FEDERAL POLICY: MANUFACTURING

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One Nation opposes Globalism and will withdraw from international treaties that harm our manufacturing industry. Our policy is import replacement; we will restructure tax, banking, finance and training and reduce energy costs to allow our industry to compete on a true level playing field.

POLICY:: MANUFACTURING
One Nation is strongly opposed to the "free trade" economic policies which, over the years, have led to the gradual destruction of the Australian manufacturing industry.

With the resulting loss of hundreds of thousands of Australian jobs, there is an increasing dependence on the import of foreign goods to satisfy basic local demands and a deteriorating trade balance creating a massive and rapidly growing foreign debt problem that is reflected in the declining value of our dollar.

The demise of our manufacturing industry has accentuated serious unemployment and financial problems, greatly due to the pursuance of Globalization and as of 13/3/09 as never before in our history 5000 Australians every day are losing their jobs.

We once manufactured 90% of our daily requirements and exported world wide our acclaimed products. Now we have unbelievably sunk as of March 2009 to a criminal annual GDP of 0.2 %. All caused by misguided policies implemented by successive relic governments since 1973.

The mad continuation of these "globalist" policies has now driven us to the brink of financial, economic, Social and moral disaster.
Our nation has been subdued from a wealthy and self sufficient one, to that of a "third world" state, depending on the International Monetary Fund and loans to pay our debts, thereby losing our economic and political freedoms.

HOW CAN AUSTRALIA START REBUILDING MANUFACTURING?
To ever be able to fix this mess One Nation would foremost, change our tax system, ridding ourselves of the iniquitous GST and introducing the 21st Century Electronic Tax. Secondly, we must regain control of our energy resources to ensure we have the use of our abundant supplies at prices not inflated with taxes and profiteering (prices are currently inflated by as much as 500%).

One Nation Debit tax will raise enough revenue to buy back our electricity from the foreigners it was sold to without our permission.
Low taxes and energy costs and cheap finance provides the opportunity for our manufacturing industry to prosper once more and with it, job opportunities, export replacement and reduction in our trade imbalance and debt.
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One Nation believes that the federal governments entering into various trade agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the LIMA Agreement which force local Australian industries and farmers to compete with imports from cheaper manufacturing and producing countries should be abandoned. Since Australia’s living standards, wage rates and other production costs are comparatively high, Australians must prepare to take either a cut in those things or get rid of the government.

This can only have one effect, to wipe out the Australian manufacturing and farming industry. That is precisely what their policies have achieved. “Globalization”. This loss of our manufacturing industry is reducing us to a third world economy, resulting in loss of jobs and opportunities for our youth.

In February 2009, as One Nation has warned since 1999, these fears have sadly been realized with the announcement by the Foreign owned PACIFIC BRANDS who were allowed by blind and inept Government policy to acquire 18 of Australia’s most iconic manufacturing brands, as follows and all without any Government opposition:

They are; Berlei, Bonds, Clarks (children's), Dunlop, Everlast, Grosby, Holeproof, Hush Puppies, King Gee, Mooks, Mossimo, Sheridan, Slazenger, Sleepmaker, Tontine and Yakka. Now all to be made in Asia by slave labour at the loss of Australian jobs.
Therefore One Nation is committed to reversing the situation, for it must under One Nation policy never ever happen again.

Strategic plans for the manufacturing industry aims to consult business, unions, trade experts and the regions that identify future opportunities and the best means of industry meeting those opportunities. Every attempt must be made to promote agricultural based or related industries that besides arresting rural exodus and stimulating food production activities provide an incentive for the establishment of further natural resource-based industry.

Australian farmers must be given the opportunity to control the emerging bio-fuel Indsustry before big oil and foreign chemical companies lock them out of this Industry. One that is our farmers’ right of passage by birthright to set up. One being done behind the scenes right now as of 2009 by foreign conglomerates like BP Monsanto, Agri_Energy and Caltex as with the Dalby project funded by and part owned by N.M. Rothchild and sons Aust. that will produce 90 million litres of ethanol during 2009.

Australian farmers must be encouraged to do as their U.S counterparts have. Where over the past 26 years U.S. Farmers now have taken almost 60% control of the Ethanol Industry through Cooperative ventures. Where now they not only grow the feed, whether by grain, Algae or Cellulosis feed (Green waste material); many are also distilling and marketing bio-fuel to the U.S. and the world themselves.

