Holden: Last vehicle to roll off production line as Australian car manufacturing ends

Quote:

The Holden production line in northern Adelaide will shut down for the last time today, ending 69 years of Australian-made car manufacturing. The Elizabeth plant opened in 1963 and at its peak, between June 2003 and July 2005, produced 780 vehicles per day, including the VY Commodore, the Adventra, Crewman, Caprice and Statesman. In its final year it has produced 175 cars a day, with production to finish about 11:00am for a private ceremony involving staff. A press conference will then be held by the managing director before workers are transported to Adelaide Oval for a farewell celebration about lunchtime. Holden enthusiasts have already started lining the street outside the Elizabeth factory. This includes Shilane Quist, who brought her Holden Torana because she wanted to show support for the workers and their families. "I'm just proud that Elizabeth has got something like this, and it's very sad it'll be closing today," she said. Robert McPharlin parked his ute outside the Elizabeth factory to say "thank you to the workers [and] show that I like their product". "It's more about the celebration of an icon that's coming to an end," he said. "It's a celebration of the workers that actually built these fabulous cars. It's just really sad that it has to all end." Holden said the decommissioning of the factory was expected to take about 18 months. It said it was time to "celebrate with Australia, not commiserate". It is the last day of work for up to 950 staff members at Elizabeth, with 800 having left since the company's 2013 announcement that it was withdrawing from Australian manufacturing. The closure has also affected thousands of people employed by component suppliers to Holden — businesses that have had to downsize, cut staff, or close altogether. Some 700 Holden employees will remain in Melbourne, including more than 300 designers, engineers and technical staff, who will continue to design cars for the Australian market. Holden expects some 230 dealerships — the second highest number behind Toyota — to continue selling their vehicles. More than a third of its "future product portfolio" will now come from Europe, with vehicles also to be sourced from North America and Asia. It said there were about 10,000 people who would remain directly employed through Holden and its dealership network. Commodores among factory's top-selling models The world's second-oldest transportation company started as an Adelaide saddlery in 1856 and began producing all-Australian motor cars at Fisherman's Bend in Melbourne in 1948. The first fully-built model was produced at Elizabeth in 1965 when the HD Holden rolled off the production line. Since 1994, General Motors Holden have manufactured all of its Australian-built vehicles in Adelaide, although engine's were produced at Fisherman's Bend until November 2016. The company's peak export year was 2005 when 60,518 Holdens were sent to 10 countries, including the Middle East and North America. It achieved its largest market share of national sales at 50.3 per cent in 1958. Elizabeth was home to Australia's last road-vehicle manufacturing plant after Toyota closed its Camry factory at Altona, Victoria, earlier this month.

Coalition tells Holden to fsck off...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvWbO_mIpn4

Why does the government give news ltd 30 million but can't support Holden?

Oh I thought the car industry closed because we're all buying Mazdas, VWs, Hyundai etc etc etc and not Fords or Holdens.

Gordon wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 10:46am:

Oh I thought the car industry closed because we're all buying Mazdas, VWs, Hyundai etc etc etc and not Fords or Holdens.

you thought wrong

Pretty good article

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/opinion--could-the-australian-car-industry-have-been-saved--65418.html

As I've been saying (and juliar just ignores) the reasons are numerous. Yes we have more choice and buying different cars, but also the government pulling out didnt help.

Politically correct Bammy trots out the hoary old union chestnut which is just fabricated lies.

And BH you should no better.

If a Lefty tells you something there is one thing you can be absolutely sure of - it is NOT the TRUTH!!!!

Yes as a general gloss over it was a good article.

I wonder how much effect the sydney olympics had ?

State government used to buy new australian made cars every two years and sell off (often at a profit)the old fleet.

Too help fund the olympics they sold of the fleet and went over too renting.

So much for jobs and growth...40000 jobs down the drain

Local electric car manufacturer gets snubbed by the government !!

Blade Electric vehicles could have been the next Tesla but the crooked gov chose to ignore it :(

Why did the gov dole out billions in blank cheques to foreign car corporations whilst ignoring its own backyard ?


