GILLARD AND COMBET’S MANUFACTURING RECESSION CONTINUES

01-March-2013

Australian manufacturing remains in crisis under a government which is consumed by stunts and motherhood statements. 
 
The release of this morning’s Australian Industry Group Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) for February now points to 12 straight months of negative growth in the sector.

Worse still, the figures represent a 41st month of decline during Labor’s period in office – an astonishing return from its total of 63 months in government.

“Labor still has no grasp of the problems its policies are creating for the manufacturing sector – and it clearly doesn’t want, or know how, to solve them,” said Shadow Industry Minister, Sophie Mirabella, today.

“Sadly, its only recent attempt at reversing its approach has been to pretend that a series of already-failed policies, and hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts to the industry portfolio, are somehow a massive new investment in manufacturing and innovation.

“Today’s PMI data shows, yet again, that this won’t work – and that saddling businesses with a carbon tax, ever-rising costs and even more regulations can only end in disaster. 

“And Julia Gillard and Greg Combet’s so-called ‘Jobs Plan’ reflects one of their biggest problems – that they always prefer top-down policy making in Canberra to actually consulting with manufacturing businesses and workers to truly understand the impacts of their failed policies.

“Only the Coalition has the necessary solutions – and we will abolish the carbon tax, eliminate at least $1 billion of costly red tape annually, and bring back the strong economic management that Australia so desperately needs.”