Holden 'to close Australian operations in 2017'

[Mants]

if people love holden so much, why don't they buy a holden? just sayin.

[[Shuz]]

if people love holden so much, why don't they buy a holden? just sayin.

Exactly! Spot on, Mants.

There are so many pots calling the kettle black on this.

[jk1237]

if people love holden so much, why don't they buy a holden? just sayin.

Exactly! Spot on, Mants.

There are so many pots calling the kettle black on this.

that's a moronic argument Shuz. Its like saying I hope every business that I don't directly support - dies.

I cant possibly spend money on every business in the state but I don't want to see a large one die, caus it affects our state economy negatively Would have thought this is slightly obvious

[Dog]

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L plates are no excuse, after a month of offending Indonesia, China and East Timor, we decide to offend our US friends by blocking US investment in Grain Corp. Then we have the arrogance to stand up in parliament and goad GM to shut Holden's. I can not recall a blistering attack on a on a private corporation.
At this rate we will rapidly run out of friends.

[pushbutton]

It's very hard on the affected workers, but they have been expecting this for quite a few years so it should be no surprise.

The good news is, they are not shutting down till 2017 so the people affected have another 3 or more years in which to upskill and apply for new jobs (the sensible ones have already been doing that for at least the last 5 years).

That should be plenty of time for the vast majority to find work,and for the government to put sensible and sustainable measures in place to support the states economy long term.

[pushbutton]

I should add that with all the new infrastructure that has been and is being built, the government has already been laying the foundations for a prosperous future. More still needs doing, especially in taxation and welfare reform, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of our economy.

For what it's worth, I still think tourism is a largely untapped source of future wealth in SA,and worthy of investment by the government in the foundation infrastructure and in attracting private investment in tourism.

[rev]

Shuz, you obviously don't get the bigger picture here.
This isn't simply about Holdens shutting down. It's about WHY it's shutting down operations here.
And it's got nothing to do with it being too expensive to produce things here. South Korea, Japan, Germany, UK, all high wage countries like Australia, yet they are doing just fine with their auto manufacturing industries.

Our governments, of Liberal and Labor persuasion, have put Australia in a situation where we are forced to drop tariffs, and allow cheaper imported cars to come in and dominate the market. Among other things.
Do you know if Australia tries to re-introduce tariffs on foreign made cars, those countries where they are made will take Australia to court, and WIN? Australia will lose because of allegedly "unfair trade practices" or whatever the technical term is.

Yet, those other countries, their governments haven't been so stupid as to allow them selves to be put in a situation, where manufacturing which employs hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, is jeopardized by a lack of tariffs on imported goods.

The loss of manufacturing has been happening in Australia for a long time. Sheridan workers were recently in the news over pay. Do you know what Sheridan used to be? Actil...where St Clair is now. Over 1,000 people employed in textiles. All gone to Indonesia long ago. Still sold as Australian though.

Holden used to employ over 20,000 people across the country. Now look at it. Just under 3,000.

What are our federal governments doing?
Why aren't they looking after our national interests? Is it not in our national interests to ensure hundreds of thousands, millions of people, are employed? Is it not in our national interest to ensure our industries are protected and viable?

What they've done is destroy manufacturing in Australia from within.

All this bullshit about it being too expensive is just that, bullshit.
It's propaganda to blind people from the reality that our governments over the years have FAILED us.

Abbott and Hockey are turds. It's a shame so many people were stupid enough to be conned into voting for them. Now they'll screw us all good, and blame it on Labor. And people will be stupid enough to believe it and vote them in for a second term.
Remember, they pulled funding for the car industry, 500 million(compared to the 20 or so billion lost to the economy and over 100,000 jobs lost when the whole industry shuts down in a few years time), but were able to find 9 billion to throw at the Reserve Bank.

Let's also remember that Holden had planned to continue manufacturing in Australia, with a different base model line up to the current big family sedan from 2016 onwards. That was under the Labor government, where assistance was going to be provided. Abbott pulled that assisstance, and now GM is closing Holden production in Australia.

Well done Abbott and every gullible naive apathetic individual who voted for that maggot.
Vote him in again next election too, maybe he can cut funding to hospitals then.

[rev]

Abbott is saying they will fight to save Toyota. Why didn't they fight to save Holden?
Oh that's right, SA is still a Labor governed state, and Toyota doesn't have plants in SA.

They are saying the northern suburbs will need an assistance package of at least 1 billion dollars now. It's already a high unemployment region, things just got worse.

Hmm...spend a few hundred million to ensure the car industry survives through the tough global economic times, or do nothing and let the car industry die and then have to spend billions in assistance and whatnot.

Smart governance and economic management by Abbott and the other wankers in Canberra who spent the entire election campaign and then some before hand, and still are, bashing on Labor for their economic mismanagement.


