Bailing out the Biggins

joe6pack Uncategorized


ford

Ford Australia announced that they are going to shut up shop in 2016.

There has been much anguish in the media and from blogs about how bad this is.

Everything and everyone has been blamed from the Carbon tax ,tariffs Government etc.

Ford are closing shop because they have failed (IN AUS at least) to keep up with the changing car market.

Not Many people these days want a big gas guzzling V8 or even a V6 that are more expensive, less fuel efficient and less well built than what you get from overseas markets and sold next door in dealerships and sometimes by the same dealerships.

I am mainly talking about cars that come from Asia now.

The stigma that Asian cars are somehow inferior is well and truly in the past. They are well-built, efficient, comfortable, and mainly much cheaper.

In effect, with the Asian cars you get very good value for your dollar. Stick with an Aussie build and you are paying for the name and get an inferior product.

We must face up to the fact that we do live in a global world now. People know it and spend their money wisely on what they get for their dollar – not some patriotic rubbish about buying Australian.

Buy Australian by all means if the product is as good and the same or close to quality but I am not going to buy a dearer, inferior product just because it is Australian .

So Ford announces in a very roundabout way that they are going to close manufacturing in Australia in 2016.

Approximately 1600 people will lose their jobs.

Sad, but at least they have had warning – and if past experiences are anything to go by, those workers will be offered incentives (i.e. cash) to stay with the company until it does close. Otherwise, everyone will be looking for another job and Ford may close earlier than expected due to lack of staff .

At least they have gotten a fair amount of warning that they are going to be out of work,

What about the people that turn up to their factory and find the gates locked by administrators? Or the bloke out driving long distance who gets a phone call 2000 ks from home saying you can go as far as what fuel you have left then find your own way home as the fuel cards will no longer work?

Where is the public angst ,media outrage and the political promises for these poor people?

Where is the cash for “retraining”? The counsellors to help them through? The extra payments so the PM or whoever is in power looks like they care?

The big companies when they go bust get all the media. But no one seems to care about the little companies.

This a failing of both major parties – Labor and the Coalition – and the announcement by the PM that the government is going to throw millions at 1600 workers that at least have 3 years before they are out of work is vote buying at its most obvious.

Doesn’t matter if it is Labor or the Libs – it is still wrong.

Both Ford and General Motors (the American owners of Holden) have sussed out that Australia is no longer a viable, profitable market for them.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

In my little way I used to buy exclusively American equipment, but have now purchased a European vehicle and am kicking myself that I didn’t buy one sooner.

Ingrained prejudices in industries are hard to break, but government bailing out old useless industries should stop.

1,140 thoughts on “Bailing out the Biggins”

  1. The indies usually vote in favour of an SSO because they say they are not into stifling debate. That does not mean they will vote with whatever the opposition is moving.

  2. denese

    Whilst I believe this latest Newspoll is an outlier, the polls have more or less been around the ballpark figure of 55/45.

  3. I can’t see how Turnbull hopes to get any advantage whatsoever for the Coalition with this MPI.

    All he is doing is wasting time & oxygen. They were hoping the asbestos issue might damage the momentum that Labor has built up with their superior NBN plan.

  5. “Whilst I believe this latest Newspoll is an outlier, the polls have more or less been around the ballpark figure of 55/45.”

    And haven’t changed for months, despite the constant barrage of bullshit from the MSM. Note the high incidence of “Others” and “Refused to partake” (or wtte.)

    Murdoch arrives in town last week and NEWS Ltd gave the Boss the NEWSpoll result he wanted to see. It’s that simple, no more, no less.

  6. As I recall, the polls that leaned towards Romney in 2012 generally had different, weaker, methodologies. Maybe not even proper demographic weightings. Some were linked to the GOP or Fox, some not. Not too sure of the details, will try to look for old articles later. The Republicans and some press also tended to seize on pro Romney outliers or shifts, and one pro GOP site even called all other polls “skewed” to Obama, which Fox picked up on.

    No doubt that U.S. poll aggregator everyone followed at the time wrote on this topic extensively. The closest thing to that guy we have here, are the added up poll figures done by William Bowe and Mark the Graph, although you can be more accurate in America as there were so many polls being done, not just the handful we have even during an election.

    On Bob Ellis, any claims he makes of plots, conspiracies etc, should be treated as bullsh*t until proven otherwise with evidence (any evidence will do, he never seems to provides any). I note even pro ALP people were mocking him on twitter when he posted his post (a reference to “unskew that poll!” was something one person said).

  7. Who’s this idiot talking? Two months ago we had Coalition members whining “where’s my NBN?” Now they’re saying the roll-out is too quick!

  8. In reckon that Murdoch has told the Rabble that if they can wreck Labor’s NBN, then they have got the election in the bag & fulfill every requirement of Rupe.

