Not sure where you were when this was all happening Lappy, but our auto industry was uneconomic and uncompetitive:
- volumes too small
- exports too few
- uneconomic, propped up by $5 Billion in "industry assistance" over the past 10 years alone
- low or zero tariffs meant home grown cars competing with vehicles built in more efficient, less costly plants overseas
- we are surrounded by Asian countries with far lower labour costs
- the average car manufacturing worker wage in Australia was > $70,000 -v- $12,500 in Thailand for example
- since 2005 when the FTA with Thailand began we imported from Thailand 2 million Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan cars
- since 2005 Australia exported to Thailand 100 cars [that is not a typo]
- many long term employees benefited from absurd Enterprise Bargaining Agreements that grand-fathered their benefits and paid them well over $100K per year . Who can forget the court battles between Toyota and the unions. The latter preferred to have the company close down rather than forgo benefits [much like Streets employees]
- rising energy costs
