Thread: Are we in a recession or do I just think we are?

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Well yes!
However the idea was that instead of Dole owning the suppliers of generic brand canned Thailand pineapples , it could have been Golden Circle supplying them and taking the profit, with Oz ownership and technology.

The cannery in Virginia could have remained but pineapple production and canning moved to the most efficient place ( Thailand) and the OZ farmers taking a share of profits. This was evident about 30 years ago.

Another example was when I was interviewed for the job of Austrade export coordinator for the Australian car parts industry. I told them their only chance was to set up in Thailand as it was going to be the South Asian centre for car production. The car parts association person was indignant that I should say that , and I didn't get the job. Time has told.

I guess my point is that it is often NOT the supermarkets etc that cause the demise of Australian companies but often just poor management.
Regards Philip A

So you would have us change from an Australian car parts industry to a Thai car parts industry and from Australian farming and food processing to Thai farming and processing? Now, what do Australian workers and farmers do to make a living? Go on the dole? With no industries left to tax how does the government pay welfare to the new army of unemployed?

So you would have us change from an Australian car parts industry to a Thai car parts industry and from Australian farming and food processing to Thai farming and processing? Now, what do Australian workers and farmers do to make a living? Go on the dole? With no industries left to tax how does the government pay welfare to the new army of unemployed?

Er, with respect this is what has happened anyway.

All that would have been different is that Australians would have owned the companies and made the profits rather than Yanks , Japanese and Thais.

It is the ownership of resources, assets that make wealth, not labouring .
Just ask the Swiss.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Hardly practical to ship beetroot and other vegetables grown in the Lockyer Valley and pineapples grown on the Sunshine Coast to Thailand. Bad enough shipping beetroot 600 miles from Gatton to Cowra.

Well according to a braodsheet article I was reading before moving over herre, it's somehow cheaper to ship peas harvested in the U.K. to China for processing & packaging, then ship them back to the U.K. for selling as opposed to processing them in the U.K.

That was in an article about the carbon footprint of U.K. food, much of which travels across the globe to be sold by British retailers.
Over there, fruit & veg is really no longer seasonal as it can almost all be successfully imported from wherever it is in season. Apples can be stored for years, ditto pototos & to a lesser extent bananas. And still get sold as fresh! That happens here too, by the way. Fresh no longer always means off the farm a couple of days ago.

Originally Posted by Ratel10mm

Well according to a braodsheet article I was reading before moving over herre, it's somehow cheaper to ship peas harvested in the U.K. to China for processing & packaging, then ship them back to the U.K. for selling as opposed to processing them in the U.K.

That was in an article about the carbon footprint of U.K. food, much of which travels across the globe to be sold by British retailers.
Over there, fruit & veg is really no longer seasonal as it can almost all be successfully imported from wherever it is in season. Apples can be stored for years, ditto pototos & to a lesser extent bananas. And still get sold as fresh! That happens here too, by the way. Fresh no longer always means off the farm a couple of days ago.

same story with large steel orders for qld maufacturing in the past. was cheaper to buy australian made steel from china ( that had been shipped from WA ) than to buy the same australian made steel through asutralia direct from the producer.

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Er, with respect this is what has happened anyway.

All that would have been different is that Australians would have owned the companies and made the profits rather than Yanks , Japanese and Thais.

It is the ownership of resources, assets that make wealth, not labouring .
Just ask the Swiss.
Regards Philip A

And the Australian company owners are going to distribute largesse to the unemployed Australian workers and farmers? I worked for 40 years and never knew an excessively generous boss. Generally the smaller the business, the tighter the sphincter.

We should have an economy based on value adding to our primary produce and natural resources and exporting the resulting products. This should have a level of government enforced compulsion. No value adding = no export permits. Export permits for unprocessed goods to be granted only when significant value adding is in place. Importers of high value items such as motor vehicles should be forced to at least CKD assemble in Australia a significant proportion of their sales. No tariffs or restriction on sales volume, just do a lot of it here and leave some of the profits behind in Australia as wages.

JB Hi Fi Drops Grey Nikon Cameras For Cheap Full Monty Deal - Channel News

Originally Posted by incisor

JB Hi Fi Drops Grey Nikon Cameras For Cheap Full Monty Deal - Channel News

Oh no!!!!! now I like to have the D800

This is well worth a listen if you have time. Its a two-part conversation. George talks about the recent economic history of Aus (since early 70s) and why we managed to dodge the major economic dramas of the last 10 years.

George Megalogenis - ABC Conversations with Richard Fidler

An interesting point he makes is that we are in phase 2 of the economic stimulus plan implemented by KRudd (recommended by Treasury): the cesation of stimulus and return to surplus. In essence, the government has stopped spending to stimulate the economy and is now saving - people are doing the same. That may be why it feels like times are a bit tough - but IMO that's fair enough, sometimes you need to buckle down for a bit and put some money back in the back.

Cold comfort for the retail sector though.