Need a Job?

The country needs a manufacturing industry for a number of reasons. Firstly, we will always have a large number of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Not all can complete trade, technician, or degree courses. A lot can not complete high school. Only manufacturing can supply the number of jobs to give gainful employment to this section of the nation's peoples. Do you want to have unlimited imports, no local industry and 15% unemployment supported by welfare payments funded by taxes on the more fortunate? People living in welfare ghettos? High crime rates, "Don't starve, steal."

The next important reason is national security. Almost everything used by our defence forces should be made here with sufficient manufacturing capacity available to lift production quickly in times of great need should we be abandoned by our "allies" again as happened in WW2 when the poms cast us out to the tender mercies of the Japanese?

There is a high degree of snobbery in a couple of preceding posts. Falcons and Commodores have been exported and held in high regard in both Europe and the Americas. They can not believe we get so much car and such performance in a cheap family car.

I spent much of my working life in the motor industry. Import dealers always stressed "fully imported" in advertising as if this imparted quality to piles of pus like Fiats, Renaults, and most anything else made in France or Italy, most small Brit rubbish, most Brit "luxury" cars, low end Mercedes and so on.

The acid test of the worth of a make/model is the opinion held by the used car trade when the model concerned has lost the gloss of youth and is 5-6+ years old and had a couple of owners.

This test is:- will the used car trade buy the car at auction or wholesale for stock? Through my career I saw vehicles that won Wheels "Car of the Year" awards and were almost totally unwanted by the trade.The only way you would have one in your yard was as a trade-in on a floor plan queen.

Go to auctions and see 8-10 yo BMW 318's go for $1000-$3000 or not attract a bid. RR P38's that sold well over $100,000 new selling for $7k- $10K if a dealer had one presold. At the same auction you will Falcodores 8-10 yo with 80000-100,000 k's still fetching $3000-4,000 dealer dollars.

It's not rubbish, why do you think Japan exports so many secondhand cars? I'll tell you why, because they are all but legislated off the road by the time they are five years old. Why does Japan export so many secondhand tyres? Because the market is artificially manipulated by legislation.

The person in the orginal story wouldn't be an Australian if he was drinking French wine. Australia has one of the best wine industries in the world although with recent weather patterns and now a high aussie dollar the outlook is grim for many producers.
Cheers Matt

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Originally Posted by 85 county

uuummmm RUBBISH

Japan is one of the easiest countries to import to. UNLIKE Australia

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Absolute BS. Try exporting new cars to Japan. Almost no chance. The whole US motor industry with congressional support could not break down these barricades.

I believe trade should be two way. You buy our crap, we buy yours.

There should be mandatory second stage processing within Australia of our produce and natural resources where possible. Iron ore and coal smelted into as a minimum pig iron. Raw sugar refined. Wool scoured and spun. Likewise cotton. Alumina turned into aluminium, aluminium turned into product. I could keep going. Employ our people not foreigners. Ban 457 visas. Force industry to train Australians.

I am getting off the soapbox and off to bed.

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Originally Posted by abaddonxi

Why didn't he try the mines, I hear they're hiring.

I think it's been a very long time since Australia has had an internationally viable manufacturing industry.

But, the powerplants that made those things were probably run by Australian uranium, the equipment was made from steel mined in Australia, and the Chinese workers were snacking on candied Ginger grown in Australia.

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Yeah the Mines might be hiring, but try applying for a job there when you are over 40, don't hold a Union ticket, have none of the skills they require and don't know anybody on "The Inside", talk about Mission Impossible!
Meanwhile Skilled Migrants can come in on a Visa and get jobs **** easy.
I'm willing to learn, I just need a fair go.
I NEED A FULL TIME JOB!!!

During WW II Australia made some of the best if not THE best optical glass in the known world...

This was used to make sights for the 25 pound field gun that WE reverse-engineered and built, - better and more accurate I'm told, than the British original. Both the gun AND the sights.
That company now imports off-the-shelf lenses and fits them to frames made anywhere except Oz, though I bought an AUSSIE-made glasses frame from them in the 70's and they lasted me for over 15 years. :D

Going back some 40 years, the best tool steel was produced in.... South Australia.

Naturally, we no longer produce any niche-quality steels, if we make any steel at all.!

Governments can hinder, but the ultimate decider is the CEO of the local business, as to how and why he does what he does.

Take a simple everyday household item... the humble D-cell torch. Where is yours made ? China? Taiwan? India? - That's because the shrt-sghted Aussie will only lash out $4.95 on a cheap plastic one, whereas the Yank will put his hand over his heart, salute the Stars & Stripes, sing God Bless America as he lays down $16 for an AMERICAN designed, AMERICAN built, top quality Maglite. He also basks in the re-assurance that EVERY part can be bought as a spare, except the switch.... - That's backed by a Life-time warranty free replacement.

