There's only so many jobs in building roads
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As the jobs of the past disappear across Australia, there is little comfort to be taken from the Prime Minister's vision for the jobs of the future ... in road construction, writes Mungo MacCallum.
Even with the official unemployment rate already rising rapidly, Tony Abbott is determinedly optimistic about the fate of workers retrenched by the now extinct motor industry; from a political point of view he can't afford to be anything else.
There are already more people out of work than at any time since 2003 - when Abbott was Employment Minister, in fact - and all the signs are that things will get worse before they get improve. So we have the Prime Minister bravely predicting that those who have lost good jobs will find better jobs.
But, he adds at once, the government will not create them; it is not the task of government to create jobs, that will happen through the market economy. What the government can do is create a climate in which the market can best act, and here, he says, rebutting the opposition's accusations that the government has simply given up and has no idea what to do next, his government does indeed have a plan. And we know what it is, because we have been told by none other than The Australian's Dennis Shanahan, reporting from his privileged position right next to Abbott's "suppository of all wisdom".
"We have a plan for Australia," insists our leader. "It means stopping the boats. It means fixing the budget. It means building the future. It means creating an Australia where everyone can expect a fair go and everyone is encouraged to have a go. That is the kind of Australia we are creating."
He went on to list a few policy prescriptions, none exactly new, which he said were specifically designed to make it easier for business to create jobs: taking off the carbon and mining taxes, restoring the Building and Construction Commission, giving environmental approval to new projects and working towards a free trade agreement with South Korea.
But perhaps strangely, he omitted one which was a key election pledge. For the last three years and longer, Abbott's promises were effectively limited to the big four: abolish the taxes, end the wasteful spending, pay off the debt and stop the boats. But as the election campaign got under way, apparently desperate to inject a note of the positive, he added a fifth: build the roads of the 21st century.
He had always said that he wanted to be known as the Infrastructure Prime Minister, but now he told us just what he actually meant by infrastructure in the 21st century: roads. Not a global information network or national broadband, not the airwaves, not even ports, harbours, railways and air terminals, but roads.
Roads, those things cars run on, the cars that won't be made in Australia anymore. Roads, that were last at the cutting edge of innovation about 2,000 years ago when the ancient Roman Emperors were planning their future economies. And it is this kind of vision, or the lack of it, which makes suspect Abbott's broad promise to build the future.
If his government can be said to have an underlying philosophy, it appears to be Luddism - a deep distrust of new technology, and of the science behind it. Abbott started by abolishing the science ministry as a separate entity and attacking such new-fangled ideas as renewable energy, and while not actually rejecting the science of climate change, he has certainly rejected the measures recommended by scientists and economists to combat it. And just last week he yet again squibbed making a decision on a second Sydney airport.
Instead, he has made it clear that coal remains king; this is one area where ports and railways - as well as roads, of course - are to be encouraged at the expense of all long-term environmental risks. And while some entitlements may be threatened, there is no suggestion of cutting down on the massive subsidies available to the mining industry as a whole, especially the provision of cheap diesel fuel.
So where are the jobs of the future going to come from? Well, almost certainly not from new discoveries in science and technology; those capable of making them are unlikely to hang around in Australia when it has been made clear to them that their specialties are considered superfluous to the government's program.
The service industries will probably continue to expand, but these are unlikely to offer many opportunities to those who have spent the better part of their working lives in factories. And this is the catch: there will be new jobs - there always are. But those sacked from their old ones won't be the ones taking them.
Studies suggest that about one third of those car workers who have recently been cast adrift will find another job in the same industry, while another third will find work in different industries and the rest will drop out of the work force altogether (due to age, sheer disillusionment or another reason).
And few of those "liberated" from the assembly lines, as Tony Abbot enthused, quoting Paul Keating, are rejoicing at the prospect. They have been trained tradesmen and women, proud of their skills and told that gaining them was not only an achievement in itself, but a guarantee of lifetime employment. Many of them have actually enjoyed the factory life, its routine, its predictability, its egalitarian atmosphere.
They are losing not only their jobs but their lifestyle, almost their culture. And sloganeering about the government's plans to stop the boats and pay off the debt is unlikely to be of much comfort. Bill Shorten is right: Abbott and the government do not have a plan, they have a Micawberish faith that something will turn up.
It probably will, but by the time it does there will be a new generation and a new government to deal with it. One, perhaps, that looks a little beyond roads as the be-all and end-all of a vision for the future.
Mungo Wentworth MacCallum is a political journalist and commentator. View his full profile here.
Topics: unemployment, federal-government
Comments (29)
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Storm:
17 Feb 2014 5:07:42pm
I wonder how many people who voted Liberal last election now regret it?
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Seano:
17 Feb 2014 5:19:14pm
I only counted 1,375 here in WA.
