Holden 'to close Australian operations in 2017'

[Hooligan]

Turn over any rock and you will find spiders.

[Waewick]

Turn over any rock and you will find spiders.

no doubt, so when you are looking for spiders, you find the biggest rock to overturn.

[Ho Really]

So there is no money to keep building cars in Australia, and yet there is $100 million to investigate alleged corruption in the union movement.....

Corrruption is a cancer. Whether there is or not it has to be investigated, and anyone guilty removed and severly punished (long term gaol sentences). Italy is a great example of an industrialised country destroyed by corruption (and not just by the Mafia). And...

100m won't save car production but it can still improve productivity I guess.

No money will save the Australian (building) car industry. Too many local manufacturers, low productivity, costs, high dollar, no world cars and small local market have all conspired to kill it. We couldn't continue to compete with countries that mass produced at cheaper and more efficient levels. Simple.

It's not about corruption it's about finishing Howard's job against the Union movement. Corruption investigation is just the "official" excuse.

Corruption exists beyond the Unions, why aren't they investigating anyone else besides those involved in Unions?

Rev, there's no excuse if Unions are involved with outlawed [motorcycle] gangs. If I understood properly it was announced that businesses would also be investigated if found to have colluded. If all businesses around the country were to be investigated it would cost much, much more than $100m.

On a positive note: what we need to do now is get the component manufacturers to diversify and innovate. The government over the next three years needs to spend money here, on helping these businesses find export markets, re-train workers if necessary and help in any other way to keep their costs down.

Cheers

[Dog]

The Financial Review reports today German defence manufacturer Rheinetall are looking at the Holden's plant as a regional manufacturing centre of military vehicles for SE Asia.


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[[Shuz]]

The irony... Australia producing military tanks, missile launchers, rockets, etc. for Indonesia... who let's be honest, we'll probably have another 'confrontation' with them over some state wishing to gain independence - I'm thinking Banda Aceh & West Papua, in particular - and them in turn using the very equipment we made for them against us. :S

[Aidan]

The irony... Australia producing military tanks, missile launchers, rockets, etc. for Indonesia... who let's be honest, we'll probably have another 'confrontation' with them over some state wishing to gain independence - I'm thinking Banda Aceh & West Papua, in particular - and them in turn using the very equipment we made for them against us. :S

Probably??? Very unlikely IMO. No chance at all regarding Aceh - it's not currently seeking independence, it's nothing to do with us, and hypothetically if there was a conflict we'd side with Indonesia.

In Papua it's different - there is some demand for independence, which is unsurprising considering how badly some of them have been treated. But war is not the answer - freedom of the press is.

And there has been no armed conflict between Australia and Indonesia's army since the 1970s. The Australian intervention in East Timor just after their independence referendum was conducted against paramilitaries, and was done with Indonesia's permission.

[Vee]

Holden's closure - terrible impact on Northern suburbs and SA economy.
Study by Associate Professor, John Spoehr of Adelaide University

The deadline for Holden's closure is fast approaching.
Huge unemployment, multiplier effect, social pressures, stress on local businesses, inadequacy of Federal funding, opportunities for new growth?

Holden closure impact studied in northern Adelaide, with bleak jobs finding.
The first detailed business survey since the announcement of Holden's closure plan has found one third of businesses near the manufacturing plant in northern Adelaide could be at risk of shutting.

Nearly 3,000 people will lose their jobs when Holden stops making cars in South Australia in 2017, but far more workers are expected to be affected.

The Workplace Futures Survey interviewed people at more than 450 businesses in northern Adelaide and researcher, Associate Professor John Spoehr of Adelaide University, said the outlook was bleak.
"What the survey shows is a very high level of concern across industries and it's just a question of magnitude," he said.

"I think it's very important to view this survey as a bit like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. That it's a warning that, unless we take action, there could be some serious consequences of inaction."

Professor Spoehr said the impact of Holden's local demise would be felt across the northern region.
"I think it's very important to view this survey as a bit like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. That it's a warning that, unless we take action, there could be some serious consequences of inaction."

"Around four in 10 employers - that's about 40 per cent - indicated that the closure of the industry would lead to a reduction in employment," he said.

"Around about a third of the business surveyed indicated that there was a risk of closure associated with the collapse of the automobile industry."

Business SA CEO Nigel McBride said urgent action was needed.
"We've got to remember this isn't just about business pressure and business closure, it's about the terrible social impact in an area that's already facing quite a lot of issues around poverty, crime, drug use, youth suicide," he said.

"This is certainly a bigger, more holistic problem than simply business closure, because that will trigger a domino effect in all of these other areas."

Mr McBride said he thought the Holden manufacturing exit also presented a great opportunity for South Australia.

"Now's the opportunity to recalibrate the state's economy, to take that funding and look at supporting industries that have got high growth potential, like premium food and beverage manufacturing, like agribusiness, tourism, education - you know, a very, very strong services industry in the state is very high calibre," he said.

"There's going to have to be this fine balance between, of course, supporting northern suburbs businesses to go through the very difficult and challenging transition, but also using the opportunity to recalibrate and rebalance the state's economy."

Professor Spoehr said his research showed a need for more funding support.

The Commonwealth has committed $100 million to helping a recovery from the collapse of the car industry in Australia.
The funding is part of a pool of money that will be used to help retrain workers, diversify business and boost community infrastructure, but Professor Spoehr said it would not be enough.

"When you look at the magnitude of the problem and the impacts on Victoria and New South Wales and South Australia, you really need around about $1 billion or thereabouts over the next five years to make a real difference," he said.

Without such funding, he expects South Australia's unemployment rate to reach 10 per cent in years ahead, from its current level of just under 6 per cent.

ABC News:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-30/h ... de/5778238