Steve Bracks to head industry review?
February 14, 2008 by George Skentzos
Former Victorian premier Steve Bracks may be appointed to head an inquiry into the Australian car manufacturing industry.
Despite aid from government grants totalling millions of dollars, the industry continues to suffer with severe job losses in recent years.
The final nail in the coffin has been the closure of Mitsubishi’s manufacturing plant in Adelaide, with Ford’s Geelong plant to follow in 2011.
Typically, feeble bickering has overshadowed the issue at hand, with our politicians more concerned with the $2000-per-day salary which will be given to Bracks during the inquiry.
“In that case, how much will Mr Bracks be paid per day, seeing that it was not denied that he was going to be appointed?” Liberal senator Eric Abetz asked.
Abetz speculated that industry minister Kim Carr’s department had actually recommended the Productivity Commission conduct the review, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd criticised for appointing Labor ‘mates’ instead.
Print it: 
Build more efficient vehicles.
Now, where is my $2,000 a day?
What a waste of money! There are FAR better qualified people who’d do a FAR better job for FAR less money. Far out!
The lives of car workers & their families are more important
than the debate on Mr Bracks renumeration.
Let’s hope the review gets it right.
Mr Bracks will head an “expert panel” that includes Tim Harcourt (chief economist Australian Trade Commission), Peter Upton (former CEO, Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers), Dr Elizabeth Webster (principal research fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research) and Nixon Apple (industry and investment policy adviser, ACTU).
So Bracks was appointed because he’s Labour, according to some.
Well, those some ought to scan the talent in the Liberal camp – it wouldn’t take long, and there isn’t any to speak of.
I don’t see why an enquiry is needed – Australian manufacturing is always going to be behind the 8 ball, because we enjoy a high standard of living and high wages, but have a tiny consumer base over which to amortise product development costs. We can only ever succeed in niche markets, whether it be shoes, furniture, clothing, or cars.
The Asian manufacturers have much higher volumes per model run, and very low wages costs, while the europeans have vast volume per model run, and higher wages. That’s partly why the Euro vehicles are dearer than the Koreans.
20 years on and we have another Labour government running the ruler of the local industry.
Lets hope he comes up with better policy thnn the “Button Plan” that drove Nissan from Australia back then because they weren’t making atleast 20,000 cars per year (when the marker was around 400,000 to 500,000 cars per year.
By those standards and a million car a year market now, Ford would be under pressure to shut up shop given its current output.
Great the guy who had to have an enquiry to see if they should have an enquiry is heading the enquiry into the auto industry, I’m sure he will find a way to out sauce it.
Bracks did nothing for Victoria except create the reputation of being known as the enquiry goverment and that’s coming from a labor supporter most of the time.
The only way, car manufacturing can survive in AU is in exports but unfortunately our production costs are too high (labour costs). Othereise, the plants here do not create enough volume to justify their existence.
Bracks review will not report anything we don’t already know. Waste of money in my opinion.
There are only three options:
1. Export – but our costs are too high
2. Increase tariffs to protect our industry – I’m sure the consumers will be happy with that (not)
3. Forget about trying to save the industry and let market forces kill it off slowly
$2000.00 a day to state the obvious. Wish I could get on the bandwagon and ride the gravy train!
No wonder the countries going down the shitter.
I’m curiuos to know how the county is going down the shitter.
The way I perceive it, it’s the exact opposite – it’s growing so fast that inflation is out of control, but people keep spending. More new cars in January than ever before, etc, etc.
There are hundreds of countries around the world that would love to be in our position.
Supporting car companies that are unable to sustain themselves is something Australia doesn’t want to afford. Hell, too many bludgers get benefits as it is, we don’t want Companies being Social benefit recipients as well.
In a Capitalist model it’s profit or out of business, as it should be.
I used to work for Ford in the early 90s and back then the governments plan was to just continue importing more and more cars from overseas. By 2010 you might be lucky to see Ford and Holden still around . By 2020 you wont see Ford and Holden anymore in our country. Holden will be Pontiac and Falcon will stay as Falcon in USA then. So its simply governments are slowly closing up these car companies in Australia and we will be gettin it all from asia like all the other things we do.
The announcement by the Federal Govt to appoint Steve Bracks to head the review into the Australian car industry is another blatant jobs for the boys. One would have thought that this was the responsibilty of the productivity commission but alas they have been shoved aside.
Of course by appointing Bracks we all know what the outcome of the review will be. Continuing tariff’s which will mean more expensive cars for Australians and bucketloads of taxpayer subsidies for the foreign owned car companies. If these bludgers can’t survive without continuing assistance then they should be told to bugger off. This at a time when we have the Rudd razor gang slashing expenditure for other programmes.
