The SA Politics Thread

[Aidan]

I agree affordable childcare is also important - but isn't that also handing out money to people who don't need it?

No it isn't. It's providing (or at least ensuring the availability of) a service not a handout, and it applies equally to those who do need it,

In terms of the Federal view of things SA, given both Parties are focused on Northern Australia, I firmly believe they see SA as the source of the population growth up there, where else are they going to get the number of people need to move there?

Western Sydney! Considering the great lengths the pollies will go to to appear to be concerned about the traffic congestion without actually funding the infrastructure, they'd obviously rather some of the Western Sydney residents lived somewhere else. And then of course there's immigration - if the government wasn't so obsessed with stopping people reaching Northern Australia, the problem of finding people to go there would solve itself.

but wouldn't it be needed in areas with more working women....

Yes it would. That's not a problem. Working women pay taxes so there's nothing unfair about them being able to get something in return. And working women are something to be encouraged wherever they are.

I agree with the rest. but SA is a minor nuisance to the federal pollies, where as Sydney is sydney.

...which may or may not be related to the fact that neither side has announced a coherent policy for Northern Australia.

I do like the conspiracy theory re:state election 2014, would be great if it was true.

Rather counterproductive if it is, as too little spending is already holding us back, and people are likely to blame Tony Abbott for more cuts.

[Dog]

Where's Steven Marshall's backbone
The NSW and VIC Liberal premiers were willing to stand up to Abbott big time on Education funding, didn't hear much from S Marshall to support SA's education funding, turns out their pressure forced a back flip. The car industry needs the same pressure, labor's always been willing to fight for SA and punch above our weight, it ain't just Holden workers going to lose jobs, hundreds of small businesses are going down the drain if Holden's close as well. All very well to run some TV adds promoting "Liberals support small business" when there's no backbone to stand up for the state. At this rate he will only have "small" business left as all the big ones will have left.


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[Ho Really]

Dog those in NSW and Vic were premiers not opposition leaders and they had made deals with Labor when in government. So they had a good reason. Maybe Marshall would have done the same if he was premier. Who knows. Of course he would have an opinion, but he doesn't have say anything if he doesn't want to.

As for the car industry in Australia, it failed a long time ago. Too many manufacturers for a small market and few exports. Little innovation, high wages, high costs and disinterested overseas management. So why should we continue to prop up an industry that is going the way of the dodo? I know everyone says what about the other co-related industries, the suppliers, componentry, etc. My answer is innovate and diversify. If not close or go elsewhere. Simple. It's a nasty thing to say, but that's the sad reality of the manufacturing industry. I'm also sorry to say this but it really irks me when people with left-leaning ideals think they can fix things by just throwing money at them. You can't. If they think they know any better then they should be running those industries or businesses instead of whinging. Lastly, this thing about only Labor fighting etc., is a fallacy. All political sides have poured money into failing industries in the past. Maybe now has come the time to say enough is enough. If these industries can't get their act together they should just be left to close or move offshore.

Dog if you have further complaints maybe you should direct them to those countries that are destroying our manufacturing industries. Some are even socialist inclined.

Cheers

PS. Steven Marshall supports small (and medium) business because he knows they'll support him.

[metro]

Steven Marshall is only a first term MP, how can South Australian's trust a leader on L-Plates to actually govern this state?

[Dog]

I don't buy this crap about it being in uneconomical to build cars in Australia, car production in the UK is up 17% this year, the $A is only worth 55p.


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[dsriggs]

This just in, the European market is different to the Asia-Pacific market.

[rev]

I don't think it's got to do with consumer markets being different, rather industrial relations laws and what not.
What they are trying to do here in Australia, imo, is destroy workers rights, or what rights we have left.

When you here billionaire assholes like Gina Reinhardt, or GM Holden, or other manufacturers, complaining that the cost of producing things here is too expensive, what they are really saying is that their wages bill is too high and they want it reduced so they can make a bigger profit.

Holden has to reduce it's costs to become profitable if it is going to compete against the cheaper Asian imports. Toyota is making cars in Thailand at a lower cost then it makes cars here in Australia. Those cars from Thailand are some of the highest selling cars in Australia, some models I think out sell anything from Holden.