One Nation will devote particular attention to the development of basic industries such as steel, chemical, petro-chemical and engineering, thereby consolidating economical independence while at the same time assuring an effective form of import-substitution and a greater share of world trade.

Make possible the processing of natural resources and other raw materials in the country of origin and the establishment of permanent structure for specialised, rapid large scale and high-quality training of national labour at all levels.

Achievement of a higher degree of efficiency in import- substitution process and the formulation of appropriate incentive measures to encourage the export of manufactured and semi-manufactured products with the highest possible local content and value added potential.

Development and strengthening of public, financial and other institutions in order to protect and stimulate industrial development, in particular, the basic rural, small, medium-scale and labour-intensive manufacturing industries'.

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Training program based on the needs of manufacturing industry, providing indentured apprenticeships. To achieve this education, expenditure needs to be changed, with 70% to TAFE and 30% to Universities.

This reflects statistics and the needs of industry, providing skills and opportunities for further education, for if we as a nation are going to grow and prosper in this new millennium, we must educate our children to ensure that our way of life and freedom will survive the test of time.

Fair trade and not free trade, with support to protect our vital manufacturing industries equal to those imposed on us by other countries for similar products, except in the case of those countries where manufacturing industry employs slave labour rates, in which case, an equalisation levy will apply to protect our labour rates.

BACKGROUND BRIEFING: MANUFACTURING

The Australian Government, due to its commitment to Globalism, has destroyed the manufacturing industry in Australia. They do not even have a portfolio or a policy for it. Australia cannot afford to continue importing 98% of its daily needs.

One Nation believes that Australia must shift the emphasis from being a raw commodity producer to becoming a value-added manufacturing and its agricultural economy.
Instead of leaving all economic issues to the world markets to determine, we will target imports in each industry code and encourage Australian manufacturers to replace them.

To provide a level playing field, we will reduce energy prices, reform the tax and finance system and for countries that employ slave labour, we will impose an adjustment to equalise the differential. Australia needs a vibrant, growing manufacturing and service sector to provide jobs for the new century and to maintain and improve living standards.

GLOBALISM
Globalism is the ideology of "free trade." It aims to open up national economies so that multinational companies, using modern transportation and communications, can freely shift their capital, technology and products around the world so as to maximise their profits by:
•••• Gaining larger markets in Asia, Latin America and Russia, avoiding legal restraints, especially environmental and labour laws. •
Exploiting the cheapest labour costs, shifting operations to Asia where wage rates are between 39 cents and $1/hr.

Minimising their taxes (60% of multinationals in Australia pay no company tax and 40% pay hardly any).
Merging with and taking over competitors to reduce competition and increase market share.
Shifting speculative capital around the world financial markets exploits currency, interest rate, bond rate and stock market changes.

According to Dr Frank Gelber, from his book “Manufacturing Prosperity", Australia is not using its foreign borrowings for capital investment, but for consumption.

The decimation of the manufacturing sector and increasing reliance on imports is the primary cause of Australia's burgeoning net foreign debt, $757.15 billion as of March 2009 and continues to skyrocket. When added to our household debt which is also owed to foreign banks that figure is believed to be approaching three TrillionDollars!

Increasing domestic production of goods and services is insufficient, so we had resorted to borrowing overseas to buy the imports we need to maintain our living standards. Our manufacturing sector is in decline and no longer produces enough to satisfy demand for consumer and capital goods in Australia.

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Political parties involved with foreign interests to the detriment of Australian manufacturing industry eg the Whitlam-Fraser-Hawke-Keating and Howard governments agreed to give the UN power over our produce exports by signing the UNCTAD Agreement. A measure of control over the re-positioning of our manufacturing industry in other countries was given to the UN by signing the iniquitous Lima Agreement.

The Australian Labor Party policy is committed to One World UN Government and the New International Economic Order as launched by Fidel Castro.

The Fraser Government was similarly committed. The Hawke Labor Government surrendered slices of Australia to the "world heritage" controllers to stop the building of dams needed in Tasmania. Whitlam-Fraser-Hawke-Keating and Howard have gone a long way to surrendering Australia to foreign World Government e.g.:
In 1976 (after McMahon) Australia's net foreign debt $003,133 million.
In 1996 (after Keating) $193,170 million
In 1999 (middle of Costello) $230,129 million
By September 2000 $294,455 million
2009 $757.15 billion as of March 2009

Our decline will not stop until every Australian takes a stand and forces the politicians to stop selling out our country.

