Manufacturers going broke in Oz might be just the wake up call we need to do our bit and buy Australian instead of just talking about it.

I'll second and third that one GaryKelly.

Checked the other day.. Peaches came from China .. Apricots from Australia..
Notice they label them Valley fruit..?? Not entirely sure these companies are as sincere as they say ..
Including Coles and Woolworths.. They still buy at slave prices..

They sure do come from slave prices, and so does our clothes whether they are top shelf or cheaper, saw a show on TV the companies buy the AUSTRALIA LABEL and put on their products yet their products are made over seas, its away of life now unless you grow/make your own then most of material comes from over seas also. Can only blame the COMPANIES they close their doors here and take it all over seas

I'm not sure that you can lay all of the blame on the companies. They have share holders who expect and demand a reasonable return on their investments. That return is damned near impossible to achieve in Australia with crazy work practises and government red tape which, despite the rhetoric to the contrary, just keeps getting redder. I know about all the arguments of buying Aussie made etc. but in reality it is not going to happen whilst-ever the cost of doing so is so much higher than what it is to purchase from overseas. Many of us claim to be environmentally motivated, yet how many of us purchase recycled products when their cost is generally higher than first time stuff? How many of us drive vehicles that have actually been made here, and which can compete with overseas made ones in both quality and price? Draconian work practices, either by unions or government regulation has been the prime motivation for most overseas relocation and sales to overseas ventures. Why would you persist in trying to run a successful business here when you have a workforce and various tiers of government that is hell bent on preventing you from doing so. There are numerous instances of Australian companies being forced out of business due to cheap imports of nearly identical products, often in direct contravention of copyright laws, being allowed into this country without the same strict product and safety compliance and licensing requirements that our own people are forced to observe and pay for before they can even put their items on the shop floor.

Buying Australian tins of fruit sure ain't going to fix the economy if it is indeed broke. For the next 10 years we will be relying on royalties from our quarry. We need a new direction.

A recent BBC documentary on the ABC attempted to find out what would happen if several local long term unemployed English workers replaced immigrant workers in various English enterprises.

Three applicants were selected to work as a crew in a packing plant. One was a young lad still living with his parents while the other two were middle aged men with families. They claimed they had responded to hundreds of job ads but had received no offers.

On the very first day, one of the older guys arrived on the job 30 minutes late. The young lad didn't turn up at all. He had "texted" the employer the previous evening, saying that he'd had a hard night and wouldn't be able to make it to work in the morning.

The employer had someone waiting to put all three through an induction process. This person was Portuguese, but could speak English quite well. One of the new starters complained that he couldn't understand him. It was apparent that he had made little effort to do so. In fact if anyone had difficulties with English, it was the ****ney himself. (Why do all Londoners have the same speech impediment? Why do vey say "fink" instead of "think", and "vat" instead of "that"?) This same English guy had applied for various managerial positions and was rejected every time. He was then shown making an effort to improve his skills by learning basic arithmetic. His 11-year-old daughter was coaching him, asking him questions such as "how many times does 4 go into 12" (to which he replied "free"). Later that day, after they had been packing potatoes, they were told by the supervisor that 100 bags would have to be unpacked and recounted. Apparently they couldn't even get that right.

It was at about this time that I tuned out.

I always buy Australian made when available even though it usually costs more, today I purchased a set of spark plug leads for the Pajero and they were much cheaper than the imported ones with both the accessories shop and my mechanic saying they were better than most on the market. The ones I bought are Eagle Silicone injection leads. we all need to support true ozzie companies when possible.

Just heard on the NBN news that Apple pay virtually no tax on their profilts from Australian sales, not in Australia or anywhere else for that matter. For such a lucrative company to thumb their noses at our economy is a bl**dy outrage i think. But then again, that's been the case with most of the big companies that flog their stuff off on our shores. Slide that to the top of the list of reasons why I wouldn't buy an Apple product.

You can bet your bottom dollar they support both major political parties so they can get away with this.