“Under this [Labor] government we’ve seen one manufacturing job lost every 19 minutes.” - Opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella, Q&A, 1 July. The Conversation contacted Mirabella’s office…
Should Australia go beyond exporting uranium “yellowcake” and consider fabricating nuclear fuel rods?
Flickr/NNSA News
It is not the first time in Australia’s economic history that a prevalent sector reaches its peak and gives way to a rapidly developing new one. However, while the mining and education sectors have apparently…
The trend of “mass customisation” will mean Australian factories will be very different places in the future.
AAP
Manufacturers across the world rely on economies from the scale of production to drive down unit cost. This “mass production” approach, focused on efficiency and uniformity of product, is feasible when…
The future of manufacturing lies in making high quality, niche products.
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Ford’s announcement that it will cease making cars in Australia is an enormous blow to manufacturing, and especially to the workers involved. But does it mean Australian manufacturing on its deathbed…
Ford’s impending shutdown of its car-making plants in Australia does not bode well for an already ailing manufacturing sector.
AAP
“You’ll never see Japanese cars in an RSL car park.” That was Bill Bourke, Ford Australia’s sales supremo of the ’60s. Bourke was wrong. Dead wrong. In 2016, Ford will cease manufacturing in Australia…
Nearly half of Australian adults are functionally illiterate, with manufacturing workers having some of the country’s lowest literacy levels, a significant issue as the industry continues to shed jobs.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Yesterday’s announcement that Ford will close its manufacturing operations in Geelong and Broadmeadows by 2016 at the cost of 1,200 jobs raises questions of what the workers’ future employment options…
Ford Australia has announced it will pull its car production out of Australia by 2016, with the loss of 1200 manufacturing jobs.
The future of Australia’s auto manufacturing industry is under a heavy cloud after Ford’s announcement that it would cease its manufacturing operations in Australia by 2016. Ford Australia president Bob…
Recent redundancies at Holden have sparked debate over the need for a revised “industry policy”: but is this really the way forward?
AAP/Andrew Brownbill
The recent GM-Holden redundancies have provoked much comment, in many cases appealing for both state and federal governments to find solutions. But can government solve this dilemma, or is it a (big) part…
The government’s handling of the automotive industry underestimates its potential strategic importance to the Australian economy.
AAP
Holden’s announcement of job cuts on Monday demonstrates the dual impacts of the strong Australian dollar and import penetration upon the beleaguered domestic automotive industry. 400 jobs will go in Adelaide…
The Gillard government’s Industry and Innovation Statement aims to revive an ailing manufacturing sector and address Australia’s flagging productivity.
AAP
While its launch in the heat of election battle was hardly propitious, the federal government’s new Industry and Innovation Statement, A Plan for Australian Jobs, is the long-awaited result of a serious…
Focusing on Australian electricity competitiveness will drive valuable investment in electricity-intensive industry.
Jake Trussell
Electricity-intensive investment isn’t coming Australia’s way. We use our many natural resources to underpin our productivity and prosperity and we are extracting increasing amounts of metal from the ground…
Assistive robots could help save Australia’s beleaguered manufacturing industry.
CSIRO
Amid the gloom about the prospects for manufacturing in Australia — and the difficulties facing an economy dominated by small businesses (nearly 90% of Australian manufacturing capacity) — there is some…
Three recent reports into productivity highlight differing issues but agree that targeting industrial reform is not the key to lifting outputs.
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The Australian Government’s recently released white paper on Australia in the Asian Century identified productivity as one of five key areas for action, at a time when we are engaged in a major national…
With the government embroiled in an argument about how the level of car subsidies it pays, it’s time for a cost-benefit analysis that factors in the industry’s economic flow-on effects.
There are four facts we have all become aware of in the past few days – if not months – regarding car manufacturing subsidies. Fact 1: A lot of money has been given to Australian car manufacturers over…
The prime minister’s manufacturing taskforce calls for researchers, research agencies and business to work together to encourage innovation.
AAP
The Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Manufacturing has made 41 recommendations to address the major challenges facing Australia’s manufacturing sector, including diverting funds into manufacturing-related…
Incoming Director of the Australian Institute of Business and Economics at UQ, and Professor of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Macquarie University