Kevin Rudd and his Federal Government ministers have lately taken to uttering the catch-cry that they "want Australia to be a place that makes things". However, this will not happen in a world of slave-labour economies, until the abandonment of protectionism, supported by both the major Australian political parties, is reversed.
See also: "Whatever happened to Australian manufacturing?" by Martin Feil in the Age of 20 May 10.

The mining company
(photo Wikipedia commons)
The local indigenous population is upset at Government plans to open up much of the land in Peru's Amazonia region to oil and gas and to mineral exploration, even though much of the land is officially protected.


The bids by Chinese state-owned companies to buy out Australian mining companies have alarmed ordinary Australians. As before, however, opposition to this growing encroachment upon Australian sovereignty has been equated with cold war 'yellow peril' racism in an apparent attempt to stifle debate.
The collapse of the global house of credit-cards and consequent stalling of demand for our mineral wealth is beginning to show up how truly unproductive our economy has become after decades of 'reform'. How can we begin to repair the damage?
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