I cannot help but wonder, if the bosses of business know something that we do not?

Why are there a number of businesses off loading assets, like Shell or bailing out of this country altogether, such as the car manufacturers?

More importantly what does it mean for the future of Australia?

Are these businesses like the proverbial rats deserting the sinking ship?

Yep, but why would any company hang around to lose money.

When energy got too dear, they got out of the US. Now the fracking boom has brought energy costs to something more reasonable, they are flooding back home, followed by the Germans, deserting the sinking ship of Europe. BMW & a large German chemical company have just announced new plants to be built in the land of the free.

Unlikely to happen here, we won't let free enterprise price energy. Our only chance is the other way. Only if ocean transport becomes too expensive to import goods, as it was 50 years ago, will we see local production grow again. Fortunately we have a huge amount of shale gas.

Isn't it typical of Labor governments that they rip us off with stupid energy costs, then use even more money to try to keep the union jobs.

Talk about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

Always profits rule.
And always these firms had no intention of giving money away and had plans to go.
Our dollar drove them away.
And very cheap labour in other countrys

Too true Belly.
I suspect in twenty years time we will not recognise the Australia we have known.
It will be a very different place.
SD

Wolly B.
Our oil production fell from near 1 million barrels a day in 2000.
It is now 450,000 barrels a day and falling at about 6% per year.
There is no point in having six or seven oil refineries operating with
such writing on the wall.
All refineries will be closed on the next couple of years.
Then 100% of petrol & diesel will be imported with all the supply risks that implies.
It is all symptoms of the fact that we have arrived at peak oil.
Companies like Shell have been spending very large increased amounts
of money on search but to no avail, their resources have been falling for years.

Welcome to the post peak oil world.

Wooly B, when businesses here are called upon to pay the highest wages, provide the best working conditions, then get hit with a great big tax, not to mention a HUGE SLICE of profits if you're a miner, the time comes when the risks simply outweigh the rewards, and that thine has come.

As for the high dollar, if governments were to put mechanisms in place to protect business from the rising dollar, I doubt that would make them stay.

The fact is that every single expense here is too high. Not only that, but their own government won't buy locally made cars, so what hope do they have.