The last car made in Australia. Free-trading Liberal and Labor killed Australian manufacturing industries

Letter to the Editor

In 1983 (yes, 40 years ago) I was a non-TV watching, non-radio listening, non-news reading, non-political Aussie in my twenties… too busy living an amazing life with uni and diving and camping and working… Then (in 1983) on someone’s TV was an interview with John Howard, then Treasurer of the Aussie government. He said they were taking down all the import tariffs and opening up trade with China, opening up internationally.

The first thought that shot into my head was: “Oh my god, that will be the end of Australian manufacturing and a terrible, dangerous dependence on foreign made goods that will eventually cause big problems for our country!” And I said it and said it and said it and people looked at me either blankly, or dismissively, just didn’t get it, at all.

Labor PM Bob Hawke a communist plant
Former Treasurer then PM John
Howard a puppet of the NWO

I grew up in Adelaide. Just down the road when I was a kid this little bike shop opened and we had a big chat with the young owner, a Standish boy, all hopeful about building it up into something big. Well big it became, great bikes. A few miles down the track we had the Dunlop rubber factory, where the famous Volleys shoes were made – best soft shoes ever, roofer’s dream. A little further down the track, the Onkaparinga woollen mills where blankets were made by local Aussie workers from local Aussie sheep and the Onkaparinga River water. I bought blankets when I was 18 – that was 50 years ago, and they are still as good as new.

My grandparents worked in factories that made Holden cars and Kelvinator fridges, on site in Adelaide. And so on. The Sunbeam electric frypan that Mum got for her wedding in 1953 still works perfectly to this day. And so on and on and on. And the consumer generations say: but with lifetime-lasting products there would be not enough jobs. Bollocks! The parts and repair industries were huge employers. Just that there was way less disposal, waste and pollution, and less useless expenditure by people.

Tell Gen X and Millennials that now, they marvel. As they constantly throw out streams of broken Chinese junk that lasts a few uses then goes into landfill… And here we are 2023, hardly anyone knows how to make things or fix things (except Boomers, like me), the factories are empty shells, and we are beggars needing China.

I saw a doco where they interviewed Chinese factory workers. Not only did they not give a damn about the quality of the products flying off the production line from their hands, they actually expressed hatred and jealousy of the West. Can you imagine the impact that would have on the quality of the products? Not to mention the energy of hate imprinted into what we later buy?

Bemoan – why don’t people ever listen?!

From Dianne T

South Australia