And this guy lectures at RMIT? As his article shows, Binoy Kampmark, like Marx before him, has no real idea how the capitalist system or innovation works, and is only faintly aware of trends in international trade. One of the big stories of recent years has been the way technology has changed our way of life - but the iPhone and laptops most emphatically did not come from government departments. Sure the innovators might have been given for government grants, if some government is fool enough to hand them out why not? A few individual innovations (Wi-Fi) might have also come from government researchers. But when it comes to packaging it all up into a highly useful device and putting it into the hands of consumers at a (hopefully) reasonable price, there is nothing to beat a free enterprise system filled with companies run by people who want to get rich, and with access to funds through venture capital firms and stock markets.

As for the business about free trade and issues like dumping, a would urge Kampmark to read up on how Australia reformed its highly protectionist, uncompetitive economy starting from the 1970s, including the use of anti-dumping legislation.

This is what's wrong with this nation and it's alleged leaders? Allowing other folk to decide our economic fate! Or allow ourselves to become dependant of the whim and caprice of various media personalities and power addicted autocrats!

It should never ever come to that! We got to seize the day, or the bull by the horns! And get cracking, almost as if there's no time to lose! Cos there ain't!

We need to get busy developing our own (MSR) nuclear power, and through it a reliable supply of whenever we want it! WATER!

Just get those two right and on the back of installed (govt. financed and facilitated) cooperative capitalism, and all else (snowballing prosperity) will follow.

Want we don't need at this juncture is a lot of extra mouths to feed or folks to house! And should just make sure we proceed with the necessary infrastructure roll out etc. Before we add more fully imported folk from wherever to the list of dependants that we'll need to support, with a mandatory universal wage, as the economy is automated!

And that could be a virtually done deal in just the next fifty years? If we haven't turned the joint into a crisp, fighting (each other) for artificially scarce resources, in the meantime!
Alan B.

Binoy, just stop & think a moment. Then tell me one thing in recent times, say since the Snowy scheme, that government has done, that has helped real industry, or contributed to prosperity.

Times is up, & you haven't managed a single thing.

Now do the same where government has stuffed up, & cost industry, jobs & the ordinary taxpayer. This one is easy. Look at schemes like cash for clunkers, hugely difficult approval processes to get any business up & running, & pink bats. The list is endless.

Then go further & look at the stupidity of picking winners. They promoted diesel cars for 10 years, even subsidising them, & penalising petrol car owners. Yep it took 10 years for sensible, knowledge people to get through the greenie ratbag rhetoric, & get that overturned.

Even that was not enough, now they are pushing the next catastrophe of electric cars, with subsidies etc.

Then we have solar & wind power. That stupidity has pushed our power costs up by 150%, & lead to the grid being unstable. All it needs is for some government ratbag in Queensland to blow up a single coal fired power station here, South Oz style, & the whole grid comes crashing down. The southern states combined can't meet demand without supply from our coal powered electricity.

The best way government could help would be to terminate all Qangos, sack half the bureaucrats, close half the universities, [but open more TAFE], & get the hell out of the way of the people who have a clue, & want to produce.

Didn't know we subsidised the production of diesel cars? If we did? Why aren't there more of them?

Seriously, electric cars are the future and that being so, we should make the ones we drive, right here. And doable without subsidising foreign owned production! If it's done with truly affordable power and cooperative enterprise! I dare say, none cheaper/least costly to run!?

Co-ops stood almost alone during the Great Depression as the one free market, private enterprise, most efficient, most productive business model, to largely survive that economic catastrophe, mostly intact!

Those who've driven electric cars say, almost to a generic man, they'd never ever drive a petrol or diesel powered car again.

Thermal coal has a very limited and transitory future. Not in power production but in the creation of homemade alternative diesel, jet fuel, petrol or gas! And phased out completely. In around 30-40 years?

We stand almost alone with just 49 days worth of reserve fuel? While other nations comply with their treaty obligations and at least 90 day's supply.

We should opt for complete fuel independence! Why? Because we can!
Alan B.

The only 'free' trade we Australians need to concern ourselves with is the dodgy deal with China that honorary Chinaman, Andrew Robb, signed us up to before he left politics for big bucks working for China. It had nothing to do with trade, but it had a lot to with upping the amount the People's Republic of China and, therefore, the Chinese Communist Party could invest in Australia and allowed the PRC and CCP to buy more farm land and strategic ports. It also means that universities can beg for more CCP money, which allows more Chinese spying and theft of commercial and military secrets from Australia.