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 Victorian government’s new Pandemic Management Bill must be amended to limit the powers it bestows on the government to rule by decree. As Victorian Bar Association President Christopher Blanden wrote in a 27 October Open Letter: “It is one thing to allow temporary rule by decree to deal with an unforeseen and extraordinary emergency in circumstances of extreme urgency.
Australia is struggling with an acute healthcare crisis from decades of under-resourcing public healthcare. Crucially, the COVID-19 pandemic has not caused the crisis, only made it worse, and the pre-existing lack of adequate front-line resources has severely limited options to handle the pandemic. Yet what are governments doing about it?
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.
