moondoong, maybe Australian manufacturing was once equal, but you are refusing to accept part responsibility for that no longer being the case by buying the cheaper imported alternative. You, and every other Australian who has bought imported goods, and increasingly, food, are the ones who has taken the knife to the throat of Australian manufacturers and producers. You missed the most important part regarding farmers, as hard, as long, FOR THE RETURNS. Who else puts their time, effort and money up for a year, and then has to accept what the market determines is the real value. Which in turn is increasingly being determined by the price of food landed here from the cheapest countries in the world. Certainly not you, or any other wage earner in Australia. Consider that as you eat you bacon and tomatoes for breakfast. The chances are they are imported. As for your comments regarding myself, perhaps you missed it, but I have spent a great part of my life living and working in Asia, witnessing the changes taking place there. I witnessed how things were for the grandparents of the up an coming generation, so excuse me if I get a bit short with those ignorant of what is occurring on the ground there and still believe that this is the best place in the world simply because they have never experienced life elsewhere. At least I am able to make objective comparisons, and see the weaknesses, and strengths from the perspective that time and distance allows. Perhaps I can recommend that you follow my lead and get out and experience the real world, but I fear it may be too late.