It’s not just the interest rate Belly, although I expect that has an effect. Much of that money is coming in not for profit, but for safety.

With the US & Europe printing money like there is no tomorrow, they are fuelling inflation in their economies, leading to a lowering of their exchange rate. Not much good getting few percent in interest, if you are going to loose 10s of percent when you take your money home.

The US dollar is no longer seen as a safe appreciating currency. Some of the people who would park their cash in US dollars, while things were troubled, are now using Oz as a safe parking place. The fact that our dollar has been appreciating is so much the better. For this reason, dropping interest rates, even to almost zero, is unlikely to affect our exchange rate, at least in the foreseeable future.

Our mining is proving to be a bit of a forked stick. Without it we’re a banana republic, with stuff all foreign earnings & income. With it we destroy our manufacturing industry, & all those jobs that go with it.

Now is the time a smart PM & treasurer would be nice, if only we could be sure their actions were to help the average Ozzie, rather than some elite cause.

Bazz, Hasbeen, I think differently but am just as likely to be wrong as any one.
High Australian Dollar, well I believe trading in currency is a blight on us all, and our interest rates are directly linked to the dollars value.
Bazz please consider, knowing I am unhappy with Labors current position and impending defeat.
Our debt, our current position is far better than most country's.
We, because mostly good choices Rudd made, he made some bad ones, rode that event so well, we forget its impacts on the world.
And post election, voices from within the new government will tell us so, Liberals.
Fan clubs, both sides have them, as is evident with yesterdays support for Gillard, have no impact, change nothing, if they number less than the numbers disagreeing.
I too fear/think this scheme has the Gillard brand on it, empty headed not thought out , and is designed to try to get grass roots unions/workers to chase a carrot.
True reform and leadership would make better carrot.

Well yes Belly I hear your sadness and I share it to a considerable extent.
My sadness is because I don't believe the Liberal Party has the answers
to our problem either. In their case it is because they have not seen
the problem even though it is staring them in the face.

Of the two parties the Labour party is tied too tightly to its roots to
be able to do what is necessary and hopefully the Liberal party may be
free to act when finally it hits them between the eyes.
You are aware of what I have been saying for a while, but what I did
not realise is that these other functions are also active in compromising our economy.
I had a fairly narrow view of what is happening, although my view is the central problem.

Belly and Bazz,
The latest job creation suggestions are simply a carrot. We decimated our manufacturing industry when we abolished tarriffs. Now we import garbage. Try to buy quality garden tools now? a garden fork when trying to lever out the sod, the bloody things just bend. Same with most imports, just rubbish. Saw last night that now 70% of seafood is now imported, and we have, and are. covering good farming land with bitumen, concrete and houses. We have gone from an economy based on primary and manufacturing to one based on retail sales of imported products. The exception is minerals, which got us through the GFC.

Instead of providing funds to overseas countries we should be looking after our own people. We should cut immigration, but we wont because both major parties are in the pockets of big business and they want increased sales of consumer goods.

Dont want to rub it in, but the last 5 years have really been a gigantic stuff up. Old time Labor leaders would be turning in their graves.

Loans have to be paid back, unless interest is continued to be paid. So the next governments will not have a surplus to build any infastructure much. So the future does not look good for the next generations.

Belly,

From what I have seen of this policy, it is pure window dressing that will simply add cost and delay to projects and give very little extra to local manufacturers.

Most project and other buyers already would prefer to buy locally, however the main reason people buy from overseas is because it is far cheaper. For example, steel from China is half the price of local steel.

Major companies will spend millions documenting why they buy from overseas, yet cannot be forced to spend one more cent locally without breaching trade laws.

Banjo, I am hoping to write something about globalisation and give a
reference to a very illuminating article when I finish reading it and
think I understand it.

BTW, oil is $135 a barrel today, & that's why the price at the pump is
$1.56. If it does not fall soon we will have a recession around late March or April.
If it only backs off a little a recession will come between July &
October, just in time for the election.
It will not be the governments fault, it is just the way it has always been.