http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/liberals-threaten-tony-abbott-on-trade/story-e6freuzi-1226125968355
This mornings links, both of them, give me great heart.
Believe it or not, I understand politics is never going to have one side haveing all the answers.
I see the faults of my side and both fear them, and look for better.
I see too those on the other side, fear? far more than that! it terrorizes me, to see LIBERALISM dragged so far away from its own ground.
To see a Conservative leader use free trade free market forces as a club!
Unbelievable, breathtaking.
But spring is in the air.
Tony's yes no maybe, his lies, yes far more than Gillards even, are coming to roost.
Few will believe me, but both sides have contributed to our country's growth.
At times silliness from with in my side harms us.
Right now, Liberal/National policy's of attack before thinking, not thinking at all, thread subjects like this blindly telling us our gains should be put back 30 years?
Calm Belly, change is coming, one side gets a head start on the other by changing leaders then the other soon please soon.

Come now Shadow Minister!
This Shallow thread made assertions!
Ones that threaten the very basics of your party!
I offered here a rare element.
But one this country yearns for.
True debate on a subject.
Is your absence evidence you are uninterested in that?
Those links are of the greatest interest and offer hope.
To Conservatives more than any other group.
It says, Conservatives may well be returning from the dark place Tony Abbott and a lost few lead them.
You make the smallest pimple a mountain against Labor.
Here now, is your chance to at last, do what I always have.
Look deeply at the concerns others have,you should have, at your party's direction.
Here is a cross road what way would you recommend,or are you in hiding?

Labor is giving the Steel industry $100m to help adapt to protect future jobs. This protection. protectionism is raising import tariffs. For Labor to accuse Abbott of advocating protectionism is pure hypocrisy considering the promises they have made.

Abbott is not advocating protectionism, only methods of protecting manufacturing, which would involve reducing manufacturing costs.

My personal opinion is that I would remove as many barriers to profitability as possible, such as payroll tax, carbon tax, and restrictive labor laws and offer no subsidy.

I would however, welcome debate on the issue that an inquiry by the productivity commission would generate.

Shadow Minister, lets be honest, we all sledge here.
Some as in a shouted bar room brawl well in to the night.
Others with out even that drunken help get a word in.
But here you take a refined swing, we no longer play verbal tennis.
You have turned it to Cricket and taken on the persona of Geoffry Boycott and the Great Dr Grace.
Like him having been clean bowled first ball,you inform me others came here to see you bat, not me bowl.
My links are to your party's Journal The Australian.
From your heartland comes the very charge you lay at my party's door.
I think the answer is not in protectionism.
Not in grants to continue producing products that cost much more than imports.
I have no answers,ten years from now,what ever party is in power, without change, innovation, we will still be looking for them.

It seems that no one is listening.
I recently read an article about how hard it is for people to accept
as real something that is going to change their whole world ideas.

I will say it again;
Manufacturing will return to Australia. It will not be a matter of
international treaties, IMFs, WTOs or any other alphabetical soup.

It will happen, and in fact it has already started, because the cost
of transport will put mass container shipping out of the reach of the
buyers of, at first bulky products and then gradually more compact and
expensive goods.

Here is the message from on high;
Globalisation is ending.

Suggested reading;
Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller by Jeff Rubin.

Utube has a number of his talks on the subject.
Tight supplies of fuel especially bunker fuel is expected late this
year or in the next 12 months. Diesel/bunker fuel mix is available
but it is very expensive and ships are sailing at 14 knots instead of
25 knots. That puts the crewing costs up, but like the airlines they
are in the same crew cost/ fuel cost crunch.

The discussion in the future will be how do we manage the transition
from an import orientated industry to a high tech manufacturing
economy. Think of all those now retired electronics manufacturing
people that were put out to graze 25 years or so ago.
Who is going to train all the people needed to bootstrap up the new
industries. All those school leavers that only want computer jobs
will be in for a shock.

Watch this space.

Belly,

For once I agree. The economic landscape is changing, and so in order to prevent the country from becoming a mining / service industry nation, there needs to be an all encompassing review of the conditions under which manufacturing is failing and what is needed to allow it to flourish. At this point no subject should be taboo, and everything should be on the table, including:

1 Taxes, payroll, council, carbon, etc.
2 infrastructure, transport, communications etc
3 Labour training sourcing, and legislation.