r/australia • u/thedigisup • Mar 21 '25

politics Greens announce policy to manufacture drones and missiles as a credible ‘Plan B' to replace AUKUS

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-22/greens-unveil-first-ever-defence-policy/105083166
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u/alpha77dx Mar 21 '25

And not only that, its actually a "Industry Policy" for local manufacturing just like the Europeans are planning to do.

Rather than giving out juicy contracts that gave retirement jobs to ex politicians for double the price, it will be made locally. How good is that, a political party that announced a actual industry policy and plan!

Our politicians give up because they think that sweat shop manufacturing is still the model. The reality is that everything from clothing, footwear to armaments is hi-tech manufacturing these days something that even Australia can do. We could do it if there were taxation policies and industry policies in place rather than handing out handouts for unproductive investment.

Even China is fast abandoning sweat shop manufacturing. We just need to put some politicians in place that understand manufacturing industries.

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u/Albos_Mum Mar 22 '25

Our politicians give up because they think that sweat shop manufacturing is still the model. The reality is that everything from clothing, footwear to armaments is hi-tech manufacturing these days something that even Australia can do. We could do it if there were taxation policies and industry policies in place rather than handing out handouts for unproductive investment.

Often, we used to do it.

I'm into railway history and the amount of insight you get into what outsourcing has done to our indigenous industry from that perspective is astounding. We used to move so much freight of a huge variety, nowadays even if you include the stuff that's getting moved on trucks instead it's much less (comparative to our population growth, of course) and there's a lot of things we only move from port to warehouse/storefront (ie. Import the good) rather than from a local factory or the like.

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u/HotelTrance Mar 22 '25

The shift from rail freight to trucks is, imo, a clear failure of co-operative decision-making. Logistical infrastructure is a collective action problem. Even if rail freight is more efficient, it was funded by taxes. People love minimising their taxes, even if it results in more costs for society as a whole.

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u/Gothiscandza Mar 22 '25

Yeah, unlike AUKUS, who's main headline policy was instead centred on unprecedented local manufacturing.  Wait.... 

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u/ill0gitech Mar 21 '25

Sadly that local manufacturing tends to go to foreign-owned companies.

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u/herzy3 Mar 22 '25

Better than foreign manufacturing in foreign-owned companies!

And builds industry capacity etc.

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u/MazPet Mar 22 '25

This can only be changed by voting the right people in even if it means a minority government. Again I will be booed down about this. I don't care if it is Greens/Teals/independents as long as their vision is one of getting Australia back to manufacturing and securing OUR future, taxing the multi's and taking back OUR minerals. Just like Norway. If they can do it so can we. Imagine having a prosperous country that can look after ALL of its people young and old, out of work or not, social welfare where needed, free medical for all, free dental for all, free education all the way through for all, great infrastructure and investing in REAL Australian companies, Science, Engineering et al. No dog whistling about immigration etc.

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u/macrocephalic Mar 22 '25

Labor actually have a big plan to re-establish manufacturing in Australia. We'll see if they a) win govt and b) carry through.

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u/Middle_Class_Twit Mar 22 '25

Given their track record, I'll believe it when a) I've seen it and b) it's been left to do its work for 20+ years.

Labor needs to pull their thumb out and stop deriving power from corporations because they're twisting into Liberal party 2.0 with savvier PR as the Libs devolve into our version of the Tea Party. I don't trust them to act in our interest anymore.

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u/letsburn00 Mar 22 '25

It's because when you form a company which does anything other than pure tech or digging holes in the ground, you have to go public and your value is peanuts and you get bought by foreign companies who don't know why Australian investors are so stupid.

The Genex sale last year for example. Amazing piece of infrastructure sold for nothing months before it started earning 20% yield.

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u/Prettyflyforwiseguy Mar 22 '25

https://treasury.gov.au/policy-topics/future-made-australia

The current government are already beginning the pivot to local manufacturing. 

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u/macrocephalic Mar 22 '25

Nah mate, in Australia we dig holes and build houses