For all her problems, Julia Gillard understands just how important the strong dollar will be not just for business but governments, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
Manufacturing
Essential: strong support for manufacturing assistance and pokies reform
There’s strong support for mandatory pre-commitment from voters, and they also back handouts for the car industry.
Kohler: why unemployment is heading to 6%
There is an unfolding employment disaster going on in Australia, but compared with Greece and Spain, Portugal and Ireland, we’re doing just great.
Strong dollar will wreak havoc on the out of touch in business
The continuing strong dollar will have implications for governments as well as the Australian economy. It’s time we faced up to it.
Does automotive assistance work? We’ll know ‘in future years’
We could better debate manufacturing assistance if we knew what worked and what didn’t. But we can’t, not yet.
GDP: accept it — the economy is booming
Today’s GDP numbers confirm that the AUstralian economy is in robust health. Without Europe, there’d have been no interest rate cuts, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
Retail and building data stick to the two-speed trend
A slew of economic data confirms existing trends in the economy — and it’s not all bad outside the mining sector.
Is the jobs forum a summit in search of a problem?
Employers and unions are unlikely to have much of a dialogue at the jobs forum in a few weeks.
Essential: Rudd preferred as crisis leader; election now, say voters
Kevin Rudd’s the preferred choice of voters in the event there’s another financial crisis. But more voters want an election held now.
Make or break: manufacturing should be weaned off the public teat
Huge industry subsidies by the taxpayer do little to preserve jobs or the industries themselves, writes Ian Hanke, of Agitate.com.au and the HR Nicholls Society.
The major economic reforms no one voted for
The Australian economy is facing massive restructuring without our politicians lifting a finger, thanks to a manufacturing industry that’s in its longest period of decline since the 1990s recession.
Our fiscal props: financial services and mining
Quick - what’s the biggest sector of the Australian economy? The answer reveals a lot about what’s happened since 2001, and what will happen in the next recession.
There’ll never be a better time for a carbon price
Saying you support a carbon price but not if it costs any jobs is nonsensical. The point of a carbon price is change.
Time to re-evaluate Chinese manufacturing? PacBrands fails to deliver
At first glance, Pacific Brands’ half-year profit announcement was disastrous. But the news was even worse: results showed the company’s highly contentious move to manufacture offshore has not delivered, says James Boston.
What’s keeping our cotton undies up?
The giant global garment industry heaved a sigh of relief overnight, as the cotton price eased back slightly from the all-time peak of $1.90 a pound it reached last Friday, writes Business Spectator’s Karen Maley.
Megalogenis: Mining the tax boom
Miners doubled the company tax they paid over the first four years of the resources boom, but paid a lower effective tax rate than other industries. George Megalogenis explains the new fascinating data.
Winners and losers in the great game of industry assistance
Australia stopped reducing its industry assistance in the 1990s and has been increasing it for years — mainly to big multinationals in small industries with strong unions. And other sectors are paying the price.
Why moving offshore isn’t just about cutting costs
Manufacturing in a Western country is hard. It’s expensive, good machinists are difficult to find and many are working illegally or have poor language skills. But moving your manufacturing to China doesn’t mean having to sell your soul.
The dollar is not an Aussie battler
Don’t get too excited about the super cheap international holidays available right now. A weak Aussie dollar keeps our manufacturing up, our unemployment down and our exports competitive, writes Tom Elliot.
Riding the coattails of Asia’s success
Despite initially being the hardest hit by the GFC, Asian economies have proven more resilient than US and Europe. Manufacturers are hopping on board, exporting to developing countries like China and India and reaping the rewards.
Carr has his head in the sand on exports
Australia might be free from recession and recovering, but the big traditional manufacturing (making) economies of the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, South Korea are still very sick. Demand for goods that are ‘made’ is going to be very weak for some time.
Tech-sploitation? Life inside a Chinese gadget sweatshop
The manufacturers of tech products recently came into the spotlight after a Chinese worker at an iPhone factory committed suicide. So what’s life really like for the people who build your iPods, laptops and digital photo frames? Seriously depressing, according to this worker’s account.
Economic data puts Australia on the precipice
Business indicators fell in the March quarter, confirming expectations of a negative reading for first quarter growth.
Keffiyeh: Made in Palestine
The keffiyah: the scarf once a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and now an item of tragic Western hipster fashion. Monocle visits the last Palestinian keffiyeh factory, now in competition with cheaper Chinese manufacturers.
Australian manufacturing in record decline
Australia’s manufacturing industry is at a cross-roads: it’s sinking fast, but a new research centre at Swinburne Uni might offer a glimmer of hope.
