GOVERNMENT PUSHES MANUFACTURING OVER THE EDGE
01-August-2011
Whilst the Gillard Government commits all of its resources to selling its toxic and unwanted carbon tax, Australian manufacturing businesses are closing their doors.
The Australian Industry Group (AIG) – PricewaterhouseCoopers Performance of Manufacturing Performance Index (PMI) data for July slipped 9.5 points to 43.4 (results below 50 indicate a declining sector).
The July PMI report cited uncertainty around carbon pricing as a major factor adversely affecting manufacturing growth.
AIG Chief Executive, Heather Ridout, said: “The survey respondents indicated that adding to their broader concerns was the prospect of a carbon tax and this was clearly weighing on sentiment.”
Businesses like Walkabout Leisurewear, a clothing manufacturer in Ballarat, have been forced to close their doors due to rising costs and shrinking margins as the Government ignores even looking at local companies and prefers local goods.
Jack Engwerda, Managing Director of Walkabout, said that the company has even offered items to government buyers at discounted prices yet now every item they have supplied for the last 23 years is sourced offshore.
In further bad news for Australian manufacturing businesses, key economic indicators revealed in the July PMI report show that confidence in manufacturing is plummeting under Labor and continues to decline in key areas.
Sub orders, manufacturing production and supplier deliveries all fell sharply in July, while wages and input costs rose. Exacerbating the problem, selling prices dropped indicating a narrowing in manufacturers’ profit margins, which in many cases are already wafer thin.
The Gillard Government clearly doesn’t even pretend to want Australian manufacturing as they ignore them when they source requirements for Australian Defence. Adding to the insult is a refusal to accept that a carbon tax will wreak havoc on this critical sector.
It’s time for Ms Gillard to support Australian manufacturers and axe the toxic carbon tax.