Yes….we have definitely priced ourselves out of the labour market with the work conditions we now have in Aust.
Some say it started with Gough, then was taken further under Hawke-keating under "free fade agreements" (with Asian manufacturing partners)…..I can specifically recall Keating and Sen. Button proudly announcing they had "rationalised the car industry", which translated to the lowering of import tarriffs,(on new cars) easing the percentage of Australian made component content, and the legislation for redundancy packages for workers.
It's quite sad to say, that while our work force enjoys the best conditions in the world, the payoff has been the loss of ALL manufacturing sector jobs to off-shore locations, and while it is prudent economic strategy to subsidise car manufacture here, if things keep going the way they are, with a high dollar, high labour costs, and the increased import duty K Rudd imposed on imported new car and re-pro parts, it's only putting off the inevitable.
I had a good discussion with Alan Hay, who ran under the Nationals ticket at the last election, and he is also involved directly with many car clubs throughout Australia (I can't remember the exact organisation) and he was able to highlight the in-direct threat the whole industry is facing.
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