The first reaction by the government opposition and the media is to blame the government. What absolute nonsense this is and does nothing to address the real issues that will support the individuals who are directly affected.

The reality is that governments in the developed world have been spending billions of dollars for decades supporting non-profitable motor vehicle production industries against opposition from low labour cost countries like Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan. Watch this space – China is about to take over the market worldwide!

General Motors is a US owned company. It had to be bailed out by the US government to avoid bankruptcy in 2008/09. Remember the US car manufacturing CEOs flying into Washington in their private jets looking for a handout?

Detroit, the former motor car capital of the world is now a ghost town. The giant US car production industry is in crisis and under intense competition from Asian produced brands.
If the US can’t compete at home, what chance does Australia have? Why do we think a US company would want to prop up a high cost manufacturing outpost like Australia when it can’t sustain itself?

The fact is that Australia has no credentials as a motor vehicle manufacturer. So let’s cut out the bickering and get on with the solution.

The Australian government must now look to developing industries where we can compete and excel. We must target our training and development specifically to industries that can survive – and thrive – in a sustainable environment.

Some industries that come to mind are agriculture and food production, government developed but privately funded infrastructure projects, bio-chemistry, financial services, tourism, to name just a few.

As an aside, how can it be that we are importing skilled labour on 457 temporary visas on the grounds that we have insufficient available locally? Am I missing something? Surely this is as good starting point for the re-training of GM employees?

It’s important to take a step back and acknowledge that Australian salaries and work conditions are amongst the best in the world and obscenely generous compared to many other nations.

It’s time we were honest about how our economy is changing, review where there are opportunities and what changes are required to ensure we have strong employment for generations to come.