Prevailing wrote on Jul 23^rd, 2012 at 1:25pm:


You do know that there are still tariffs on imported cars, right?

Button car plan

The Button car plan, also known as the Button plan was the informal name given to the Motor Industry Development Plan. The plan was an Australian federal government initiative, intended to rationalise the Australian motor vehicle industry. Industry consultation had begun in 1984 with a proposed start date of 1985. The plan took its name from Senator John Button, the federal Minister for Commerce, Trade and Industry.

At the time of its inception, Australia's motor industry was heavily protected by import tariffs, harbouring the assembly of thirteen models by various manufacturers. The Button car plan aimed to reduce this number to eight models, with the aim of forcing some amount of industry consolidation. The over-arching aim of the scheme was to make the motor vehicle industry in Australia more efficient by consolidation of resources, allowing the import tariffs to be gradually unwound. This in turn would theoretically expose the local industry to increased competition from imported products, fostering improvement in local vehicles and creating the basis for a competitive export industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_car_plan