Nice article - clear, concise and sensible. I doubt it will persuade the protectionists, though.

I would argue that the national interest (GDP) and full employment are equally if not more important than individual enterprise or employee interest, and that targetted, strings-attached (eg conditional loan) subsidy or support can both assist in and promote technological innovation and productivity enhancement.

The author's model appears to assume a shortage of skilled labour, a lackadaisical and irresponsible board and management style, an uncaring and sloppy labour mentality, and an intellectually stilted and debt-ridden government. None of these should be assumed as a national generality, and, to the contrary, would tend to be the exception rather than the rule in this highly competitive, dog-eat-dog industrial environment.

The author's model also acts to restrict industry and commercial development to private equity and speculative investment, with the danger of possibly promoting speculative "bubbles", such as the dot.com rort or the U.S. financial sector driven GFC (albeit with Fannie May and Freddie Mack in the mix).

Many successful and dynamic enterprises have received government (public sector) support or investment at some stage in their development (tax breaks, subsidies, or tariff protection), and by their continued success prove the error in the author's general assertion that public involvement is a recipe for poor performance. Of course there are many current examples of poor government investment, which are wasteful, and which distort free-trade and the so-called level playing field - such as U.S. and European agricultural guarantees and subsidies - but these still do not prove the rule, but rather prove how public funds should not be allocated.

Private investment will almost always insist upon, and hence be conditional upon, a short to medium term return, whereas governments can, and must, take a longer view. As with educational and social infrastructure development, governments can and must take a proactive role in the advancement of the nation's industrial and commercial development future - with vision and wisdom.

Australians are their own worst enemy, bye Australian.