Ned K.
2012 began with state and federal government leaders flying to Detroit to find out how many millions of dollars car multinational General Motors wants, to persuade it not to close up its car plants in Australia.
New SA Premier Weatherill and Federal Manufacturing Minister Kim Carr returned, saying General Motors would need at least $100 million from the public purse to ensure the survival of their plants in a reduced form until 2016.
This follows a $34 million payment to Ford by the federal government and a promise by the Howard government in 2006 of $52.5million to Ford, and $6.7 million to General Motors.
A similar pattern of public money to Mitsubishi did not prevent its closure in 2008, which was soon forgotten as the SA government placed its electoral success on promoting the state as being on the verge of a resources boom with mining of Olympic Dam, supported by a defence contracting manufacturing industry with the multinational owned Australian Submarine Corporation as its core.
“When the General talks, you better listen to him”.
These were the words sung by now ALP Minister Peter Garrett as lead singer of band Midnight Oil. They are still true today when “the General” is General Motors. As an icon of US imperialism any politician should listen to General Motors. Having listened, there is a choice. Agree with the General and comply with its demands or measure what the General says against the best interests of the Australian workers and Australia as a nation.
Since its establishment in Australia in 1926 as General Motors (Aust) Pty Ltd , successive Australian and state governments have chosen the former path of subservience to General Motors whenever it ‘came to the crunch’.
General Motors in Australia has always been majority US owned or 100% US owned. Despite this, “Australian money, given readily by the Chifley Government as a most generous long term loan, enabled Holden (General Motors) to come in to production. So there is no question that the Australian people have a genuine financial interest in the Holden. Australian money started it, Australian money has made its profits.” (Big Wheels and Little Wheels, by L. J. Hartnett). The funds came from the Australian working people through their taxes and savings deposits in previously government owned banks.
In 1944, General Motors agreed to build a complete car in Australia but said they would not pay one cent to get it off the ground. The Chifley Government obliged by arranging for the Commonwealth Bank to advance 2.5 million Australian pounds to the company.
In 1963, the Financial Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald had this to say about General Motors, “No company in Australia plays a tougher game than this one, which did not hazard one dollar of American capital in the Holden project.” (SMH, June 19, 1964).
Chifley’s decision was quite consistent with ALP policy, which apart from a tinkering with the idea of nationalisation of key industries in the 1920s, always championed ‘free enterprise’ as the engine room of growth and prosperity with government hand-outs to those with the most clout, like General Motors.
What has happened to the car industry since this decision of Chifley is well known, with steady decline since the 1970s and some would argue earlier than that. Governments of Liberal and Labor have both been locked in to a most subservient role to car industry multinationals as one after another closes or reduces operations. What we are seeing now with more government taxpayer money thrown at General Motors and Ford is a continuation of the trend started in the 1940s.
What should be done?
In the very short term, the demand should be that government assistance to the car industry be paid from taxation on the resources and mining companies. The governments at both state and federal levels should be demanding that any financial assistance to General Motors and Ford is conditional on them committing to build an electric powered car in Australia, which is clearly the way the industry is heading worldwide.
At the same time, the governments should be working with car industry unions and local communities dependent on the car industry for their livelihood to plan an Australian-owned environmentally sustainable vehicle and public transport manufacturing industry suitable for Australian conditions. The money to fund this is available from the wealth produced by Australian workers in the resource and mining industries. Multinationals are making billions out of these industries.
Developing a sustainable vehicle and public transport industry is an urgent task, an important step on the road to Australian independence and socialism in a globally integrated world economy where the balance of forces still lies in favour of imperialism, even though in crisis and turmoil.
The only lasting solution to job security for workers in the car manufacturing industry, and for environmentally sustainable car and public transport manufacturing in Australia, is to nationalise the big multinational car corporations. Australian workers have the skills and knowledge to rebuild the country. We don’t need multinational parasites.
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