Grappler Deep State Feller wrote on May 15
th, 2016 at 12:01pm:
We need to re-estabish our own solid base here of prosperity for all, re-building industrial infrastructure, and providing a firm base from which to develop this country. To that end we need a cessation of importing large numbers of illiterate and semi-literate peasants and re-commence attracting 'middle class' workers.. tradies etc.
Its too late. The ship has already sailed and the associated manufacturing businesses are withering as the manufacturers move out.
The services business is not safe either as evolution of automation and overseas on-line competition replaces Australian jobs.
Below is an extract of an analysis of the famous Brigden Committee report of 1927 which supported retention of tariffs against growing international (UK and USA) pressure for free trade. The report guided Australian policy for 50 years.
The analysis concludes that Australian wages would be higher and exports slightly lower with retention of tariffs as compared to elimination of tariffs.
Note the "laboring class has gained from protection". This might also imply that capitalists benefited less than workers.
However, there is no certainty that similar effects would occur with Australia's current economic unbalance favoring resource industries and their investors.
http://www.une.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/67356/econwp94-17.pdf Quote:The results suggests that if export demand elasticities were low, on average less than
one, the foreign currency value of export revenue would have increased as the supply
of exportable goods declined with increased protection. The import competing sector
of the economy would have expanded increasing the demand for labour. The model
projects a considerable increase in employment level with inelastic export demands
implying that the growth in employment in import competing sector would have
outweighed the employment loss in the exportable sector. If the real wage was
allowed to change endogenously in the model, then instead of having employment
increase, we would have seen an increase in real wage. Implication of this in general
seems to be that the labouring class has gained from protection.