Quote:

Electric car maker angry over import deal AUSTRALIA'S leading electric car manufacturer has blasted the federal government for choosing an imported model to be Australia's first electric trial fleet. In June, the federal Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Anthony Albanese, announced that the government would be buying 40 imported Mitsubishi i-Miev electric vehicles as a way of encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles. But Castlemaine-based Blade Electric Vehicles said the decision was inexplicable given that its car, the Blade Electron, was better, cheaper, and had been developed with federal government funding. ''We cannot understand why Mr Albanese has chosen to exclude the Electron,'' said Ross Blade, director of BEV. ''The federal government has spent over $100,000 of taxpayers' money on the development of the Blade Electron through the COMET (Commercialising Emerging Technologies) program. Despite the Electron meeting Australia's design standards, the federal government has chosen instead to lease a foreign product at nearly double the cost.'' Mr Blade said that Mitsubishi was leasing the i-Miev for $1740 a month for a total cost over three years of $62,640. This compared with $900 a month for the Electron, for a total cost over three years of $48,000. Mr Blade said the Electron was a bigger car with superior performance to the i-Miev and, more importantly, could be plugged into a regular power point for recharging. However, a spokesman for Mr Albanese, Geoff Sinclair, said the government did not choose the Blade Electron because it was not a mass-produced car and did not meet two Australian design standards, although he could not say which ones. Mr Blade said that if the Australian government was not going to buy a locally made electric car, it stood little chance of being mass produced. ''In terms of our vehicle being mass produced, the fact of the matter is that if the Australian government is not going to buy them, then how can they be mass produced? ''It's a chicken and egg thing.'' MOS

http://www.smh.com.au/national/electric-car-maker-angry-over-import-deal-20100724-10pr2.html

juliar wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 11:20am:

Politically correct Bammy trots out the hoary old union chestnut which is just fabricated lies. And BH you should no better. If a Lefty tells you something there is one thing you can be absolutely sure of - it is NOT the TRUTH!!!!

Well explain to us socko how come a high labor cost, highly unionized workforce in Germany can be so successful in making and exporting premium quality cars all aorund the world ??

Maybe they don't employ f.ckwits such as the liberal party to run the operation.

This is pure sentimentality. Holden was part of General Motors, you know, that American company? And it used a lot of imported components. The local operation was subsidised by us, the tax payer. Whatever party was in power, this could not go on indefinitely. We didn't have a car industry, we were paying for an illusion of one. As for Germany and Japan, there is no comparison with our pip-squeak industry. Australia is not a big country.

issuevoter wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 1:32pm:

This is pure sentimentality. Holden was part of General Motors, you know, that American company? And it used a lot of imported components. The local operation was subsidised by us, the tax payer. Whatever party was in power, this could not go on indefinitely. We didn't have a car industry, we were paying for an illusion of one. As for Germany and Japan, there is no comparison with our pip-squeak industry. Australia is not a big country.

How much do Germany, Japan, France, Italy and two dozen other developed countries pay to subsidise their automotive industries? A lot more than we did. If we had been paying the same level of subsidies as some of these countries, we would have had a much stronger local industry and a healthy export market.

HI ALL

The car industry never was a win situation but! it certainly produced thousands of subsidiary jobs?

8-) 8-)

It produced a lot of jobs and perhaps more important

A little bit of national pride.

Oh well.... Where just a poo country now who only skill is to make a coffee :'( :'(


Where still better than Fiji the pollies will tell us

Hoss wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 3:15pm:

HI ALL The car industry never was a win situation but! it certainly produced thousands of subsidiary jobs? 8-) 8-)

Those supplier jobs were important. Tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs that are now going to be lost.

The subsidies were far less than the amount of the dole that is now going to have to be paid out for these lost jobs, along with the billions of lost tax revenue.

car manufacturing was never going to win as long as the majority of the workers formed part of the labor voter base while coalition is in government.

FTA's and an incompetent liberal government killed the car industry. They sold out Australian manufacturers just so they could get a headline about a FTA.

I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did.

