October 10, 2016
by Dafyd Martindale
A recent call by the ACTU for the Federal Government introduce a “Buy Australian” Act which would require all major government projects and services to use locally manufactured goods has a lot of merit, we think.
The ACTU argue the USA introduced a similar “Buy American” bill at the height of the GFC when that country’s unemployment rate was 9.7 per cent.
US unemployment has now fallen below Australian levels.
The ACTU believe a bill forcing the United States government to reinvest in their own nation has a lot to do with that.
As things currently stand, a lot of Australian government money goes to foreign companies to purchase goods that are manufactured overseas.
The loss of contracts to supply these goods domestically has led to factory closures and job lay-offs.
So any cost-savings the government might have made by buying at a cheaper price from foreigners has been offset by the costs of supporting Australian manufacturing workers who no longer have jobs.
Even worse, some of these foreign produced goods have subsequently proven to be inadequate and a handful – such as asbestos-laden building materials – downright dangerous.
The ACTU argue that it would be a much more productive use of Government money to support Australian manufacturing businesses, even if the end products cost more than foreign equivalents.
We can only agree.
It is, after all, the money of ordinary Australians that our governments are spending.
And we think it is unlikely any fair-minded Australian would object to the government not getting the best global deal if it helped keep their neighbour in a job.
- Related article: Unions Call For ‘Buy Australian’ Act
