We used cloth for a while with our kids (eldest is nearly 5) and our 2 big reasons for changing to disposable was that they leaked (particularly overnight) and the kids got bad nappy rash.
Printable View
We should be processing/value adding (or at least doing some of it) to our raw materials and produce instead of simply fishing, farming or digging up the raw materials and flogging them off.
If we keep doing what we are now the unemployment figures will only get worse and the costs of looking after these unemployed will start to affect our standard of living.
At least those lost processing, Rural and factory jobs gave people a start to their employment career and gave them some experience and training so that they could move on to bigger and better things, The poor buggers leaving school now definitely don't have the employment opportunities that us Baby Boomers had back in our youth unfortunately.
Exactly my point. Instead of having an economy based on selling houses to each other we should be value adding to our natural resources and primary produce. Abandon the dig it up, cut it down, ship it out mentality. Do at least the first stages of processing here as a minimum. Export steel not iron ore and coking coal, aluminium not bauxite, carcasses and packaged meat not live animals. We used to have spinning and weaving mills but just a tiny amount of our wool is now processed here. Same with the cotton crop. Large volume high value imports like vehicles and white goods should be assembled here from CKD packs if not possible to fully manufacture here. Imagine the impact on a country city with high unemployment of an assembly plant possibly employing with its outside suppliers and logistics providers 2000 breadwinners.
I like the idea of making lithium batteries here, since we have all the raw materials here.
I can remember when i was in the NSW Fire Brigades in the early 70s based at Parramatta NSW , we used to carry out Building Inspections of factories in the western suburbs , Hoover , Actil Linen , Chesty Bond , Westinghouse , Palaco Shirts and clothes , Halstrom , Ford Motor Company , Goodyear , Dunlop , just to mention a few . Jobs were a plenty , could resign on a friday and start a new job Monday . I dont think any of these places exist anymore .
Think i have seen the best of this country just feel for the grandkids and hopefully they can undo with the mess we have put ourselves in .
Sadly not competitive....an Aussie company is already manufacturing in Malaysia and has been in the press of late.
While the tree huggers in Malaysia don’t like it Aussies really don’t like radioactive waste in the back yard.......although if batteries were manufactured close to the mine it makes it a whole lot easier. But than again getting Aussies to live out of the city to the country and receive minimum wage....
No chance of large scale manufacturing starting up in Aus anytime soon or forever.
Educate the population to buy local first , if and when you can do that then you can look at the rest.
We are all guilty of buying the cheapest no matter where its made or from , and wanting to be paid the most for what we do. Change that attitude and businesses may decide to stay. no one to blame but ourselves.
Cheers Ean
Tambo Teddies now buy their sheep skins from China - for sure they are Aussie sheep skins taken in Aust then shipped to China for processing then shipped back to the Tambo factory in Toowoomba (used to be in Tambo).
Sheep skins could not be reliably sourced in Aust so Aussie Sheep skins are sourced from China - go figure. [bigsad] Oh and many of the Tambo workers are refugees as local Aussie workers were hard to source and retain.
Garry