Grendel wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 7:40pm:

I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did.

no doubt about it, coalition closed them down. It's not even up for debate.

Grendel wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 7:40pm:

I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did.

What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's?

Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure?

The Liberals are standing over the body of the car industry with the blood-stained axe in their hands.

Holden a( subsidiary of General Motors) ships it's production to Asia in order to take advantage of cheap labour and it's the Coalition's fault?
:o :o :o

National Disgrace: LNP force Holden to close after 150 years   :(
20 October 2017


     actu release

ACTU President Ged Kearney national disgrace Holden closure

Today, Australia’s last major car manufacturing plant closes its doors – putting the final nail in the coffin of an industry that has employed hundreds of thousands of Australians.

Holden began in Adelaide over 150 years ago, and is an Australian institution that has employed thousands of workers, yet it is also part of an industry that successive coalition governments chose to walk away from.

The decision to abandon an industry which was a source of good, steady jobs for generations, is devastating.

The loss of jobs as well as the ability to train and employ highly skilled works in an international industry will be widely felt.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions condemns the Turnbull Government in the strongest possible terms for this short sighted and damaging decision.

For a sitting Government to allow the collapse and closure of an industry that has formed part of the backbone of our nation is a slight against not only industry workers, but all Australian working people.

Quotes attributable to ACTU President Ged Kearney:

“Today is a sad day for the workers of Holden’s Elizabeth factory. These workers have been abandoned by a Government clinging to broken neo-liberal ideology.”

“Holden and the car industry have been a major part of Australian culture, providing jobs and skills to hundreds of thousands of working Australians for generations.”

“Workers in our automotive manufacturing sector have been abandoned by successive coalition governments. The way they have been treated is cruel and negligent.”

“The Turnbull Government’s decision to desert our car industry takes our entire country backwards. The loss of jobs and industry is devastating to our country and our economy.”

“We stand with all the workers facing an uncertain future. We will support them, help them retrain, and become reemployed. We will not abandon these hard working Australians.”

“The Turnbull Government urgently needs to come up with a proper plan to support the future of manufacturing and working people in Australia.”

ENDS

Bam wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 6:06pm:

Hoss wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 3:15pm: HI ALL The car industry never was a win situation but! it certainly produced thousands of subsidiary jobs? 8-) 8-) Those supplier jobs were important. Tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs that are now going to be lost. The subsidies were far less than the amount of the dole that is now going to have to be paid out for these lost jobs, along with the billions of lost tax revenue.

Yes all because we were funneling money into businesses that were not Australian and had no allegiance to this country. It was a very bad business decision right from the start :(

Quote:

Coalition to close Australian car industry today

Well this Liberal government has managed to achieve something that no other Australian government could.

Closing the Australian car industry I sure hope them and their supporters are proud.

The board, senior executives, major shareholders and financiers have achieved a major miracle...selling out Australian workers for profit while convincing the weak minded that it's the government's fault.

Bam wrote on Oct 20^th, 2017 at 8:16pm:

Grendel wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 7:40pm: I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did. What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's? Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure? The Liberals are standing over the body of the car industry with the blood-stained axe in their hands.

I think you will find I'm right.
Labor was in government state and federal for closures and circumstances too you know.
Unions impact wages and working conditions.
Just try to be more honest eh.
CEOs, Boards vested overseas interests that actually own the companies etc...

Oh and John...  just shut up you troll. :D

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 11:39am:

Bam wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 8:16pm: Grendel wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 7:40pm: I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did. What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's? Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure? The Liberals are standing over the body of the car industry with the blood-stained axe in their hands. I think you will find I'm right. Labor was in government state and federal for closures and circumstances too you know. Unions impact wages and working conditions. Just try to be more honest eh. CEOs, Boards vested overseas interests that actually own the companies etc... Oh and John...  just shut up you troll. :D

you haven't got a clue goose.

Tell me, is our auto industry more unionised than Germany's? Yet there's is thriving .... :D :D

I'll give you three guesses what their government wasn't stupid enough to do that our LIBERAL govt. was?

