Potential silver lining

flappist · 21-03-2011, 04:05 PM

The earthquakes in ChCh and Japan have been horrific and shown just how fragile the planet is in some places.
The Japanese car manufacturing industry has taken a bit of a hit and potentially many other places could suffer a similar fate.

But not here.

We are in the middle of a tectonic plate and apart from a few small abberations (Newcastle for example) are one of the most stable places on earth.

So why not move manufacturing here?

Well apart from labour and union issues, government bureaucracy and a general laziness and weekend mentality it should be able to work.

But it would have to be competitive.

Lots of robots and high technology.
No assistant forklift drivers on $100,000 per year 9 day fortnight 6 weeks holidays triple time on weekends.

Would it be possible to produce a world class car that would sell at a world class price and be exported in Australia?

Or would there be too much "you would destroy our local industry" (even though it would be local) "you would put people out of jobs" (even though it would employ people that actually want to work).......

FPVF6X201 · 21-03-2011, 04:14 PM

Your assumption/theory is based on the premise that aussies would want to work. Perhaps you could build the plant in Nimbin NSW? Plenty of people available to work there lol.

Fev · 21-03-2011, 04:15 PM

It would take too much REAL effort to get this going. I'd imagine the government would put the country deep in the black paying for all the study groups needed to figure out how many robots we'd actually need.

Buntz · 21-03-2011, 04:26 PM

You never know. Someone might consider it worthwhile. But Japanese Yen is still worth oh so little compared to the dollar. Even if they price things differently. This has kept the majority of Japanese cars built there, lots of Japanese people employed, and vast profits for the manufacturer's. One of which owns their own city.

Road Games · 21-03-2011, 04:32 PM

Thank you for the POSITIVE spin ...

Barry_v · 21-03-2011, 05:04 PM

flappist's threads read like AM radio talkback.

Mr Brooksy · 21-03-2011, 05:13 PM

Too many people I read posts from various car sites would complain that "the products wouldn't have the same technology and standard options on Australian built cars, and build quality would be rubbish compared to overseas offerings".

I for one could see it being beneficial, but highly unlikely.

Racecraft · 21-03-2011, 05:20 PM

it would be an option....however after 12 months of overpaid Aussies running the tools, boatloads of Japanese workers would be hired @ a pitance and push the aust guys out of a job.....

XR Martin · 21-03-2011, 05:22 PM

You think Japan is going to give up their jobs so easily? Toyota was planning to move manufacturing of the Corolla to Thailand, and the Unions over there chucked a big fit.

Kryton · 21-03-2011, 06:05 PM

didnt work in the past - wont work in the future.

**russellw** · 21-03-2011, 06:07 PM

Japan was (at one time) a country of relatively low cost labour but that is certainly not the case now. The Japanese auto worker currently receives a base rate of around $26 per hour plus around $11 an hour in health benefits - which in real terms places them above ours even after factoring the lower number of paid non productive time.

It is probably the Korean industry that we would have to compete against - for a start they work 2,390 hours a year compared to about 1,840 in this country and with an hourly rate somewhere around $9 an hour we aren't in the same league!

Cheers
Russ

Buntz · 21-03-2011, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by russellw

Japan was (at one time) a country of relatively low cost labour but that is certainly not the case now. The Japanese auto worker currently receives a base rate of around $26 per hour plus around $11 an hour in health benefits - which in real terms places them above ours even after factoring the lower number of paid non productive time.

It is probably the Korean industry that we would have to compete against - for a start they work 2,390 hours a year compared to about 1,840 in this country and with an hourly rate somewhere around $9 an hour we aren't in the same league!

Cheers
Russ

Fudge! Maybe more Japanese manufacturing could come over here then. They already own most of Australia don't they?

vztrt · 21-03-2011, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by russellw

Japan was (at one time) a country of relatively low cost labour but that is certainly not the case now. The Japanese auto worker currently receives a base rate of around $26 per hour plus around $11 an hour in health benefits - which in real terms places them above ours even after factoring the lower number of paid non productive time.

Thought a lot of their auto industry went on as contract workers. I remember alot of workers getting laid off during the GFC with no entitlements. Toyota was the biggest manufacturer to do this.

XD 351 Ute · 21-03-2011, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

No assistant forklift drivers on $100,000 per year 9 day fortnight 6 weeks holidays triple time on weekends.

Why not? The CEO's seem to do very well for themselves whilst sitting on their ever enlargening cakeholes...........

Ed

flappist · 21-03-2011, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XD 351 Ute

Why not? The CEO's seem to do very well for themselves whilst sitting on their ever enlargening cakeholes...........

Ed

Yep none of them too.

But if this works I wonder if we find a place to stick all the boat people who want to work for $9 per hour. Not it the car industry though, far too complex work, maybe just digging holes in the ground somewhere.

Now where are there a lot of grossly overpaid people just digging holes in the ground........

Road Games · 21-03-2011, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Now where are there a lot of grossly overpaid people just digging holes in the ground........

Ooh ooh i know pick me , pick me .........

FPV8U · 21-03-2011, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Now where are there a lot of grossly overpaid people just digging holes in the ground........

...

Someones got the fishing rod out tonight!

vztrt · 21-03-2011, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Now where are there a lot of grossly overpaid people just digging holes in the ground........

IT????

Buntz · 21-03-2011, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

IT????