I will repeat what I have said ad nuseam on this site, Australia can not support four manufacturers (now three). Any one who thinks otherwise needs a reality check. We may be able to support two. Which two that is, is of no import to me.
I am aware that I will be attacked by the usual suspects on this site but it will be like water off a duck’s back. It is my money that is being used to subsidise these bludgers.
BK you’re talking cr8p. There will always be a Holden, a Ford and Mitsubishi others in Australia. Car Production has changed, Global platforms and engines, not necessarily designed and built in Australia, are the way the manufacturers have/will go. The badges will differ from Country to Country just like it happens now i.e. Opel, Vauxhall, Holden. Even not allianced manufacturers will sell different cars based on the same platform using the same engines i.e. Suzuki and Fiat.
As for the investigation $2000 a day ain’t a lot of money these days for top dogs. Surely the Australian people want to know where all the tax has gone with no results. If they are bright it won’t take them long to suss out that Australia was/is making cars no-one wants in bulk i.e. Commodor, Falcon, Camry, 380; when they should have been making Astra, Focus, Corolla and Lancer.
Its all slowly goin no name. Thank China for the cheap labour.
You wankers think that 2k a day is justified to find out what every man and his dog already knows.
Another report to justify another hand out to the Australian Automotive Industry. The irony is that the Companies involved will continue down the same path regardless.
If this country wasn’t one big mine (thank god & China) we would really be in the shitter. We start from the advantage point of being a first world country and we are slowly but surely loosing this advantage as our politicians and so called Captains of Industry all feed at the same trough.
Bracks and his elk are laughing at all of us as they go through the motions of another tax payer funded junket.
How convenient another half a million or so in his kit after retirement.
And I bet the Korean and Japanese Captains are far more dedicated to their cause and are paid substantially less and are motived by national pride to succeed and hard work.
Unfortunately Australian Management/ Executives do not know what hard work is.
We have adopted the American model where the people running the show have no allegiance to anyone or anything but their own greed.
Japanese and Korean Governments have worked with Industry from day one and the resultant success is one of national pride.
It easy to blame labor costs but is this an issue when Japan has a higher living standard and besides with robotics what they are the Automotive Industry is one of the least labor intensive industries today.
Unfortunately the Captains that we pay millions to via subsidy and the Politicians have let this Industry down over several successive decades. The writing has been on the wall for years and they haven’t had the competence to read it.
Toyota is far and away the most successful local manufacturer as it is run by Japanese Management. Forget the Australian management stooge’s that appear on our press. The real decisions are made by the real Japanese managers and the oz managers are kept on the pay role for local content.
I remember commentators remarking about Buttons brilliance at the time.
You know the guy with the big dent in his forehead.
What a drube. He always came across as someone fighting his inner demons.
Theres an idea maybe they can get him on the committee?
May as well get in for another chop before it all goes down the chute!
The person who started the rumour that Steve Bracks is getting $2000 a day sits on the opposition bench.
They are a tad bitter at the moment.
It is nowhere near $2000.
Obvious you lot only listen to one side of the political divide & the Murdoch press.
Here’s a tip for nothing!
Study the Japs and Koreans and copy them.Their attitude work ethic at management level down.
Both sides of the house are full of wankers!
Why doesn’t Rudd include it in his 2 day talk fest. Gee won’t that be productive.
We are led by morons that is the problem!
Realcars – I can’t imagine for one minute that the average management & shop floor Australian will even consider working like Japanese productions worker.
If you’re not happy with your leaders then vote them out, or even better put yourself forward…It won’t happen.
If that’s the case well I think I’ll re-educate as a Mining engineer.
It’s got to come from the top down and it isn’t.
It is really depressing. I now know how Button felt. I suppose that’s why he always looked so tortured.
Considering what Bracks is being asked to do $2k isn’t all that much money. There are consultants out there with much higher asking prices.
Labour handing the job to another Labour person is a moot point as all politicians help their mates out.
It’s all well and good for us to say build efficient cars or increase exports, now give me $2k a day. However, there would be a royal inquiry if Bracks was to say something as simple as that.
Whoever takes on this job will have to produce a report that soundly identifies the issues and presents reasonable and actionable solutions. Solutions that are acceptable to the general public, the automotive industry, and politicians.
I wouldn’t mind taking up the job as it’s my line of work (not specifically automotive), but, I don’t think the Opposition nor the general public would be too impressed if Labour hired some nobody with no political ties or experience in the automotive industry.