I ask this question simply because there is little talk either in politics or the media about the pending closure of our car industries.

I think it's fair to say this will be the single biggest event of its kind in our countries modern history and given some experts suggest we are on an unavoidable course for a recession already, I fear what may come of this little talked about event, at least in politics and main stream media. It is also one of the reasons I am opposed to Labor's proposed drastic changes to negative gearing, as the last thing we can afford is to gamble with one of the few sectors that are actually do quite well.

How do you think we will cope with potential job losses in the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands through the fallout effects on supporting industries.

rehctub,

Do you recall Hockey practically daring the car manufacturers to bugger off?

Do you recall Abbott describing car workers who were looking down the barrel of lay offs as being "liberated"?

All those FTAs the govt is so proud of seem to be the catalyst for allowing the Oz car industry to sink.

Farewell Holden and farewell Ford, I won't miss you and I own a Holden; which mechanically is OK but in general design is lamentable and has some features that are downright stupid,

The loss of the car industry was inevitable. That's why it's not being talked about. Australia can no longer compete industrially. What else is there to say?

Previously Australia did not need to compete with local product against imported product.

it change to trade barriers that is causing loss of car manufacturing in Australia.

Even the oil refineries have moved offshore to cheaper labour.

A significant factor not being talked about is export of Australian dollars to import cars, whereas previously most of such money was turned over and over in Australia and did not leave our shores.

What's wrong here anyway?
Sweeden has only 9 million people but produces quality Volvo car and trucks exported worldwide.
Why can't 24 million Australians do similar, say with a quality mustang type 4 WD.

Too many knockers here maybe.

What I find abhorrent about welfare for the car manufactures, holden in particular, is that they manufacture cars here for the US market then they sell those cars in the US for half what we Australians pay for the Australian version of car that sells here.

What I also find abhorrent about the car manufacturers claiming corporate welfare, is that they claim they have no economy of scale here in Australia but they absolutely refuse to get together and agree on uniform specifications of many car parts that are not selling points, cosmetically necessary or performance related.

Examples off the top of my head are:

standard rim sizes with standard PCD of wheel studs, why not 3 or 4 standard sizes? Some wheel stud PCDs vary by 0.75mm. Why should the car makers get corporate welfare for this kind of efficiency?
standard wheel stud thread and retaining nut specification
accelerator and brake pedal sizes, eg 2 or 3 standard sizes.
steering wheels, eg 2-3 standard steering wheels.
indicator bulbs, why not have one uniform specification for all passenger cars? Why should the makers get corporate welfare payments for such inefficiency?

To say nothing about the environmental impact of high wastage rates of car parts due to their non-interchangeability between car makes and models.

Why should the makers get corporate welfare payments for such poor environmental performance?

I don't know how well we will cope with the job losses, but I'm sure it will have a serious and lasting effect.

I agree with Referundemdrivensocienty.
I think sometimes capitalism only takes us so far before consumerism actually does us harm.
Why do we have so many different models of cars, tv's, mobile phones and everything else, all being updated and upgraded every single year just for the sake of consumerism.
Why can't we just make one model, make it good, and make it last, how much would that save?
People are paying over $10,000 just for an old Gemini these days, we should've just kept building them without bothering with all the new development costs.
Could've sold them at half the price of today's cars.
So I agree, there's a lot of pointless inefficiency and waste in the name of consumerism.

And it sucks we pay twice as much as the US for our own cars.

Butch, there is one word that is at the genesis of our dismantling of every manufacturing industry we have built ..........tariff .......when both sides of parliament adopted the Lima Agreement in the mid 70’s, all was lost. The agreement spells out the deconstruction of manufacturing in favour of second and third world nations.

The UN called it global redistribution of assets,it was meant to raise the living standards of the second and third world nations, but it simply turned the poor subsistence farmer into the poor subsistence factory worker. Now the banks and their rich associates own it all. Protectionism is the only way to solve all our debt and employment problems. But that will not happen as all politicians serve those who implimented the global monetary system.

You are all going to have to move on.

Because the new kid on the block for a right royal spanking by the chatterati is subs, French ones.

The meeja will be able to play that one from all angles and of course everything is already wrong.

The meeja needs to spin controversy for cheap 'news', manufactured daily by tabloid reporters and by the ABC's overpaid 'Gotcha' Grrls, whose tediously long and slanted introductions are far more important than any answer the interviewee might give.

The Aus market has always been far too small to manufacture cars, and the only reason that the car industry originally survived is because there were massive import tariffs imposed on importing cars >50% which had the effect of imposing a tax on car purchases.

When Aus became part of the WTO system, import duties were steadily reduced until car manufacturing couldn't survive without huge subsidies, and local car sales slowly slipped.

