Camel Campers bought by MDC

[MDS69]

Anyone taken a look at the annual salaries of CEO's of big companies in Australia lately? It's not the average Joe's wages, holidays and penalty rates that are killing Australian businesses, it's the exorbitant pay packets of the big guys at the top, in the millions (sometimes tens of millions) of dollars a year, plus bonuses.

Forget for the minute that I am talking about politicians but how is the head of Australia Post worth $4.1M per year verse what the Prime Minister gets, taking a guess here around $450k. It is a joke.

[Julian Kaye]

 Every person in this country should be breathing a sigh of relief that automotive manufacturing is kaput in this country. Does anyone have the slightest idea how much corporate welfare has been aimed by successive governments, especially Labor, simply to prop up numbers in the AMWU? It cost taxpayers $50k a year to employ the 2500 workers at Toyota so that they could receive their average 5% wage increases every year. Toyota alone received $500 million in the last four years. That's your taxes people.

[The punter]

Every person in this country should be breathing a sigh of relief that automotive manufacturing is kaput in this country. Does anyone have the slightest idea how much corporate welfare has been aimed by successive governments, especially Labor, simply to prop up numbers in the AMWU? It cost taxpayers $50k a year to employ the 2500 workers at Toyota so that they could receive their average 5% wage increases every year. Toyota alone received $500 million in the last four years. That's your taxes people.

Yeah you are right....

Can we talk about the subsidies on religion now?

[glenm64]

Yeah you are right....

Can we talk about the subsidies on religion now?

Or subsidised fuel for miners fisherman farmers
Tax concessions to multinational on mining royalties to down
stream process
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme cost hundreds of millions each year
Corporate subsidies are rife through all sectors
The list goes on and each can give an argument for the benefits of each
The so called subsidised automotive workers actually had a massive down stream effect to all the workers employed by suppliers of car components etc
The loss of income tax and GST paid by all the workers affected in the automotive industry has an ongoing affect on government revenue, both incoming taxes and outgoing welfare payments
One of the biggest issues facing any Australian government is the shrinking revenue base
We are one of the few countries that don't have tariffs in place to protect nation interests from imports artificially price structured to give the exporting country an unfair or false price




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bird]

Every person in this country should be breathing a sigh of relief that automotive manufacturing is kaput in this country. Does anyone have the slightest idea how much corporate welfare has been aimed by successive governments, especially Labor, simply to prop up numbers in the AMWU? It cost taxpayers $50k a year to employ the 2500 workers at Toyota so that they could receive their average 5% wage increases every year. Toyota alone received $500 million in the last four years. That's your taxes people.

Worked out how many 100 small companies that supplied parts over the years will now close too... but somehow the unemployment figures wont ever change.... seasonally adjusted? or just lies.

[IanS]

Or subsidised fuel for miners fisherman farmers

I agree with most of your post but you are wrong about the above,
Primary industry does not get a subsidy on fuel.

[glenm64]

I thought farmers also eligible for business fuel tax credits?
Not debating virtues of it, just saying every sector is subsidised one way or another



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tryagain]

You present a straw man of two small scale niches.

Automotive and white goods employed tens of thousands

Those tens of thousands will now be baristas

How is that a strawman argument? if anything is a strawman argument it's that ten's of thousands of ex-manufacturing employees now have to be baristas.

Are you seriously suggesting we should go back to manufacturing white goods like we did decades ago just so we can employ people and keep an outdated skillset? White goods manufacturing is predominately automated now so we would have to "tariff" automation as well to get back most of those jobs.

Yes, they are just two examples of niche manufacturers because they were meant as examples, not an exhaustive list. As others have pointed out that's where Germany excel's and what accounts for most of it's manufacturing and where the profit margins can afford the kind of kind of wages that we have here in Australia.

[The punter]

It's too late to go back, the skills are gone. Outdated? Depends on your perspective I guess.

My barista point is being ironic. Most service jobs are transitional, medium term. For the kids that wanted to leave hs to work with their hands and go into a supporting trade, a lot of that opportunity is now gone. For those lesser skilled kids that fit into production type roles, those jobs are gone.

This service industry you speak of isn't for everyone.

Not everyone can go to uni, nor should they, yet we seem to hold it in high regard now as the deafault path. Result is kids with no idea what to do and a huge hecs debt.

