No perfect storm. Those companies all left for cheaper wages. Unless we work for $4 an hour they won't come back.
Time and the ABC ......
Germany subsides BMW to the hilt. They would not build cars either if it wasn't the case. Germany was 50% a communist country until 1989.
They all pulled out after Ford playing follow the leader. They still want to sell cars here. They took the opportunity to spread the limit the bad feeling.
The reason everything is expensive in Australia is because of the never ending cycle of wage increase followed by price rises to pay for it. Somewhere along the line the bubble will burst.
Australia has become fat and very lazy. We won't work anymore. We want paid time off for everything and shorter hours and huge wages for basically unskilled work. In the Utopian world this is great. In the real world it doesn't work. Government can't protect us all from the reality of living beyond our means. It's only our own money they have to spend after all.