The winds of change

workers and their families going forward. They will need co be retrained and cry their future in the job market. Those on the more e lderly side will find it more c hallenging.

GJobalisation of the world econo my can have bitter side effects. The advantages of g lobal conn ections by a fast internet or cheaper telephony also come wirh tbe disadvantages of cheaper forms of labour and tbe ease of movement of capital. Capitalism is not limi ted co geogr aphical boundaries as corporates seek out oppormnities around the world. Resources flow to options which best meet the demands of production and capital. Labour is a commodity which now can be sourced global ly.

Australia has been hit hard by companies closing down the i.r operations in this country. Ford, Holden and Toyota are all closing their manufacturing operations in A u stralia ,vichin three years. Engineering group Forge has cut 1,500 jobs and recently aluminium giant Alcoa announced the closure of its ageing Point Henry aJLllilinium smelter and associated rolling works at Geelong and its rolling mill and recycling unit ar Yennora in Sydney.

Ir is going co a rough time for the

The question whicb emerges is, is manufacturing in Australia on its lase legs?

The reality is chat it is in a tough spot. The loc al labour market is high ly regulated; tl1e consumer market is very small and be ing on the doors teps of some of the most popuJatecl countries of d1e world makes it difficult co compete on pricing \Xlhile the government has been able co prop up some companies witl1 handouts in the past, it just does not make sense to continue doi n g this in th e future.

There needs to be a radical rethink as co what we wane furn.re Australia to be like, especially for the next generation of Indian Australians. A big picture needs to be thought through and true leade.rship needs to be shown in forging this path forward. The government needs to decide also if it wants a 'big Australia' or a ' sustainable Australia'. Former NS\"J Premier Bob Carr shut the debate on dus effectivdy a few years ago when he stamped h is authority on wanting Australia to slow d own on population growth C iti ng environmental reasons, includ ing scarc ity of land, d1is fai led co take in to account how co1mtries like Singapore and Japan have coped well with limited land bur large populations With clever planning, a larger Australia will allow for greater domestic constm1p tion and innovation with opportunities co succeed nationally.

\Xfhi le a road map for tlus objective can be mapped out, d1ere needs to be more work in building a clever AL1stralia. lt has been raised in the past that opening d1e dqo.rs to higher educated PhDs to settle in Australia will allow for more research and development options Perhaps it is time to set up a platfo rm for this to happen.

Anod1er lead which can follow is co encourage inn ovation and foster a culture of entrepreneurship wid1in young A u stralians Allow funding for srart-ups be it in information technology or pharmaceutical or biotechnology. Rarher than pushing young entrepreneurs to Silicon Valle y to experiment w i th d1eir ideas, create options tl1rough federal fw1ding and encourage tl1em to start up locall y \V/ e do live in changing times indeed. The winners will be those who can innovate and work with the chan~es A v ision and conviction by our .lead ers is important if Australia needs co w in in the long term.