  9. More importantly for Rupe, wrecking the NBN means that his commercial stake in Foxtel is secure

  11. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, Hockey is still sitting over on the Government front bench while Garrett is putting the Bill.

  12. He he, just walked behind the Speaker’s Box to his own side . Noticed his head was swinging from side to side.

    Maybe checking to see how many members noticed him there.

  14. The reported comment from one of the Fergusons that the govt needs to better sell its message posed a bit of a question for me.
    First of all I wonder if he offerred any suggestions as to how this would be done.
    But leaving that aside for a moment I tried to put myself into the role of PM or chief strategist ( not that I obviously have any experience in either) and come up with a realistic plan as to how to win over the voters. And you know what? I haven’t come up with much.
    I wanted to say well sell the message better. But how?
    The Libs have got heaps more money than the ALP. Gina is reported to be giving Barnaby $700k alone.
    I can’t find 1 media outlet that’s supporting the govt.
    The CPG is fervently behing Abbott.
    How do I get that message out. My press releases are ignored. I hold a press conference about education and all they want to question me about is ,say, Craig Thomson.
    So we have a limited budget and all of the forces lined up against us.
    My suggestions:
    Campaign strongly at the grassroots. We’ve heard before when there are swings on that a good local candidate can defy that swing. The voters may want to punish PMJG but won’t take it out personally against a candidate they like . Note here that I think this is part of the Newspoll strategy. To undermine morale so that a good local campaign isn’t as good as it should be
    Also advertise well. This means the message has to be good and the timing is crucial. There’s no point me blowing our budget now if everyone forgets about it in a months time.
    Anyway my thoughts. Apologies for the length

  15. le roy, I am one of those odd people who do not think everything is black and white, and things may be what they don’t appear to be.

  16. rmm 1953

    my hubbie was saying,, we have seen all these lib brochures not one from us yet.

    I agreed, but then I said,,, ‘ look there was so many half truths in that pamphlet, we need to wait we cannot be putting out pamphlets to cover every half truth’.,
    there pamphlets arrive in the mail.

    years ago even they use to have someone letter boxing, I remember it very well 2004 in particular.

  17. Apologies for the length

    That’s one thing you NEVER have to apologize for around here.

    Take it from one who knows.

    Unless you’re posting great swathes of War And Peace, or entire articles from The Australian, then it’s pretty much anything goes as far as length is concerned.

  18. the ministers could all make videos
    for twitter and face book ?
    I think we are more switched on the Internet for example is there any independent blogs like this for liberals, with labor visitors

    I don’t know of one and could how many pro labor blogs there are
    if was left to them there would not be any
    I suppose they go to bolt and other newspapers but that not the
    same,
    so I think this is where we will win the election,

  19. Cheeky, NormanK, but probably accurate. [Great piece this morning by the way.)

    Wonder what Turnbull thinks he’s doing grubbing in this issue?

    Maybe they were struggling to find anybody with credibility. Mesma was gone after grubbing after the Gillard/AWU stuff, but she made doubly sure by telling those porkies about turning back the boats. Erica? The problem is that he might then have to turn up in a debate with Shorten, and he’d get smashed. After what they previously did on Workchoices and didn’t do on James Hardie, they really having got much standing on sympathy for workers and their families.

    Rupert and Hate Radio can keep the issue bubbling away for a few days, but the most they’ll achieve is to hold up the rollout a few weeks, maybe a month or so. But I think the NBN, and the expectations of it are too big to stop now.

    A new-found concern for risk and victims is not going to score points with Shorten and Combet having a long history on the side of victims. Neither that pair, nor Gillard will back away. Very different from Batts.

  20. well we need to get o n to this one.
    the pamphlet and i did post it on the other place i was hoping to get feed back so i new what to say but no,

    any way they say you can have 5 times more speed that you have now with out what ever, ( sorry its in the freezer that’s another story}

    so i hopped on the phone and ask the liberal senator who is nameless,
    his staff where there he was in canberra of course very convenient.

    she said yes the right and you don’t have to pay, i said what’
    what about the 5000 dollars,, no she said that not right

    so i twigged, so are you telling me that’s just the internet, now do we have to pay for fibre, o yes that the 5000 dollars,

    that was not on the pamphlet,,, can some please explain what they are offering re the 5 times the down load speed, and also how do they know what down load speed each individual would have
    sound like a con to me, but un tech people would think they been fibre and nbn

    one other comment was that we where taxing super
    but it said nothing about what the demographic was , so reading that
    you would think its every one,
    ===========================================
    that’s what i mean by half truths
    =========================
    then they raved on about them leaving a surplus in 2007

    but did not mention the global financial problems that was ignored

  21. Have just returned from a day pounding the streets delivering letters on behalf of Amanda Rishworth (Kingston SA)…

    On my way home I listened to Radio Nationals PM programme which had a report of former chief whip Joel Fitzgibbon mocking and laughing at the parlous polling the Govt is currently experiencing…

    I am F**KING incandescent with rage at this treacherous dogs attempts to sabotage this good Govt… I can’t even begin to comprehend what is going through this bastards mind when he comes out and puts down ALL of his Labor colleagues …it is beyond any reasoning persons understanding!!