Similarly with Qantas, they put profits over everything else.
Foreign airlines are performing better then Qantas, because they have lower operating costs. So Qantas responds by slashing jobs in Australia and sending specific work overseas to places where it's cheaper to do.

Globalization. Big corporations in the end find a way to increase their profits, while we the workers get screwed in the process.

[Waewick]

Steven Marshall is only a first term MP, how can South Australian's trust a leader on L-Plates to actually govern this state?

How does being in his first term impact trust?

are suggesting someone who has done a bad job is preferable to finding someone who might do a good job ?

With your attitude how do you ever get a new premier?

[Waewick]

Australians cant argue too much about wages and conditions m We have one of the highest minimum incomes in the world and some of the toughest conditions.

I'm happy to protect those things but if we want to maintain our living standard we have to change or attitude to work.

We have one of the lowest productivity out puts in the OECD, which given our incomes is outrageous.

We also need to acknowledge that life isn't 9- 5 anymore ( im on call 7-10ish every day)

What we need to do is focus on building things that cant be replicated in the low quality cents such as China.

The problem is it is going to require people taking responsibility for themselves andi just can't see that happening.

[Dog]

About 5 years ago I attended a Northern Regional industry development forum, the key note speaker was the Australian CEO of GMH, he was asked numerous times about the high cost of Australian auto workers. On every occasion he dismiss this, he pointed out that the labour component of building a car was very small at about 4 or 5%
He stressed that the biggest gamble in auto production is choosing and developing a product that the market wants. Journalist pushed him on Chinese competition. He rightly pointed our there was none. And five years later " Great Wall sales have fallen, Cherry" is hardly house hold favourite, Thailand basically only still makes utes and India a non-starter.
He said Holden's competitors were still from other high labour countries like Japan , the UK Germany and that even South Korea was not a cheap wage country any more.

So all this self defeatism Is purely political driven. If we look at the current Auto industry in Canada (high wage, high dollar) comparable economy to Australia the labour cost of a $41k car is only $1,740. or 4%. Canada is successful because they chose to build the higher end GM products to a noticeably better standard to other competitors. (And incidentally built on the Holden developed commodore rear wheel platform) Australia purchases 0ver 700 cars per 1000 people compared to the UK with about 500 yet the UK has both a high pound and a booming exporting auto industry now producing cars for most major brands and 17% growth last year.
Holden's survival is more about building something from scratch that the world wants to buy not a couple of cheap low cost "world cars" for the local market.

http://www.caw.ca/assets/pdf/590-Auto_Price.pdf




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[Waewick]

I agree with you dog we should be able to make cars here.

But why does Holden get it wrong with its production?

Or is it morea cultural cringe thing which stops people drivingHolden?

[Dog]

I read somewhere recently that the best option for Holden would be for it to be taken over buy a Chinese auto maker like Volvo has been. Holden would then be their premium model and our design capabilities and quality could help develop world markets. Shame if GM hasn't got the bottle to run it, the Government the foresight to co-invest and it's just shut down like Ford.


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[Nort]

We have one of the lowest productivity out puts in the OECD, which given our incomes is outrageous.

Got any of the graphs? I've seen analysis which says that productivity as value for money has actually stayed the same or got better in Australia over the last few decades.

[Waewick]

http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bull ... jun/3.html

[Vee]

As the slanging match heats up between the State Premier and Opposition Leader re support for SA jobs in the auto industry, this article, by Greg Jericho (The Guardian) is of interest. It includes statistics and graphs relevant to the Oz car industry, manufacturing, GDP and productivity.

Australian car industry not the productivity knuckle dragger it's made out to be.
Car making leads the Australian manufacturing sector in labour productivity, but that's probably not enough to save it

The report last week that Holden may be planning to stop manufacturing here in 2016 coincided with the release of the national accounts and a productivity commission working paper. These showed that manufacturing continues to decline in overall importance but that also the car industry is not the productivity sloth it is often portrayed.

The manufacturing industry has now been declining for 40 years. Back in 1974 (when the ABS began measuring gross value added by each industry) manufacturing accounted for 15% of our GDP, and was more than double the size of the mining and construction industries which were tied for second biggest.

The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/business/gro ... -out-to-be