Nah... it can't be. I'm in I.T. I usually spend my time digging people out of holes.

mik · 21-03-2011, 09:18 PM

its funny that some have an overwhelming vision that the majority of Aussies are bludgers, did`nt i read somewhere that we work more hours in this country(probably because its so hard to save a quid) than many of the other country`s, most of my friends work 50 hours a week, i`ve worked plenty of jobs where 50/60 or more hours a week was the norm, i don`t think the problem in Australia is that we are bludgers at all.
the problem is we have way too many benefits, now and again we hear a couple of words come out of the mouths of fat cat politicians "USER PAYS" but that seems to be very rare!, ...................................... lets look back 30 or 40 years, we owned uilities, they rarely made money but worked to a standard and we had a thing called service........oh well

, moveing on, once upon a time you didn`t get a $3000 or $5000 dollar pay check for for a 16/17 year old pumping out baby`s like cans in a coke machine , paid maternity leave , i hate to be mean but thats just an example, the never ending dole, compulsory super paid by business , all of these things cause higher taxes and make the cost of living and doing business in Australia painfull, add to that over regulation in some area`s , i can remember a young bloke that was working his way around the world said to me he liked Australia but compared to many other countries its so hard to make/save money here and that he was leaveing, this is our problem imo, add some greenies into the mix that would`nt let us build a freeway on some swamp land because of a lone solitary frog

.
i think we already have world class cars, that are better in some area`s , but just not as well appointed as some, can we catch up in this enviroment........... hard to say.

XD 351 Ute · 21-03-2011, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Yep none of them too.

But if this works I wonder if we find a place to stick all the boat people who want to work for $9 per hour. Not it the car industry though, far too complex work, maybe just digging holes in the ground somewhere.

Now where are there a lot of grossly overpaid people just digging holes in the ground........

Lol, I was just having a bit of a stir.
I do agree though that Australia must get back on it's manufacturing feet.
How we compete with the companies overseas with less overheads I don't know.
Yes we probably could take a bit out of our wages to partially compensate, but I don't know if that would be enough.

The company I work for, is based in Switzerland, but we make "Aussie" cement...........

So if the shareholders aren't happy, (and believe me they're making a killing..) we then get shut down because it will be too expensive to make it here.

Ed

Bossxr8 · 22-03-2011, 10:11 AM

We don't need manufacturing, we have minerals in the ground we send overseas cheap and have it returned to us as high cost products. Duh.

At least that what the government thinks, seem to be doing everything to make sure we have no manufacturing in this country. Libs are even worse in this regard.

Every week we seem to see more and more companies sending jobs overseas.

Buntz · 22-03-2011, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

We don't need manufacturing, we have minerals in the ground we send overseas cheap and have it returned to us as high cost products. Duh.

At least that what the government thinks, seem to be doing everything to make sure we have no manufacturing in this country. Libs are even worse in this regard.

Every week we seem to see more and more companies sending jobs overseas.

We can't keep propping up our Automotive industry. We need something that will be worth propping up in the future. As the current seam of things has almost come unravelled

Bossxr8 · 22-03-2011, 06:21 PM

Every other country does the same thing for their local industries, they provide lots of high paying jobs and pay plenty of tax as well as providing business to hundreds of other local industries, suppliers and contractors.

The automotive manufacturing industry is the second highest export earner for australia behind mining.

dogfish · 22-03-2011, 07:34 PM

Why do you all seem to think that tradies and labourers are grossly overpaid.
We just want to be able to buy a house in an average suburb in an average street drive an average car and enjoy our average life.
I earn a pittance compared to an accountant at tax time who takes what a max of 15 mins to sort out my simple tax return and stings me over $100.00 for it or a lawyer who wants to charge $150.00 + for a phone call. Blame the people who think buying and selling realestate properties and driving prices up is a great idea, Blame the people who only shop at Wooworths or Coles and cause a Monopoly on the Food market and pay our farmers sweet F.A.
I work bloody hard for my dollars as a Fitter/Machinist and this sort of talk really ****** me off. Our over paid workers HAHAHA what a Joke it's the FAT CATS up top who feather their own nests first that cause all the problems anyway. My skills/Qualification in My Trade are Just as important as the Tax accountant or the Lawyer who is saving your ***. No nobody made me do a trade it was my choice but where would this country be if all of us went to UNI got a Degree in whatever and Procrastinated and sat around thinking Grand self important ideas. So whilst we are all over qualified undergraduates looking for our ideal job whose delivering the fuel fixing the equipment unblocking your dunny. Hence we are on a fair pay scale to what everybody else is on in this country.

mik · 22-03-2011, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

We can't keep propping up our Automotive industry. We need something that will be worth propping up in the future. As the current seam of things has almost come unravelled

they would`nt need propping up if it was less costly to do business here.

JG34JA · 22-03-2011, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

So why not move manufacturing here?

Well apart from labour and union issues, government bureaucracy and a general laziness and weekend mentality it should be able to work.

But it would have to be competitive.

Lots of robots and high technology.
No assistant forklift drivers on $100,000 per year 9 day fortnight 6 weeks holidays triple time on weekends....

The solution can be found in an old Goodies episode. Tim, Bill and Graham tie Britain to their row boat and attempt to tow the UK outside its own 5 mile limit, so they can operate their pirate radio station free of taxes/regulations!
If we get the Navy to tow Australia about 5000km west into the Indian ocean, we can operate all businesses free of our current restrictions!

+1 for the robots.