    He is undermining the work of thousands of Labor members, branch support staff and volunteers around the country ……WHY??!!

  22. o i forgot to mention this

    when i said well 5000 for fibre we can have it free

    guess what she said
    ” not every one one want fibre you know}

    are you still laughing i am

  23. why because he did not get what he wanted
    for some people life is all about them

    i hope you get stuck in him on twitter

    i really trust bill shorten and greg combet they would be the two i would drop a n email to , now in case they missed it

  24. mark can you look at my post and get an idea what we got in the mail from the liberals did the labor brochure counter any of the above

  25. Gorgeous Dunny, I have had a magnificent Panavision-70 version of West Side Story threaded up and waiting for you to turn up for four months now.

    Any hints when you’ll be in Sydney?

  27. denese …

    All sealed & personalised letters …so don’t know what was in them …I’m just the delivery boy 🙂

  28. Something needs to be pointed out – Peter Slipper has been voting with the opposition pretty much constantly this week and last week. This afternoon he voted with his former team in favour of Pyne’s nasty little amendment to the Australian Education Bill 2012.

    Bob Katter actually turned up for a vote – a rare event – and also voted in favour of the amendment. Labor defeated the amendment by just one vote.

    It looks to me as if Katter and Slipper are trying to shore up support in their conservative electorates by continuing to be very obvious coalition supporters. When referring to ‘the independents’ don’t include these two.

  29. Oh dear, it’s slipped a little down the agenda at present, BB.

    Will be going to Adelaide this w/e and still want to get to Sydney, have an old close friend to catch up with, but no idea of when, Will get back to you, and I am grateful for you thinking of me.

  31. The Gibbon’s behaviour today makes him No 1 contender for the mysterious Labor leaker C@tmomma mentioned. From what I’ve heard from Labor people in the area who come up against this bloke at meetings he’s an arrogant bustard of the worst kind. I’m not alone in wishing Julia Gillard would do another captain’spoick and order someone, anyone else pre-selected for Hunter, but that won’t happen.

  33. markjs

    I saw video excerpt of Joel Fitzgibbon on fairfax report. He is a bloody disgrace. Can understand your anger.

  34. leonetwo

    Well it is either Fitzy, MFerguson, Bowen, Crean, or KCarr. Take your pick. What hope does the party have, when these traitors are amongst their midst.
    I wont be surprised if they agitate for change this month

  36. Me? Slipping down an agenda?

    ME?

    I am not used to this.

    My mother told me I was the most important person in the world.

    And I believed her.

    Let me think on it for a while.

  37. From the other place.

    Did anyone see this?

    [Well Caroline Overington on the drum has just said that Abbott has made a huge mistake attacking the NBN over asbestos.]

  40. Got warned by Mr. Bowe again…but god I hate those wimps that lose their guts because they want the milky-bar kid back!…I despise them more than I despise the right-wingers!

  42. Bloody ABC leads with The Polls!, it’s a bullshit beat-up, Fitzrat getting prominence, and of course Rudd. Abbott modestly says, still 102 days to go. Well I suppose the good news is that the ABC has given up beating up Asbestos-NBN. It’s all down to Murdoch and Hate Radio now.

  43. Leone,

    There was a time when Joel Fitzgibbon was a good bloke who worked hard for the electorate. He became corrupted by accepting the flattery/friendship of the rabid Nats (the ‘elite’ bigwigs) in the electorate and now couldn’t be trusted as far as you could throw him.

    Joel Fitz is now a lost cause for Labor and the best thing that could happen to him is to lose his seat.

  44. Abbottstos ‏@SpaceKidette 2m

    Voting against legislation to fund #Abbottstos clean up? Nah, not me. Oops I think I have amnesia. I hear Peta Calling gotta go. #Abbottstos

  45. During the 2007 Campaign Abbott went up to Bundaberg about 3 times, being the Health Minister and visited 2 Hospitals, both being Private Hospitals. One of those times a handful (about 10 of us) of ALP members and health workers, formed a protest at one of the Hospitals. I took the opportunity to mock Abbott with the words ” Not pure of Heart” which I was pleased with. 🙂
    I, of coarse no longer live in Bundaberg.

  46. Abbottstos ‏@SpaceKidette 24s

    Julie did a fantastic job making sure those so called #Abbottstos victims didn’t get the money they needed before they died. Good work!

  47. Victoria,

    I didn’t hear Caroline Ovum say that, but then I muted the TV just prior to that segment because the bloody woman was mouthing so much tripe my TV was in danger of being smashed.

    Whatisname Dusivec was much more reasonable – in fact he stood up for PMJG over Gonski and said she deserved ‘brownie points’ for a damned good policy.

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