Yep I disagree with you holding up two small time examples of "smart" manufacturers. There is no dumb manufacturing, it all requires engineering, trades, and skills. We had that, and it was left to rot after removal of tariffs

[KingBilly]

Anybody remember what the topic of this thread was?

KB

[oldmate]

I think it was about camping? Or campers, or tents???  Maybe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[b1]

Well.... I say good luck to MDC. I hope they become the as succesful as Jayco. There will always be a place for small niche custom manufacturers

Many years ago Hyundai and Daewoo were cheap Shitty vehicles. One adapted rapidly and is now well respected and regularly has no. 1 selling passenger car to private buyers. The other disappeared and nearly sank GM.

I hope MDC become a powerhouse with a national dealer network employing heaps of aussies. If they can bring the enjoyment of getting out and enjoying/appreciating our wide brown land to more folks, then maybe we will stop taking this great country for granted. More poeple do it and spend their money at home in regional areas the better for all of us.

Sure the MDC quality was questionable early on, but I don't think that is still as true. Some of their customer service was a bit average at the start too I've read.

We can lement the loss of Blundstone, Burlei Bras et al and Vegemite, Tim Tams and Bundaberg Rum becoming foreign owned. But MDC an are Aussie success, I wish them all the best and hope they continue expanding, refining and improving.

You don't have to like them but competition raises the bar and thats good IMHO

[gronk]

 But MDC an are Aussie success


Are they ??  That's a bit like saying Aldi are an Aussie success because they employ Aussies ??

[KingBilly]

But MDC an are Aussie success


Are they ??  That's a bit like saying Aldi are an Aussie success because they employ Aussies ??

Huh, thought MDC was an Aussie owned company?

KB

[Bird]

I hope MDC become a powerhouse with a national dealer network employing heaps of aussies.

your post.. it crashed right there....

[b1]

100% australian owned vs German owned...I think there is a significant difference

[b1]

But MDC an are Aussie success


Are they ??  That's a bit like saying Aldi are an Aussie success because they employ Aussies ??

Aldi, like Optus they are a success. They are not Australian owned (neither is Kraft) but I'm happy to have someone challenge the duopoly. Many folks don't like Telstra, but I reckon like Bunnings they sharpened their game when a new competitor entered...

Anyway, what are the member numbers here ? Hardly think my n=1 will be represantative of everyones view  And owning another a brand have vested interest in seeing the opposition 'fail'.

I still say good on MDC, reckon they might acheive what other dream about, and they're Aussie

[tryagain]

It's too late to go back, the skills are gone. Outdated? Depends on your perspective I guess.

My barista point is being ironic. Most service jobs are transitional, medium term. For the kids that wanted to leave hs to work with their hands and go into a supporting trade, a lot of that opportunity is now gone. For those lesser skilled kids that fit into production type roles, those jobs are gone.

This service industry you speak of isn't for everyone.

Not everyone can go to uni, nor should they, yet we seem to hold it in high regard now as the deafault path. Result is kids with no idea what to do and a huge hecs debt.

Yep I disagree with you holding up two small time examples of "smart" manufacturers. There is no dumb manufacturing, it all requires engineering, trades, and skills. We had that, and it was left to rot after removal of tariffs

Smart was the term you had originally used so I continued but then I changed to more widely used high-tech and low-tech as I think this is more accurate of the point I were trying to make and doesn't have the derogatory undertones which I didn't intend.

I think there are still quite a few hands on roles available especially in the services sector for the kids you talk about, people used to do a lot of work around the house them self whereas now they get trades into do it for them, things like painting, tiling, decks, extensions, car services, replacing tap washers, mowing lawns, landscaping, adding extra power points, renovations in general, cleaning etc. have become a lot more likely to be outsourced than done DIY, this I at least partly attribute to the reduction in the price of good's allowing people to increase what they spend on services.

I agree with you with your point on people going to Uni, there seems to be plenty of pointless and over subscribed degrees.

There is still need for workers to do manual jobs, just not so much in low-tech manufacturing.

[IanS]

I thought farmers also eligible for business fuel tax credits?
Not debating virtues of it, just saying every sector is subsidised one way or another



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes all primary producers are eligible for fuel tax credits but that is not a subsidy, what happens is that when we buy fuel we pay the same price as everyone else, but because the fuel is not used on road the government is not entitled to collect the road tax component, and this is remitted back to the purchaser as a fuel tax credit. I don't want to drag the thread any further of topic so I will leave it at that.