While I understand it's trendy in some circles to blame Howard for everything, manufacturing was trending downwards well before his time in power.
The fact is, low cost labour & suppliers from overseas is what happened.
The only way Australia could compete with most overseas manufacturing is to pay our workers the same as theirs (pittance), or enforce huge tariffs at the border, meaning prices for everything goes up. Do you fancy paying $40k+ for a very basic car? Most don't. Countries are better off focusing on those industries where they have a comparative advantage.
