The major political parties’ economic policies from the 1980s onwards smashed Australian manufacturing, which shrank from 20 per cent of GDP in 1980 to barely 5 per cent now. But then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and the severe disruption of global supply chains. Suddenly every politician started complaining that Australia was too dependent on imports, and that we had to revive domestic manufacturing. Or they were in 2020.
The Senate Economics References Committee inquiry into Australia’s manufacturing industry is accepting submissions from the public through to its 10 September closing date. This provides an opportunity for citizens to explain to politicians why it’s so important to revive the manufacturing industry from its current state of tragic decline.
Shepparton engineer Joe Carmody is a little-known Australian hero. For decades this long-term Citizens Party member fought against the free trade pressure to outsource manufacturing to cheap-labour countries, and kept his personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing business alive.
The latest episode of the Citizens Party’s Citizens Insight YouTube program addresses this question in an interview with a uniquely qualified American historian and political activist, Anton (Tony) Chaitkin.
Click here to watch: The United States of America: A blessing or curse to mankind?