Mr Hammer wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 10:58am:

The board, senior executives, major shareholders and financiers have achieved a major miracle...selling out Australian workers for profit while convincing the weak minded that it's the government's fault.

Well the government did cut back their grants and tell them to p1ss off if they don't like it ? A week later they were packing their bags but that was just bad luck or a coincidence ?

John Smith wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 1:20pm:

Grendel wrote on Oct 21st, 2017 at 11:39am: Bam wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 8:16pm: Grendel wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 7:40pm: I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did. What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's? Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure? The Liberals are standing over the body of the car industry with the blood-stained axe in their hands. I think you will find I'm right. Labor was in government state and federal for closures and circumstances too you know. Unions impact wages and working conditions. Just try to be more honest eh. CEOs, Boards vested overseas interests that actually own the companies etc... Oh and John...  just shut up you troll. :D you haven't got a clue goose. Tell me, is our auto industry more unionised than Germany's? Yet there's is thriving .... :D :D I'll give you three guesses what their government wasn't stupid enough to do that our LIBERAL govt. was?

It's a bigger industry than ours isn't it... more cars sold globally, sits in the middle of Europe, cheaper to freight goods to markets, then common market, then the EU...  4 times our population nationally, more automated etc, etc, etc....  the list goes on and on and on...    :D :D :D :D :D

Autoworkers average salaries globally (2015).

China

Annual production (2015): 21 million
Estimated annual salary: $10,836 (£8,729)
GDP per head: $8,000 (£6,400)

Japan

Annual production (2015): 7.8 million
Estimated annual salary: $31,320 (£25,200)
GDP per head: $36,000 (£29,000)

Germany

Annual production (2015): 5.7 million
Estimated annual salary: $69,000 (£55,600)
GDP per head: $48,000 (£38,600)

USA

Annual production (2015): 4.1 million
Estimated annual salary: $51,000 (£41,000)
GDP per head: $54,000 (£43,400)

South Korea

Annual production (2015): 4.1 million
Estimated annual salary: $80,000 (£64,400)
GDP per head: $28,000 (£22,500)

India

Annual production (2015): 3.3 million
Estimated annual salary: $2,275 (£1,830)
GDP per head: $1,600 (£1,200)

Spain

Annual production (2015): 2.2 million
Estimated annual salary: $46,700 (£37,600)
GDP per head: $30,000 (£24,100)

Brazil

Annual production (2015): 2 million
Estimated annual salary: $12,800 (£10,300)
GDP per head: $12,000 (£9,600)

Mexico

Annual production (2015): 1.9 million
Estimated annual salary: $6,240 (£5,000)
GDP per head: $10,000 (£8,000)

UK

Annual production (2015): 1.5 million
Est. annual salary: $37,000 (£39,800)
GDP per head: $47,000 (£37,800)

France

Annual production (2015): 1.5 million
Estimated annual salary: $76,600 (£61,800)
GDP per head: $43,000 (£34,600)

Czech Republic

Annual production (2015): 1.2 million
Estimated annual salary: $20,600 (£16,500)
GDP per head: $19,000 (£15,200)

https://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Industry=Automotive_Manufacturing/Salary

US Car maker General Motors...


Quote:

US carmakers cut pay as Australia's hourly rates soared     Brad Norington And Sarah Martin     TheAustralian     12:00AM December 10, 2013     US carmakers cut the wages of their workers in half to engineer the survival of their industry six years ago, whereas Australian pay rates grew by up to 21 per cent over the same period. The wages of American entry-level assembly workers were slashed from $28 an hour to $14 an hour as part of a radical plan accepted by the United Auto Workers, a Detroit union famous for using its muscle to extract big hikes in salaries and conditions. With General Motors poised to close down its Holden plant operations in Australia, halving labour costs is not a palatable option for the vehicle division of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union because of the precedent it would set across the nation. Entry-level workers at Holden who have completed an induction program earn $23.50 an hour. If AMWU vehicle division secretary Dave Smith followed the example of his US colleagues, Holden workers would end up earning less than Australia's minimum wage of $16.37 an hour. Mr Smith said he would not consider further sacrifices for his members in the car industry after they had agreed to a wage freeze for three years. "Why should I?" he said. "My members have already done their bit. They're past the post. It's up to the government to show some leadership now, not my members." For General Motors in Australia, wages for trades employees have increased by about 76 per cent since 2000, and 21 per cent since 2008, jumping from $679.20 a week in 2000 to $1194.50 a week this year. This equates to $62,114 a year for a 38-hour week. Workers are paid shift penalties and overtime rates, with Sunday shifts paid at 2 1/2 times the normal weekday rate. A skilled tradesperson with at least three months' experience is on an annual base salary of $80,444 while a group leader is paid about $102,000 a year. For an entry-level non-trade position, such as a store worker or a minimally trained factory worker, the weekly wage has risen about 9 per cent from $817 in 2008 to $892 this year, an annual salary of about $46,423 a year. In August, Holden workers voted to forgo a 3 per cent wage rise scheduled for November on the condition that General Motors committed to building the two next-generation vehicles at Holden's Elizabeth plant. The union also voted to support a range of flexibility provisions that gave Holden operating savings of about $15 million a year. However, none of these has come into effect without the commitment from GM to build the two next-generation vehicles at Elizabeth. AMWU acting South Australian secretary John Gee said Australian workers could not compete on labour costs "and nor do we want to". The decision of the UAW in Detroit, made as the global financial crisis took hold in 2007, was borne out of necessity after billions of dollars in government bailout money, with GM and Chrysler facing bankruptcy. Then UAW president Bob King recognised that new labour market flexibility in the car industry was the only hope for survival. The union gave up pay claims linked to rises in the cost of living and annual bonuses in favour of a profit-share scheme that guaranteed workers nothing from year to year. Many of GM's 74,000 US assembly workers took redundancy to make way for younger, lower-paid workers.

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 1:38pm:

John Smith wrote on Oct 21st, 2017 at 1:20pm: Grendel wrote on Oct 21st, 2017 at 11:39am: Bam wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 8:16pm: Grendel wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 7:40pm: I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did. What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's? Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure? The Liberals are standing over the body of the car industry with the blood-stained axe in their hands. I think you will find I'm right. Labor was in government state and federal for closures and circumstances too you know. Unions impact wages and working conditions. Just try to be more honest eh. CEOs, Boards vested overseas interests that actually own the companies etc... Oh and John...  just shut up you troll. :D you haven't got a clue goose. Tell me, is our auto industry more unionised than Germany's? Yet there's is thriving .... :D :D I'll give you three guesses what their government wasn't stupid enough to do that our LIBERAL govt. was? It's a bigger industry than ours isn't it... more cars sold globally, sits in the middle of Europe, cheaper to freight goods to markets, then common market, then the EU...  4 times our population nationally, more automated etc, etc, etc....  the list goes on and on and on...    :D :D :D :D :D

it can only do those things because it has a government that supports it, rather than hamstringing it. They receive far more in subsidies than we did. And don't use freight as an excuse.

I recall in the early 90's the Ford Capri built in Australia was being sold in the USA for about $5000 less than here. Was it wages or freight that made in cheaper back then ?? :D :D :D :D


Tell me goose, why do we have fta's with Japan that prohibit Australia exporting various car parts to Japan? one of the largest car manufacturers, and therefore the biggest markets for car parts manufacturers, in the world. What part of free trade does that represent?

Could it have something to do with Japan protecting it's car industry, and Australia not giving a farrk? We were the only car manufacturer on the planet that didn't offer our industry some protections. Piss off with your union bashing bullshit. You haven't got a clue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9aHC2tSmRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPnKJUu07rE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBj8G28kLvo

Take a watch when you have time

The above videos pertain to the Lima Declaration and its destruction of Australian industry

Why not save them and tell your friends.  It will save them a lot of angst about 'What's happening/happened to Australia'



---

I remember buying a new Simpson washing machine.  All the bells and whistles, stainless steel tub, etc.  We'd had Simpson's for years.  Our dying one had been running well for twelve years at that point, but some of the knobs were broken and the plastic was yellowing

