 15 year old students had the lowest level of interest in science out of the students in 41 OECD countries.

The teachers then expect the public to pay them more and more for knowing less and less, and teaching less and less.

Meanwhile I have never known any teacher to place any priority on purchasing anything from Australian companies.

*Cross off of CSR sugar. Now owned by an Asian company.*

Not yet Vanna, but they have made an offer. But then CSR split, went
to America and made a fortune in cement. That was eventually sold
to Cemex of Mexico for a record price, just before the crash of
the American housing market. My super fund had shares in them,
they quadrupled in value. All money coming back to Australia!
My point was our companies make money in other markets too.

*There is a skills shortage, and not necessarily the fault of the population.*

Well yes it is the fault of the population. There are good reasons
why Asians rush to study. Asia has known hard times, they know
what qualifications are worth. Aussies have really had it too easy,
no worries, we'll just flip burgers, bugger the study. Then they
complain about jobs. Duh.

My niece did engineering, so it's possible to do it at schools etc.
here.

Yabby,

The offer has been accepted, just the paper work to be completed.

Bundaberg sugar has gone (now owned by a Belgium company), and CSR is about to go (to be owned by a Singapore based company). Quite a lot of the sugar industry is about to become foreign owned, including all of the packaged sugar you buy from the supermarket for you coffee, and most of the ethanol if you purchase ethanol blend for your car.

The country that is called Australia is just a potpourri of multi-national ownership.