Fabrication of steel is a worthy activity Australians once did well and often. Generations of school leavers learned boiler making, fitting, welding, toolmaking, mechanical and production engineering, management, marketing, as careers involving steel fabrication. Today many similar decent young people learn the more appropriate skills of shoplifting, car theft and break-and-enter.

We imported engines and some components, used locally produced steel plate, rod and bar, to manufacture lots of beaut machines and equipment.

We made marvellous machinery for mining, manufacturing, farming, road-building, construction, shipping, trucking and transportation. The products were high quality and production costs were reasonable. In the early and mid-seventies, the early rush of economic rationalists slithered from under rocks in Canberra and bent politicians' ears.

The pollies had as little knowledge of the real world multinational corporations and international manufacturing then, as they now display today.
Tariffs were reduced, export incentives eliminated and from a climate of encouragement by Government to manufacturing locally we moved to disincentives. Our federal politicians have failed us miserably in ensuring the loss of whole once-viable industries using steel.

THE AUSTRALIAN MACHINE TOOL INDUSTRY

Machine tools are the key element in manufacturing and are considered essential for industrial development, prosperity and defence of the country. Australia barely presented a market for machine tools until the advent of gold mining in the 1850s when production and repair of mining and agricultural equipment created the need.

The tyranny of distance brought about the growth of local engineering shops resulting in the manufacture of machinery and basic machine tools. Over the years the industry ebbed and flowed, subject to economic conditions.

Boom years occurred in war time, but it was not until WW II that we became aware of the importance of machine tools to the nation’s survival.

During WW II, we were forced to manufacture our own machine tools as we were cut off from overseas supplies. However, after the war, the industry once more began to decline, due to large build up of capacity and market forces. The post-war manufacturing demand and shortage of dollars fuelled industrial development during the 50s and 60s.

This in turn created a need for machine tools and the more progressive of the local industry did well during this period. However, due to growth, especially in the automotive, electronics and whitegoods industry, demand changed from the simple labour intensive machines to more automated and productive ones.

Some successful local companies, who in turn generated a demand for more efficient, higher precision and productive machine tools, catered for this market.

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In the early 60s in the machine tool industry, tariffs were designed to protect the local industry and restrict import of machines of higher technology, this was overcome by a by-law arrangement designed to protect the local machines, but still allowing the duty free import of more advanced machines.

This worked reasonably well, except for concessions to so-called less developed countries, which eventually flooded the local market with simple cheap machines, many of dubious quality. During the 60s our dollar was still valuable and we could afford to import top quality European and American machine tools. (In later years when governments came to power and sold out our sovereignty with foreign treaties such as LIMA and GATTS, our manufacturing industry began to decline as fast as our dollar.

This was the beginning of the end of the local machine tool industry and the market for quality machines, as by then our standard of living was in decline and we could only afford cheap Chinese machines.)

By the 1970s, for industry to remain competitive, they had to upgrade to high technology machines including the then new NC technology, which greatly increased machine flexibility, reducing set up time and allowed for economic low volume production.

This put Australian industry on a competitive base with those countries, which previously had the advantage of volume. During the mid 70s saw the introduction of much of the technology including the first CNC roll turning lathe, which reduced roll-turning time from 40 to 8 hours and introducing high technology metal fabricating and forming machines including CNC press brakes, fabricenters and tube benders etc.

We also set up the first DNC production shop in the world. We automated Australian industry to a point where it could compete with anyone in the world (this led to the local design and production of special machines and automation equipment, some of which we also exported).

By mid 80s though, government policy began to bite and industry was in decline with much of it moving offshore. Today, what is left is 90% foreign owned and we now meet only 10% of our needs which has resulted in a huge decline in our trade balance and blow out in debt as we continue to borrow to cover the bill for the imports that we once produced here.

Due to market forces, we may never return to having a real machine tool industry in Australia. But in the national interest, we must return to a policy of import replacement to enable us to have a manufacturing industry with machines and skills so we can value add to our natural resources and in so doing, reduce our debt and provide jobs and a defence capability.

Ref: "Manufacturing Key to Economic Health" By Martin Fell.
"A Manifesto for Australia" News weekly Special Edition, 13/1/2001
"Letter by Jeffrey Hinde in the Australian"
"Manufacturing History" by Ian Kennedy.
‘22 Steps to Global Tyranny’ by Graham Strachan.