Politics

Blind ideology ends Australian car industry

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Through blind ideology, harsh words and careless actions, the Abbott Government has overseen the death of the car manufacturing industry in Australia. Matthew N. Donovan outlines the Abbott Government agenda. 

IT IS CRYSTAL CLEAR the Abbott Government has no idea what it's doing.

The announcement by Toyota of their closure in Australia is the latest casualty of the ideology that has taken control of the country.

Let's be frank about this: the loss of our over 70 year car manufacturing industry is a disaster of unimaginable proportions.

The reality of this is not yet accepted by Tony Abbott and his Government.

The South Australian and Victorian Premiers are beating a path to Tony Abbott's door begging for adequate support packages to insulate their economies from what now looks like almost certain recession.

They shouldn't hold their breath. 

If the support package offered to South Australia after the loss of Holden is any indication, their pleas will be falling on deaf ears.

These latest events have the potential to spell the loss of 50,000 jobs and will severely impact up to 200,000 jobs involved in the supply chain.

There is no plan for these workers.

Tony Abbott's blasé response is:

"Some jobs close and other jobs open."

The fact is, the Australian economy will struggle to absorb these workers and their skill sets. Some of these workers don't know anything else.

According to Professor Roy Green, dean of Sydney University of Technology Business School [IA emphasis]:

"... studies have shown, that about a third of the workforce will find jobs in the same industry, another third will find jobs in different industries and possibly their own start up companies, but a third will not work again."

This is a crisis completely of the government's making and was totally avoidable. The "no government handouts" line exists in complete isolation to all expert advice and is guided by a blind observance to neo-conservative ideology. 

An ideology that lacks any wiggle room for compromise or pragmatism. This government is of the far right and willingly accept the consequences of its misguided actions.

If they did listen to expert advice, they would realise the modest investment sought by the auto industry in Australia is nothing compared to what the governments of Germany, and the United States provide.

(Source: PPB Advisory Automotive, May 2013 via The Conversation)

For every $1 invested to support the auto industry, many more are returned to the economy.

The Abbott Government just don't care about the impact of their actions.

They are more than willing to overstate worker rights and entitlements at SPC Ardmona rather than support Australian industry and its workers.

We also see the ideology of the government on display when it comes to attacks on the ABC, the self-serving political witch hunt against unions and unionised workers and the false statements made about so called bias in the current school curriculum. 

All of this will fade into insignificance when the findings of the stacked Commission of Audit are handed down.

The axe is about to be taken to our society and our social safety net.

(Cartoon by Matt Bissett-Johnson)

It will all be on the back of the middle class and lower class workers.Will business be asked to play their part in this process? I doubt it.

Mining companies continue to get healthy subsidies.

High end superannuation account holders have been given a tax cut while the lowest workers receive a tax hike.

This government is driven by the principle of "smaller government".

In their view, this is the era of "personal responsibility" and the end of the "age of entitlement".

This is already the worst government in Australian history. And they're just warming up.

A government that allegedly wants to focus on jobs and growth but has done everything to create the conditions for the opposite outcomes. 

The previous Government were prepared to support the manufacturing industry and good, high-skilled, protect Australian jobs.

Tony Abbott will oversee their demise.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten put it best when he said:

"Tony Abbott knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."

Matthew N Donovan is a Labor Party member and a former ALP state candidate.

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