When the new one arrived, I put it to use. Uh oh.  Black oily smears all over what should have been clean washing

Then the machine went haywire. Wasn't filling up properly.  Was stopping half way through the cycle.  Made a noise like a jet taking off.  etc

I phoned Simpsons.  Thought they'd jump through hoops to fix or replace

Wrong. I spoke to a sleazy woman who attempted repeatedly to get me to say that I was at fault.  Only on the third phone call did she inform me that our conversations were being listened to by a third party, unidentified

The retailer refused to discuss the situation at all.  Attitude: we have your money, too bad for you.  Nope, no refunds, get lost

I was disbelieving.  Upon examining the warranty document at length, I discovered the machine was a Simpson in name only.  The people I'd been speaking to were not Simpsons either.  They were Electrolux.  They continued playing hard ball.  Until I said fine ... you leave me no option other than to put this with Current Affairs.  I'll let them put this pig of a machine through its paces, all of it filmed.  I'll lose close to a thousand dollars.  You'll lose tens of thousands of dollars

At that point, Electolux ... acting as if they were doing me an enormous favour ... said they'd replace the machine with another.  They did.  It was a bitch

Throughout the process, I went on Ebay to see if I could find the equivalent of the old Simpson washing machine I'd taken to the tip.  I was prepared to pay good money for a used genuine Simpson or Malley's or Hoover washing machine

And that's when I discovered I was FAR from alone.  On any day on Ebay, there was heated bidding by other people who also were desperate to find a genuine, Made in Australia (using real Aussie steel) washing machine

There was an underground movement, I discovered.  People were passing along the names and contact details for 'retrenched' Aussie washing machine-servicemen and workers.  These names were closely guarded.  It was said that they'd 'managed to get hold of real parts' for Aussie washing machines, which they'd fit into old genuine Aussie machines.  People were paying top dollar for them and thought they'd won the lottery.  There was brisk movement for genuine replacement parts for those extinct Aussie machines.  Most of us wailed deep into the night about throwing away our genuine Aussie machines. What idiots we'd been. We'd never see the like of those machines again. Why hadn't we held onto them, we said as we beat our heads against the wall

Also on Ebay at that time were hundreds of NON Aussie machines, advertised as 'barely used' or 'duplicates'.  Or the excuse for selling them was 'Leaving the country'. Those machines bore Aussie brand-names, but were made in asia

It was claimed that after closing down, Hoover, Simpson and Malleys weren't 'allowed' to make washing machines or other genuine Aussie white goods for a minimum of 25 years

Many of us were counting down the years, looking forward to the day when we'd be able to buy a decent machine again

Those 25 years have been and gone.  And we don't see any Aussie white goods manufacturers going back into business

Go to Product Review and see what Aussies have to say about all the imported white goods.  They're forced to give one star to the garbage machines in order to say anything at all before they let rip

Lima Declaration.  It's responsible for the destruction of Aussie manufacturing and jobs.  It's responsible for the garbage products we're forced to buy unless we want to wash our stuff down in the creek.  It's responsible for the unstoppable rise in 'middle classes' in Asia and the subcontinent -- which is in turn responsible for the massive foreign investment in Aussie real estate -- which in turn is responsible for the fact Aussies can't afford not to buy or rent (and that's just those who're clinging to the few jobs left.  The millions of unemployed want Voluntary Euthanasia for themselves and their entire family, rather than live like rats in a trap forever)

The Lima Declaration.  March 1975.  Which is when those of us old enough to remember suddenly noticed that jobs were getting hard to find.  Of course we noticed. Prior to the Lima Declaration, Australian media reported that unemployment in this country was half to one percent

So, I'm expecting an underground movement to arise whereby Aussies bid against each other for the privilege of used, Australian made with Australian steel, vehicles

because it's known now, has been revealed, that Japan (and the rest of asia) have been forging data about their fake steel, which is now being driven all over Aussie roads

It's all about China.

China has destroyed our manufacturing industries and
now more Chinese live here than ever before.
I suppose they have won an economic war without firing a shot.