RIP Holden 1856-2017.

[Waewick]

yes, Holden closing in Abbott and Hockeys fault

lets all vote for Wetherill

[The Scooter Guy]

So this could mean the Adelaide Motor Show (that I thought it was going to return in 2010) will never ever be returning?
As if Abbott was saying to Ford & GMH, "Shut them down! Close them off! Factories that pollute like that shouldn't be allowed!"
So honk if you dare!

RIP, Clipsal 500, Bathurst, Wheels Magazine, with out Aussie Ford an Holdens' who will really care?


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And what would happen if petrol powered vehicles were to be abolished?

[Dog]

I see GM opened a new car plant in Indonesia this year, Indonesia also refines fuel, produce generic drugs, make white goods, builds complete civilian and military air craft, things we no longer do, at what point does Indonesia become the "developed" country and Australia the undeveloped.
Solutions like Tourism, sound pretty third world to me. Under the Abbott government we have a sports minister but don't even have a minister for science. And they have just announced today their big plan of giving us all 25 megabits/second NBN to the end of the street by 2016 is now highly unachievable and cost more.
(Edit) Oops! I forgot to mention the 500 jobs they are cutting from the CSIRO.

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[Dog]

So this could mean the Adelaide Motor Show (that I thought it was going to return in 2010) will never ever be returning?
As if Abbott was saying to Ford & GMH, "Shut them down! Close them off! Factories that pollute like that shouldn't be allowed!"
So honk if you dare!

RIP, Clipsal 500, Bathurst, Wheels Magazine, with out Aussie Ford an Holdens' who will really care?


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And what would happen if petrol powered vehicles were to be abolished?

I would be more than happy to go to an all electric Baturst or Clipsal if we made the cars, fat chance of that now!


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[Waewick]

I see GM opened a new car plant in Indonesia this year, Indonesia also refines fuel, produce generic drugs, make white goods, builds complete civilian and military air craft, things we no longer do, at what point does Indonesia become the "developed" country and Australia the undeveloped.
Solutions like Tourism, sound pretty third world to me. Under the Abbott government we have a sports minister but don't even have a minister for science. And they have just announced today their big plan of giving us all 25 megabits/second NBN to the end of the street by 2016 is now highly unachievable and cost more.
(Edit) Oops! I forgot to mention the 500 jobs they are cutting from the CSIRO.

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look, I'm more than happy for you to pick up on missed promised etc. But hat is deadset silly.

Australia is a developed country you can't seriously suggest we are going to become undeveloped under Abbott?

[pushbutton]

I might have missed something (if I have please feel free to fill me in) but as far as I know in the short time Abbot has been PM the only thing he has said or done in relation to Holden is say that the existing assistance package is still there for them, but there will be no more!

That sounds very sensible, and even very generous to me. I don't see how this coalition government can be blamed for Holdens closure. Possibly the previous (labour) government could be partly to blame for the fact they didn't raise tarrifs or the fact they allowed the situation previously mentioned where it's s difficult to raise tarrifs on imported vehicles.

I don't blame either the current or previous government. I do blame Holden because they failed to keep up to date with the sort of vehicles people will buy now and in the future. They failed to innovate sufficiently, and they did try a last minute effort to make workers conditions more realistic, but that was far too little and done far too late!

At the end of the day, we live in a free market economy and the government should play no role in propping up businesses which are not viable in the long term. The economy will adapt and new jobs will be created elsewhere which are more sustainable.

[Dog]

I might have missed something (if I have please feel free to fill me in) but as far as I know in the short time Abbot has been PM the only thing he has said or done in relation to Holden is say that the existing assistance package is still there for them, but there will be no more!

That sounds very sensible, and even very generous to me. I don't see how this coalition government can be blamed for Holdens closure. Possibly the previous (labour) government could be partly to blame for the fact they didn't raise tarrifs or the fact they allowed the situation previously mentioned where it's s difficult to raise tarrifs on imported vehicles.

I don't blame either the current or previous government. I do blame Holden because they failed to keep up to date with the sort of vehicles people will buy now and in the future. They failed to innovate sufficiently, and they did try a last minute effort to make workers conditions more realistic, but that was far too little and done far too late!

At the end of the day, we live in a free market economy and the government should play no role in propping up businesses which are not viable in the long term. The economy will adapt and new jobs will be created elsewhere which are more sustainable.

Not quite right the Abbott Government took $500m off the table earmarked by the Labor government with additional still committed by the state government. (not a broken promise because he said he would do it before the election) that's what triggered the whole GM review, till that point Holden's had agreed to build two new models at Elizabeth, both front wheel drive based on world cars, one a replacement of the Commodore and the other the next cruise.


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