By NOEL MURPHY
TARIFFS must rise to safeguard jobs at Ford and other car-makers, according to Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.
National secretary Dave Smith said Australian tariffs should change to offset competition from overseas countries not playing by the rules.
“It’s never been a level playing field and thinking it’s going to be is not realistic – that’s only for some ideological dries and flat-Earthers,” Mr Smith told the Independent.
“We continue in Australia to say it’s a global free market but it’s a way to destroy, a way to pick winners and losers. The global free market view is putting Australian workers out of work.
“Victoria doesn’t have a mining boom to fall back on. We’re part of that second-speed economy that will slow to a snail-pace economy.
“For Geelong, it’s disastrous. We don’t want to make our own petrol anymore, Alcoa is just hanging in there and Ford’s just hanging in there.
“What’s going to be next?”
The union call for stronger protection followed former Ford global boss Jac Nasser warning the days of domestic car-makers were numbered. Former Mitsubishi boss Graham Spurling echoed him.
Mr Smith also doubted opposition leader Tony Abbott’s hopes of an export-led recovery for Ford, warning that overseas economies were so poor that exporting was unfeasible.
“The US is printing money, Japan’s printing money, China’s unashamedly keeping its currency low, it just goes on and on.
“And when these auto jobs go, the workers never go to jobs that pay as well.
“All too often I hear in Geelong the common theme where they say. ‘I’ve got a bit of work here, I’m doing a bit of casual this week’ (but) it’s only precarious, part-time employment.”
