Closing date

[Kiwivan]

Bugger
That is all I can say
So sorry my Aussie brothers

Kiwivan

[hainzy]

Friggin Abbott and Hockey should be publicly hung drawn and quartered through the streets for the way they oversaw the destruction of the aussie car industry.

[wbute]

Friggin Abbott and Hockey should be publicly hung drawn and quartered through the streets for the way they oversaw the destruction of the aussie car industry.

Not getting into politics but the trouble started way before them. Button set the car industry on a rocky road in the early 80's. but let's be realistic here, all industry has moved offshore. Why would we not expect car manufacturers to do the same?
Who here would take a 70% pay cut to match overseas labour to save our Holden factory? I know I wouldn't.

[Big Rob]

It's really sad when a kia is something that could carry a Holden badge, and that the exciting bit is that it's rear wheel drive....

This country is screwed.... we'll be the cheap labour in the not too distant future and we Will be working for peanuts or not at all.

Sad, sad times.... I'm glad I've got enough cool old cars to last me out.

[davegmh]

The time will also come when we will have wished we would have sold our houses, put the money in the bank and rented before the guts drops out of the housing market. But who's got the balls to do that.

[Dr Terry]

Friggin Abbott and Hockey should be publicly hung drawn and quartered through the streets for the way they oversaw the destruction of the aussie car industry.

I don't want to bring politics into it either, but didn't Ford, Mitsubishi & Nissan announce their factory closures when Labor was in power ??

Dr Terry

[gregbark]

WB Ute is 100% when it started with Button. Over the years with tariff reductions and people wanting a greater choice it has been a steady decline. Eventually it reached the line where profitability for parts suppliers was going backward. The car companies demanded cost reductions annually and matched pricing against overseas suppliers. They extended their payment terms and transferred the accounts departments to India. Imagine the dramas trying to sort out problems there. They continually rotated their Managing Directors and direction. Abbott & Hockey were only the ones to help turn off the light switch. The car companies still treat the public with contempt by selling vehicles that have warranty issues and the future ones will have improved telematics that report your driving habits, locations and other details back to their computers. Even the glove box log books are being phased out such as Land Rover and others will not stamp them if you don't use their services. You buy a NEW car, you own it, no way. They want control to the end.

[hainzy]

Yeah I totally agree its been a long decline and not directly a result of Liberals Abbott Hockey etc, but it was their government that dealt the death blow. People dont like subsidising big business and the Libs are great at turning the public against percieved moochers like dole bludgers and pensioners. Its part of their policy to separate the rich from the poor and we all point the finger! Yet all the while theyre happy to give tax breaks to their big business mates while they themselves have their snouts well and truly in the trough as we have again seen recently. (Not just Liberals though on that one).

I just think they shrugged it off as moocher blue collar manufacturers who have headquarters over seas so they can get stuffed and take the working class with them'. Which for some reason to them, is different to the white collar moochers who are just as bad. It was a very short sighted attitude that has exposed their contempt for the working class, and now destroyed a massive proud industry and thousands of jobs.

Anyway, politics aside, yes it was inevitable but its still a massive loss!

[Dr Terry]

I think that it's more to do with the fact Abbott & Hockey actually had the balls to tell the Yanks & the Japs that the Australian taxpayer had had enough, whereas Howard, Krudd & Gillard didn't.

The writing for all of this was on the wall back when Gough Whitlam was in power, that's when Australian manufacturing began its decline.

Dr Terry

[Innuendo]

Sometimes better to sit and watch it play out.
I'd offend everyone with my views, so I'm better to stay out of it!