I'm sorry to say this but the Chinese are just smarter than us.
We don't even make shoes here anymore.
Our car industries are now all closed.
China looked ahead and is making electric cars and we just gave up and never thought of that -
( well some did such as Nail and myself but no one would listen to us.)

In some ways we deserve to be a 3rd world nation - a banana republic.

So abusive TROLL...  still being abusive and still can't bring yourself to address reality eh.

Governments do not and should not run businesses.  They shouldn't use taxpayer money to prop them up either.

I have shown that there is more to this than the topic claim which is biased and dishonest.

Quote:

Lima Declaration.  It's responsible for the destruction of Aussie manufacturing and jobs.

No it is not.

The Lima Declaration is simply that...  a declaration not a treaty.  It is non-binding.
It is aspirational nothing more.
You can blame Whitlam and Grassby for it being considered anything else and for various industries ending or going offshore at the time. 

Quote:

The Lima Declaration and Plan of Action on Industrial Development and Cooperation was adopted in 1975 at a Conference sponsored by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). It has, in legal terms, exhortatory force only; that is, it sets out recommendations on assistance to developing countries. The Declaration does not have treaty status and therefore does not require signature or ratification. It is not, and never was, binding on the Australian Government under international law. The Australian Government formulates its policy on developing countries on the basis of what it judges to be the national interest.

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 11:39am:

Bam wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 8:16pm: Grendel wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 7:40pm: I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did. What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's? Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure? The Liberals are standing over the body of the car industry with the blood-stained axe in their hands. I think you will find I'm right. Labor was in government state and federal for closures and circumstances too you know. Unions impact wages and working conditions. Just try to be more honest eh. CEOs, Boards vested overseas interests that actually own the companies etc...

What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's? Pay particular attention to the sections relating to the automotive industry.

Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure?

Bobby. wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 3:22pm:

It's all about China. China has destroyed our manufacturing industries and now more Chinese live here than ever before. I suppose they have won an economic war without firing a shot. I'm sorry to say this but the Chinese are just smarter than us. We don't even make shoes here anymore. Our car industries are now all closed. China looked ahead and is making electric cars and we just gave up and never thought of that - ( well some did such as Nail and myself but no one would listen to us.) In some ways we deserve to be a 3rd world nation - a banana republic.

It all started with Bill Clinton inviting the chinese into the WTO. After that it was downhill for the west and now the only game in town for the west is bullshit services, flipping old houses and doing kitchen renovations using borrowed money and somehow pretending that has created some sort of new economy that replaces the old manufacturing economy :(

Death By China: How America Lost Its Manufacturing Base (Official Version)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMlmjXtnIXI&t=448s

http://www.gwb.com.au/gwb/news/lima/foreign.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_China

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 11:39am:

Bam wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 8:16pm: Grendel wrote on Oct 20th, 2017 at 7:40pm: I don't think you can honestly say "Coalition to close Australian car industry today" any more than you can say Labor did. What are the contents of the China, Japan and Korea FTA's? Who was in Parliament daring the car makers to make a decision, just before they announced closure? The Liberals are standing over the body of the car industry with the blood-stained axe in their hands. I think you will find I'm right. Labor was in government state and federal for closures and circumstances too you know. Unions impact wages and working conditions. Just try to be more honest eh. CEOs, Boards vested overseas interests that actually own the companies etc... Oh and John...  just shut up you troll. :D

Every previous government gave them incentive to stay and they stayed with all the other issues. This current government was the only one who gave them incentive to leave.

There is a very real correlation between removing subsidies and having a government minister telling them to go and it happening.

If it wasn't for that cigar munching fat big headed prick holdens would have lived on, one man destroys an icon, string him up.

Johnnie wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 6:54pm:

If it wasn't for that cigar munching fat big headed prick holdens would have lived on, one man destroys an icon, string him up.

EXACTLY

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 5:04pm:

So abusive TROLL...  still being abusive and still can't bring yourself to address reality eh. Governments do not and should not run businesses.  They shouldn't use taxpayer money to prop them up either. I have shown that there is more to this than the topic claim which is biased and dishonest.