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question_everything:
17 Feb 2014 5:34:48pm
I do regret it very much... But if I have to number every box on the house of representatives ballot paper and I was unhappy with shambles of the previous Gillard Labour government (nothing against Rudd, but by rights he should already have had completed 2 full terms as PM, the faceless men saw to it that he didn't), there is no way that I could not vote for the LNP. If I left the LNP and Labour off my ballot paper then my vote would have been nullified/informal. I had all the minor parties and independents at the top and the LNP and ALP on the bottom, but my vote eventually still went to them. I'd rather not vote for the LNP or ALP at all.
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question_everything:
17 Feb 2014 5:34:51pm
I do regret it very much... But if I have to number every box on the house of representatives ballot paper and I was unhappy with shambles of the previous Gillard Labour government (nothing against Rudd, but by rights he should already have had completed 2 full terms as PM, the faceless men saw to it that he didn't), there is no way that I could not vote for the LNP. If I left the LNP and Labour off my ballot paper then my vote would have been nullified/informal. I had all the minor parties and independents at the top and the LNP and ALP on the bottom, but my vote eventually still went to them. I'd rather not vote for the LNP or ALP at all.
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Roland:
17 Feb 2014 5:39:06pm
None that I know of.
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Aaron:
17 Feb 2014 5:40:59pm
I'm happy.
Compared to Rudd and Gillard and their respective government's performances (insert circus music) I'd have to say I'm very happy.
:)
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Billy Bob Hall:
17 Feb 2014 5:42:44pm
No me.
Surely this isn't a serious question ?
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andie:
17 Feb 2014 5:45:03pm
According to today's Nielsen poll not many.
And it would appear BShorten does not attract them in the near time either.
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andie:
17 Feb 2014 5:12:14pm
It is recognised that there is a delay in the recording of changes in employments rates of at least 6 months.
The current unemployment figures are a reflection of the policies and economic conditions under the Gillard/Rudd governments rather then the Abbott government.
In the 6 years of Rudd/Gillard/Rudd government more then 100,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in Australia or moved overseas.
Please show me the ALP Jobs Plan to combat this diminishing of the manufacturing industries that occurred under the ALP governments.
What policy to combat these continuing manufacturing job losses did the ALP take to the last election apart from borrowing money to prop up unsustainable industries?
When Rudd came to power unemployment stated with a 4.
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folly:
17 Feb 2014 5:30:53pm
It's the current government's job to fix the problem.
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bSee:
17 Feb 2014 5:39:18pm
Andie, what 100,000 jobs were they exactly ? Renewable energy industry, (if it were allowed under the ship of fools regime) would have been a big employer, the car manufacturers would have still been in operation (every country in the world with a car industry subsidises it)
What actual policies did Abbott take into the last election ?....right none, except "trust us, we're adults" (what an absolute joke)
Maybe he's going to enlist us all into the armed forces in case one of our neighbours that he's upset attacks ?
These amateurs are absolutely out of their depth after Rupert got them into power (probably why he just received $900,000,000.00 from us)
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Harry:
17 Feb 2014 5:48:18pm
Three words for you Andie: Global Financial Crisis.
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damon:
17 Feb 2014 5:14:09pm
I know, I know! They can all do social science degrees and look after the welfare of the hundreds of thousands of new citizens we import every year.
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ArmchairWatermelon:
17 Feb 2014 5:59:07pm
Im confused. On the one hand we have gotten rid of the evil oil guzzling car industry. On the other some of the proles have lost their jobs. hang on ive got it...the government can start building electric cars! Everyone gets a free electric car! What do you think comrades?
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virgil:
17 Feb 2014 5:59:39pm
Surely we'll need more school chaplains when the extra funds start flowing out of the public system towards religious schools?
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Seano:
17 Feb 2014 5:16:27pm
"the cutting edge of innovation about 2,000 years ago when the ancient Roman Emperors were planning their future economies"
...might've been codenamed Operation Caesar's Lake or something kitch like that. MJLC might remember who mentioned the Inland Sea last week. I'm stumped to remember the article. Yes it means some sacrifice of sacred ancient desert, but the irrigation and increased rainfall would be worth it because what little acreage we have that isn't desert is already overpopulated, and salt lakes are already half below sea level already. 2,000 years ago there were beaches in Italy, 7 or 8,000 there were cliffs and a huge 7km deep salt lake, if I remember my history. That's the infrastructre nobody has the foresight to implement. I could learn to drive a bulldozer.
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MJLC:
17 Feb 2014 5:53:16pm
I don't remember the inland sea reference you refer to Seano, but I do know right now there's a lot of talk about just how quickly this country's sliding into a swamp - either Operation Sovereign Unemployment or Stop the Jobs I believe it's called.