Why can't we make everyday items and make them good enough to be worth paying a few dollars more ? - Can't blame the 'guv-mint...

It's not rocket science to build (or copy) a car seat that is good for more than a trip to the Chiro... especially when you've built "A" pillars so thin - visually for the driver - that the rest of the auto world is astounded. - The roof also stays UP in a roll-over, unlike a certain Foulcan of the same vintage and thicker pillars...

Or a car that can safely be dropped off the bitumen onto the soft shoulder...and back on again without making you feel the exact opposite of 'valiant... My el-cheapo Passat could ...at any speed and up to 4" drop, with only two fingers on the wheel of a car that was NOT designed for Aussie Conditions... Which is why I kept it for years and half a million K's, after quitting the HZ ...

My tuppence worth.:p

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

It's not rubbish, why do you think Japan exports so many secondhand cars? I'll tell you why, because they are all but legislated off the road by the time they are five years old. Why does Japan export so many secondhand tyres? Because the market is artificially manipulated by legislation.

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My response was to the incorrect statement that it is hard to import cars into Japan. When in reality Japan is one of the easiest countries to import to. You don’t think that all Toyotas on Japanese’s roads are made in Japan do you. More so you will be surprised at how much British and American iron is rolling around japans roads. Discos weren’t made in Japan yet they were sold new as Hondas just as rover sole Hondas badged as rovers.

As to your misleading statement that are cars being legislated off the roads after 5 years. This is not correct.
There is a mechanical requirement that cars must go though. Things like master cylinder, and disks being swapped out.
But the real reason Japan exports so many secondhand cars is simple family economics. In Australia the cost of owning a new car is mainly in the purchase price itself, depreciation. fuel and maintaince following. In Japan the extra cost of car ownership. Eg prove of storage (cost) local council tax’s etc make the actual purchase price of a vehicle NOT the major cost. Where in Australia depreciation over 5 years may be 40% of the cost of ownership. in Japan the depreciation is only 10% of the cost over the same period ( for example). If after 5 years you are looking at the cost of some quite large maintaince work which is about equal to the same cost as upgrading to a new vehicle.
so as you see its purely economics and is the same reason second hand cars are shipped from NSW and Victoria to South Australia just on a different scale.

And perhaps we can start taking pride in what we do... and recognize when we do it as good and better than anyone else, instead of blindly worshipping the foreign !

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Absolute BS. Try exporting new cars to Japan. Almost no chance. The whole US motor industry with congressional support could not break down these barricades.
.

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Sorry mate, my BS is fact. a quick Google will tell you how many new cars Japan imported. 1.3 million 2008 1.6 million 2009 1.1 million

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

I believe trade should be two way. You buy our crap, we buy yours.

.

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Quite agree we buy there crap and the Australian government should make laws to force to buy our crappy crap, at the point of a gun if need be!!! Or we could pull our heads out of the sand and make OK crap that they actually want to buy.

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Originally Posted by 85 county

My response was to the incorrect statement that it is hard to import cars into Japan. When in reality Japan is one of the easiest countries to import to. You don’t think that all Toyotas on Japanese’s roads are made in Japan do you. More so you will be surprised at how much British and American iron is rolling around japans roads. Discos weren’t made in Japan yet they were sold new as Hondas just as rover sole Hondas badged as rovers.

As to your misleading statement that are cars being legislated off the roads after 5 years. This is not correct.
There is a mechanical requirement that cars must go though. Things like master cylinder, and disks being swapped out.
But the real reason Japan exports so many secondhand cars is simple family economics. In Australia the cost of owning a new car is mainly in the purchase price itself, depreciation. fuel and maintaince following. In Japan the extra cost of car ownership. Eg prove of storage (cost) local council tax’s etc make the actual purchase price of a vehicle NOT the major cost. Where in Australia depreciation over 5 years may be 40% of the cost of ownership. in Japan the depreciation is only 10% of the cost over the same period ( for example). If after 5 years you are looking at the cost of some quite large maintaince work which is about equal to the same cost as upgrading to a new vehicle.
so as you see its purely economics and is the same reason second hand cars are shipped from NSW and Victoria to South Australia just on a different scale.

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I did not state that cars were legislated off the road, I said they were all but legislated off the road. The legislated maintenance/financial requirements of five year old cars artificially stimulates the sale of new cars.
No, but i do believe that all Toyota's profits are returned to Japan.
The rego cost v dimentional attributes makes owning an Australian or American style of car well beyond the realm of the average Japanese driver.