---

Johnnie wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 6:54pm:

If it wasn't for that cigar munching fat big headed prick holdens would have lived on, one man destroys an icon, string him up.

Now you know why he's been sent far away.

Oh poor widdle johnboy...  selfie? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

One more time for the biased and blind...

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 2:07pm:

US Car maker General Motors... Quote: US carmakers cut pay as Australia's hourly rates soared     Brad Norington And Sarah Martin     TheAustralian     12:00AM December 10, 2013     US carmakers cut the wages of their workers in half to engineer the survival of their industry six years ago, whereas Australian pay rates grew by up to 21 per cent over the same period. The wages of American entry-level assembly workers were slashed from $28 an hour to $14 an hour as part of a radical plan accepted by the United Auto Workers, a Detroit union famous for using its muscle to extract big hikes in salaries and conditions. With General Motors poised to close down its Holden plant operations in Australia, halving labour costs is not a palatable option for the vehicle division of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union because of the precedent it would set across the nation. Entry-level workers at Holden who have completed an induction program earn $23.50 an hour. If AMWU vehicle division secretary Dave Smith followed the example of his US colleagues, Holden workers would end up earning less than Australia's minimum wage of $16.37 an hour. Mr Smith said he would not consider further sacrifices for his members in the car industry after they had agreed to a wage freeze for three years. "Why should I?" he said. "My members have already done their bit. They're past the post. It's up to the government to show some leadership now, not my members." For General Motors in Australia, wages for trades employees have increased by about 76 per cent since 2000, and 21 per cent since 2008, jumping from $679.20 a week in 2000 to $1194.50 a week this year. This equates to $62,114 a year for a 38-hour week. Workers are paid shift penalties and overtime rates, with Sunday shifts paid at 2 1/2 times the normal weekday rate. A skilled tradesperson with at least three months' experience is on an annual base salary of $80,444 while a group leader is paid about $102,000 a year. For an entry-level non-trade position, such as a store worker or a minimally trained factory worker, the weekly wage has risen about 9 per cent from $817 in 2008 to $892 this year, an annual salary of about $46,423 a year. In August, Holden workers voted to forgo a 3 per cent wage rise scheduled for November on the condition that General Motors committed to building the two next-generation vehicles at Holden's Elizabeth plant. The union also voted to support a range of flexibility provisions that gave Holden operating savings of about $15 million a year. However, none of these has come into effect without the commitment from GM to build the two next-generation vehicles at Elizabeth. AMWU acting South Australian secretary John Gee said Australian workers could not compete on labour costs "and nor do we want to". The decision of the UAW in Detroit, made as the global financial crisis took hold in 2007, was borne out of necessity after billions of dollars in government bailout money, with GM and Chrysler facing bankruptcy. Then UAW president Bob King recognised that new labour market flexibility in the car industry was the only hope for survival. The union gave up pay claims linked to rises in the cost of living and annual bonuses in favour of a profit-share scheme that guaranteed workers nothing from year to year. Many of GM's 74,000 US assembly workers took redundancy to make way for younger, lower-paid workers.

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 9:28pm:

Oh poor widdle johnboy...  selfie? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

that's not a selfie stick in your hand dopey :D :D

John Smith wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 9:31pm:

Grendel wrote on Oct 21st, 2017 at 9:28pm: Oh poor widdle johnboy...  selfie? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D that's not a selfie stick in your hand dopey :D :D

No prizes for 2nd TROLL...  now run back to your bridge. :D

Grendel wrote on Oct 21^st, 2017 at 9:36pm:

John Smith wrote on Oct 21st, 2017 at 9:31pm: Grendel wrote on Oct 21st, 2017 at 9:28pm: Oh poor widdle johnboy...  selfie? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D that's not a selfie stick in your hand dopey :D :D No prizes for 2nd TROLL...  now run back to your bridge. :D

I agree, and since I put up the photo, that makes you 2nd


you idiot. ;D ;D ;D

LOL
yet I didn't post any picture TROLL..  you posted a selfie...

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Now run along...  your bridge is missing you.