Foxy my sweet, I'm afraid it just doesn't work that way any more. The days of welding up a chassis, bunging some axles, wheels a motor a few other bits & a body together, & calling it a car are long gone, unfortunately.

Today even many of the major manufacturers can not afford to develop a new car. It costs hundreds of millions. They often share the development of a new platform between 2 or even three competing manufacturers to be able to afford it. hence the Ford Fiesta & the Mazda 2 share the same basic structure, with styling & accessories making the difference between them.

To start with, one of the reasons Holden became unviable was the cost of developing the new Commodore. As the only GM mid range rear drive large car left in the world, they had to do it all here. The sales just did not pay for that development cost.

The stupidity was in giving the company hundreds of millions, rather than buy their cars. Once government preferred buying imported cars, Ford & Holden were dead men walking.

Today a privatized Telstra does three times as much work, with one third the staff that it did while a government department/enterprise. The reason for selling it off was to get some efficiency, not to get the money. Give GMH to government bureaucrats to run, & not only would you be likely to get a car with all wheels at one end, & none at the other, but bureaucrats would require 5 times the labor force, & six times the number of managers, & would still get it wrong.

Sorry, but government won't work.

I'll bet GM would prefer to give the Oz branch to the workers in lieu of redundancy payments, but do you think that would be acceptable.

The union controlled industrial relations what ever it's called these days just ruled that Toyota can not talk to it's workers about schemes to help them stay open. Sounds like the Poms, when their unions destroyed their own jobs.

A wry grin remembering the Ruddy fool and Julia Whatshername sitting up feeling important in their chauffeur driven fuel-guzzling limos while disbursing millions of taxpayers $$ to car manufacturers (Gee thanks,lady) to make more of the same.

When Julia Whatshername and the Ruddy fool should have been in a sustainable Toyota Prius instead and encouraging the General, Ford and others to build green cars for Oz and export.

Australia could have developed the niche hybrid and electric cars.

Still, Julia Whatshername and the Ruddy fool had their 'tickets to ride' so to speak. Which took the form of their exclusive luxury VIP jets, where they looked through glossy brochures to up-date the VIP fleet.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2012/12/09/vip-fleet-choice-more-about-size-of-pms-entourage-than-make-of-jet/

It was always a question of priorities. For Julia Whatshername, Rudd, Carr and their mates it was self interest that always came first (and last, from their travel-fest at the end of their reign). For the long-suffering workers and taxpayers it was always spin and 'Never you mind'.

Dear Hassie,

Thanks for the explanation. It's unfortunate that Australia's
political parties don't have the nouse to see a broader
picture in the interests of the nation's manufacturing and
industrial growth.

Very curious, sorry fir the delay, I only just caught you post.....

Hey Butch,
You know you are right. You've opened my eyes. The unions.

A miracle "Ping"

Instant diagnosis Butch; Always right and never wrong.

Sorry Butch it's incurable

So what's inaccurate?

The base rate fir these Holden workers is $60K + all the add ons. They earn around $80 to $200K.

They have one union delegate to every six staff, the norm is one to 25.

These union delegates get ten day off each year (full pay) for training how to implement the union rules.

Their drug policy, and this is a doozy, if a worker gets tested posetive for drugs, rather than being sacked, they get four weeks off (full pay) for council-ing.

And of cause, if they do get put off, as it looks likely they will, they will receive between $300 and $500 K each in redundancy.

A union induced scandal.

If Tony Abbott were to inject funds, the unions would have to bring the work place back to the real world first, and of cause that's never going to happen is it VC.

he..wont be able to bear the cost

un limited 'growth'
simply..isnt sustainable....
[recall china is monetary easing 4 fold usa]..

A paper currency system contains the seeds of its own destruction. The temptation for the monopolist money producer to increase the money supply is almost irresistible. In such a system with a constantly increasing money supply and, as a consequence, constantly increasing prices, it does not make much sense to save in cash to purchase assets later. A better strategy, given this senario, is to go into debt to purchase assets and pay back the debts later with a devalued currency.

THAT MEANS HYPER INFLATION..
which means screwing more personal debt upon the unborn
http://www.infowars.com/how-the-paper-money-experiment-will-end/

"That this House considers that the continued issue of all the means of exchange - be they coin, bank-notes or credit, largely passed on by cheques - by private firms as an interest-bearing debt against the public should cease forthwith; that the Sovereign power and duty of issuing money in all forms should be returned to the Crown, then to be put into circulation free of all debt and interest obligations..." -- Captain Henry Kerby MP, in an Early Day Motion tabled in 1964.

task..them should bankers..or govt run the money system
[when..that dont wake them..up..i would ask them..re EASY credit
yet exorbitant credit card intrest rates

[ie..usa debt..is/now so huge..there cant EVER..be issued enough..of it to even repay..the intrest..let alone the principle

[lest we forget..ALL money..is only *created..
by SOMEONE..going into..debt..i would ask/them..how much.more personal debt..can you afford..to minimum payment..on..[and who will pay..it..after your dead.

i would remind/them..their children..will/NEED to repay..their debts
plus their education/costs..[hex/debt]on-top of parental debt..and at what stage..do they see their kids being born..into a pre birth debt
hockies 9 billion..gift..to the fed..

but..only dropped..our dollar 2 cents..but increased our real/debt..by,..20..billion

can..one owe..anything..for what..one didnt gain/the benefit of?
is it right..the dead suck..the life blood[credit]..from..the unborn?

http://www.infowars.com/stefan-molyneux-discusses-our-current-place-in-human-history/

lest..we forget..the thousands of ;edward..snowdens
using the spying info..to insider trade..ya dont..think..any of the watchers..are insider trading..onthe info?
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/12/bankers-arrested-civil-war-averted.ht

Who needs Holden anyway. The fools on the highway in the v8 monsters, poor man's Maserati?, The hoons in the suburban back streets, The engine howlers at the street lights waiting to burn off some poor old lady, your mother or my mother?
Any money poured into Holden will go into the redundancy pay packets not into production.
Goodbye Holden and thank you Unions.