For example, from 2007 to 2013, 3/4 of jobs in the car manufacturing industry were lost, and 2/4 of the car companies announced their closure. The final closure of the last 2 was inevitable.

While some jobs have been lost, Australians now get cheaper and better cars.

Have Australian's forgotten Australian's can make quality goods just as any other people or country can?
Export could make Australian designed and owned and operated car manufacturing viable and profitable.

Is this all just about jobs for SA?

Are Australian's forgetting their math education in knowing 12 submarines costing $50 billion will cost $4.5 billion each?
How can $4.5 billion be spent on what to build one submarine?
Then of course there will likely be the under-budget cost.

Submarines will produce nothing for export except coffins to bring out DEFENCE servicemen and women home from INVASION of other countries.

If South Australia wants employment using steel then mill and coat steel to build aqueduct to transport water from wet season regions to farmers throughout Australia.
SA could would likely even get a modern new steel mill to make quality steel for aqueduct that could even be exported worldwide.

It is water and rural industry that will produce export product and business and employment in this food producing nation Australia.
Or have we forgotten that also?

To ensure that after WW2 there was employment for returning servicemen and no return to the depression conditions that had been relieved by the government deficit spending in the war effort, the Chifley Government decided that a manufacturing industry producing consumer goods (and some capital goods) was essential. Thus the motor industry, the white-goods industry, and even the rail rolling stock industry had to be created. That annoyed foreign companies left out in the cold and the so called free trade agreements came into being to reverse those earlier government decisions.

The steel industry expanded because a market for sheet steel was created. Once those industries are curtailed there will be no Australian market for domestically produced steel products. Once the steel industry collapses through lack of market demand there will be no way back

The ISDS clauses in the TPP Agreement are designed to prevent governments making decisions that might in future benefit the citizens of a country to the disadvantage of foreign companies. Australia's Our Current Account will further deteriorate and we will become Paul Keating's 'banana republic' and the white trash of Asia.

If you do not understand the role, in a mixed economy, of a currency issuing sovereign government you need to read at least J.D.Alt's article titled 'Mobilization and Money' at neweconomicperspectives and Prof. Mazzucato's book, The Entrepreneurial Estate'.

The Aus market has always been far too small to manufacture cars, and the only reason that the car industry originally survived is because there were massive import tariffs imposed on importing cars >50% which had the effect of imposing a tax on car purchases.

Posted by Shadow Minister, Monday, 2 May 2016 8:08:09 AM

I cannot agree with this. The problem is why did Australian companies set out out to compete with the worlds best at producing the same thing as they do?

It can be clearly seen with hindsight that Australia place in the world auto industry should have been in 4MD technology and mining equipment. At the time the Australian car manufacturers were established, Australia was the outback country in the world, for an industrialized nation. There were no sealed roads across the nation and most seald roads went no further than a few hundred miles.

This occurred because the American car manufactures did not give a stuff about Australia's interests, only their own.

The Australian govt was also at fault for not asking the question "where is Australias place in the world auto industry and what can we do differently, better and uniquely?"

Due to these failures, we tax payers have been paying out how many billions? of corporate welfare to American and now Japanese companies for decades.

Instead of crying over spilt milk, why not discuss some possible solutions.
What about government providing interest free start up capital to buy the vehicle manufacturing plants before they are dismantled?
What about interest free loans to plant workers to invest in their place of work?
It's not handout mentality. I could be investment in Australian people and Australian industry.
There must be away instead of giving up.

R & JF,

The Aus car market was always too small. That has always been the opinion of the large brands. It costs a fortune to tool up for a particular make of car, and with the cost of Aus Labor the only way to be competitive is efficiencies of scale.

Aus car manufacturing was always a socialist brain fart that was doomed to fail without trade barriers.

Surely if we designed and made a hot looking quality car or RV it would sell here and overseas.
A 4Wd Ferrari for example.
Or a convertible Australian Mustang type, top quality.
Or should we just turn out the lights

JF Aus,
I don't want to see us lose our car manufacturing and jobs, but I'm not sure we can compete anymore or whether the industry's a liability.
I don't think Australia can fix its problems by 'inside the box' thinking.
We need to be smart and think 'outside the box' and make bold tough big and grand decisions.
But I agree we cant lose the steel industry.
For my National Infrastructure Project and your Aqueduct Project, we'll need plenty of it.
I understand your point about the submarines, the money might be better spent on things we could export, that is if we can even make them at a price that's competitive.
As for the Aqueducts, we could also generate power from the water flow between dams, check this out.

http://www.gizmag.com/portland-lucidpipe-power-system/36130/

There are media 'celebrities', Little Wally (Waleed Aly) and that clown wearing the red nappy to cover his bald pate as examples, who could power their own transport or a light truck with the methane they produce.