Re: Holden 'to close Australian operations in 2017'
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:53 pm
That's how Labor left it till Abbott promised to cut $500 m before the election. Triggering this whole mess!
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I didn't realise that, but I stand by my point that the government should not be propping up unviable businesses.Dog wrote:Not quite right the Abbott Government took $500m off the table earmarked by the Labor government with additional still committed by the state government. (not a broken promise because he said he would do it before the election) that's what triggered the whole GM review, till that point Holden's had agreed to build two new models at Elizabeth, both front wheel drive based on world cars, one a replacement of the Commodore and the other the next cruise.pushbutton wrote:I might have missed something (if I have please feel free to fill me in) but as far as I know in the short time Abbot has been PM the only thing he has said or done in relation to Holden is say that the existing assistance package is still there for them, but there will be no more!
That sounds very sensible, and even very generous to me. I don't see how this coalition government can be blamed for Holdens closure. Possibly the previous (labour) government could be partly to blame for the fact they didn't raise tarrifs or the fact they allowed the situation previously mentioned where it's s difficult to raise tarrifs on imported vehicles.
I don't blame either the current or previous government. I do blame Holden because they failed to keep up to date with the sort of vehicles people will buy now and in the future. They failed to innovate sufficiently, and they did try a last minute effort to make workers conditions more realistic, but that was far too little and done far too late!
At the end of the day, we live in a free market economy and the government should play no role in propping up businesses which are not viable in the long term. The economy will adapt and new jobs will be created elsewhere which are more sustainable.
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I haven't much to say about Ford, apart from the fact that without an export plan, it was never really committed to staying in Australia. But to pin Mitsubishi's decision on the former Government is pretty disingenuous, given its management had made its decision prior to the 2007 election. The Coalition knows that, and it's been very clever in its wording in the House to avoid explicitly saying otherwise, lest they get caught misleading Parliament.serca wrote:To the people who are pointing their finger at Abbott, what do you have to say about Ford and Mitsubishi shutting up shop under the Labor Government?
Totally agree well said!JAKJ wrote:Holden produce a good product (just google the reviews for the new Chevrolet SS and the Pontiac G8/ GTO still have a cult following in the US) that GM could and should have marketed off-sure as a niche model, a cut-price rival to the 5 series/ E-Class. If it was offered in the world's top ten markets the sales volume would have been sufficient to make Australian production viable.
Australia's appetite for large sedans was never going to keep Holden viable no matter how amazing the product was and the cost of producing multiple model lines of existing mass market products (e.g. the Cruze) that could be imported cheaper from overseas would not make sense either.
GM has a big part to blame in the miss-management of it's Holden asset. It is a fantastic product that all Australian's should be proud of. Also, If you look at some of the top designers/ engineers across GM you would be surprised to find how many have Australian/ Holden origins.
Firstly, grow up..Waewick wrote:yes, Holden closing in Abbott and Hockeys fault
lets all vote for Wetherill
Haha, you crack me up, if calling out your ignorance is considered a personal insult then well that is what it is.Firstly, grow up..
Or are you looking for another argument? Because I'll quite happily engage in one with you if that's what you're after..but this time try and keep your cool without resorting to insults and abuse because you lack any sufficient counter arguments.
Firstly, when you start a post complaining about personal attacks and the like, you should then try to avoid utilising emotive language that makes huge assumptions about a person and then making cloak and dagger digs at their intelligence.
So you are saying that GM's decision to end production in Australia by 2017 is not the fault of Abbott and Hockey?
Really? I explained it in my post...but as usual, you're just shit stirring to try start another confrontation.
GMH was committed to continuing production in Australia till at least 2022 with new models after 2016 when the current VF Commodore run would end. They would have introduced a new front wheel drive model to replace the Commodore based on a global platform. The global base platform with shared components across multiple brands intended to reduce costs.
This was contingent on government assistance.
Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey, the two so called wannabe economic geniuses who are going to save Australia, decided to pull 500 million in assistance to the car industry. And therefore, GM has now decided to end production in Australia as a direct result of that government decision by your idols.
Didn't your idol Abbott say Holden would be better off under a Liberal government then a Labor government? Did he mean better off as in it wont exist anymore?
And to pushbutton and whomever else that thinks our government shouldn't provide assistance...everyone other first world economy with car manufacturing provides assistance to their industries.
But hey, lets lose another industry and hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions from the economy.
I'm sure the 2,000 workers in Elizabeth, and thousands more component workers will magically find a job the day after they get laid off. Because you know, there's an abundance of jobs out there.
Some of you should just go back to worrying about whether there's beer in your fridge only. You clearly can't see the bigger picture.
We've been maneuvered into a trade position which is harmful to Australia's interests by successive governments of both political parties. And that's why we have lost so much of our manufacturing. Not because wages are too high(holden workers average salary is just under 50,000)...but because of trade agreements and what have you where we have been bent over the kitchen sink.
And interestingly, for the obvious Liberal Abbott Hockey apologists, one Liberal MP
thinks Holden workers are paid three times more then they should. So what, waewik, Holden workers should work for under 20,000?
.
so I can assume you have no answers and are incapable of entering into a rational debate in which your POV isn't the only option?rev wrote:For someone who apparently is on a crusade against ignorance, you are extremely ignorant(among other things which I wont repeat here).
I wont waste my time, you are a waste of oxygen, and bandwidth.
Hopefully you don't crack too much.