Oh boy I wasn’t going to reply because there are so many views on this, but here goes.
For my background I have been involved in supplying the MVI (motor vehicle industry) and Tier suppliers for 14+ years. Both here and worked with some OS. I have worked and liasoned with industry groups and unions.
Bit of background so you understand some things. Senator Button (labor senator) introduced the “button plan” which many blame started the rot. Button was a clever guy and a practical guy IMO. He forced the car companies to start getting productivity in place and making more modern cars. Unfortunately at the same time his greedy boss decided on the FBT (fringe benefits tax) this was the first blow to local manufacturers. At that stage the majority of Falcondores made were sold to companies, after that local cars sales started a slide as industry invented ways of circumventing FBT ie car allowances and salary sacrificing we have today, of course once the choice became part of the employees they decided on what they wanted from ALL the manufacturers.
Unfortunately Button was the last clever guy from the government. After that successive idiots have just handed money over to the MVI without very little thought as to a return or assurances. During the GFC the independent transmission factory at Albury got into debt after SsangYong didn't come through with promised funds (you would not believe how many contracts are agreed to and done on wishy washy promises in the MVI) this was the only other independent transmission factory in the world beside ZF, the knowledge and IP there was staggering. They required about $30-50M to be saved, no amount of pleading by industry or the AMWU could get the government to budge, it let the Chinese Auto giant Geely buy it. Geely have since reduced employment at Albury but duplicated the line in China twice! No wonder the union was so quick to sharpen knifes on Rudd a year later, at the same time he gave GM and Ford millions without any real assurances, Howard did little for Manufacturing but considering labor is supposedly the workers party their last 5 years is a disgrace in regards to industry. The car companies’ decisions were largely made then. Ford had the fiesta manufacturing platform coming here in 2007 before cancelling in 2008. I never found out the reason, but the thing with small cars is there less money. It doesn’t cost much more to manufacture a $80,000 commodore than it does a $20,000 box when it comes to raw materials and assembly. But the profits are sooo much more. So manufacturing the Corolla here with a higher labor and utilities cost doesn’t work. We need to be making BMW and merc type cars to cover costs
I found the AMWU receptive to things that would help the MVI like B&B posted above, there was a guy called Dave Smith who worked very hard, unfortunately reform came a too late I think. Where the unions where complicit IMO was on the floor where they protected workers who should have been let go. I recall a situation where Ford had an employee damaging equipment by incorrect use (not maliciously) just because he didn’t want to change! Management were pleaded with but nobody would take this guy to task, Productivity lost!
Toyotas fate was sealed years ago, after the glass makers closed, Toyota don’t like having a manufacturing plant anywhere in the world where they have to import glass. I think they continued because they didn’t want to be the first to pull out.
So sadly we are here now, the loss to Australia is the skills, yes the unskilled employees are a loss. But think of all the “smart” things the clever people will invent and how few toolmakers and machinists will be around to make those “smart’ things. The cochlear implant, the ventracor artificial heart (another Aussie company Rudd let go during the GFC), etc etc all require lots of good tradesmen who in previous years were trained in the MVI, the armaments industry, the railway workshops. All now gone?
The great countries of the worlds have largely all been the great manufacturers at one stage.