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Desert Woman:
17 Feb 2014 5:18:55pm
When I first entered the workforce, unemployment was 2%, people happily went to work and helped each other out. Perhaps they were inefficient and I don't think too many were particularly rich but compared with today, mistakes were few and far between and if they were made, they were fixed up. And where we lived, most of the roads were dirt. I don't look forward to Abbott world where slowly but surely, everything goes downhill in the names of market and money.
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Inside Out:
17 Feb 2014 5:28:25pm
Neither Abbott nor Hockey has the breadth of vision necessary to take this country and its economy forward into a future which will require a heavy reliance on science. Whether it be combating climate change and developing the new technologies necessary for that or the new technologies involved in manufacturing or any other field you care to mention. The Abbott vision is limited to what he needs to do to stay in power building roads is attractive because it has high visibility and an added advantage is there are a number of road projects still on the books from the previous government so all he has to do is make them his own and presto he has the image he wants a road infrastructure Prime Minister without really having to do a thing.
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MJLC:
17 Feb 2014 5:30:25pm
(1) At my age I struggle to find things that I can truly say about them; "Wow! That's new", but I have to admit when you experience the first political party to morph into a liberation movement - rather than the usual other way around, then that does indeed qualify for those words.
(2) "What the government can do is create a climate..." Hmmm, now THAT particular climate change really does qualify as "crap".
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frargo:
17 Feb 2014 5:30:43pm
Tony Abbott reminded us what creative people we are. Is he gloating here about the creative way he has stopped the boats- the dance of the seven veils of secrecy, me no speak Indonesian, let's hire lifeboats to rescue those we don't want, make the navy forget all its training- turn your headlights off and hold the map upside down. Brilliant. Now for coal and roads made out of coal and big ports to hold the vast amounts of dug up outback- you know the place that was our last iconic frontier. And we can plant a trillion trees cos Tony is an environmentalist. Then he can employ water diviners cos with the coal emissions and the drought the new trees'll need lots of water. Pity South Korea if they hold private talks with Hockey or tell Hockey they need time to decide whether they're staying, or ask for assistance, unless it's coal fired it aint possdible.
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Seano:
17 Feb 2014 5:31:41pm
" Bill Shorten is right: "
Right: Rudd's Manus Island backflip was the reason the boats have stopped.
Right: The government are responsible for Holden, Toyota, QANTAS, SPC and the stock price of the HSU because they've already been in government for over 5 months and the senate are behaving like a knob of cane toads, so there's no point doiung any work until July.
Right. Sure thing buddy.
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Alpo:
17 Feb 2014 5:32:26pm
"Tony Abbott is determinedly optimistic about the fate of workers retrenched by the now extinct motor industry"... He is a religion man, for as long as he doesn't have to face the reality of an election, he is happy to fiddle around with the infinite possibilities of faith.
"There are already more people out of work than at any time since 2003"... Did you read that in The Australian, Mungo?... Hmmm, no, probably not.
"it is not the task of government to create jobs"... Here Abbott is totally right. The task of the Coalition Government is to destroy jobs. Or, as our good mate Milan wrote: "cremate job".
The rest of your article is pure gold, Mungo. Abbott is truly hoping that by withdrawing the Government from the economy and giving handouts to the private sector via lower taxes, suddenly a magic era of prosperity will emerge. Although I urge Labor to produce a good alternative plan for Government and just don't wait for this pathetic farce to reach the end of its natural life by 2016 (at the latest), I cannot blame anyone if at the moment they just sit, and watch, and laugh seeing how Abbott and his gang try to work out what to do next, as Murdoch desperately tries to keep this sinking ship afloat....
People are increasingly unhappy.... and not because they lack a sense of humour!
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Huonian:
17 Feb 2014 5:32:39pm
Here's an idea Mungo.
Let's up the taxes on productive businesses and make it harder for them so that the money raised can keep other workers in jobs making stuff that people don't want any more. Like fuel-guzzling six cylinder cars, for example.
Indeed, we could go back to Bastiat and tax the bejeesus out of the electricity industry and use the money thus raised to ensure a lifetime guarantee of employment for candlemakers.
And you think Abbott is a Luddite???
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ray:
17 Feb 2014 5:34:26pm
Ship building is needed now for the Australian navy requirements, both in surface vessels and submarines. The skills of those cast aside from the Auto industry can and should be utilised in the construction of Australian Naval vessels. All that needs to happen is that this government awards contracts to Australian companies who will use Australian labor and resources. Just imagine actually spending our money to facilitate jobs growth and apprenticeship training. We have the skills and people to do it.
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Dazzler:
17 Feb 2014 5:34:49pm
Maybe we should go back to building roads like the Romans did.
many still stand today - testament to technology of the day.
Also this plan would actually need thousands of workers, paid teh odd Shekel of course. If they survive.
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ColinP:
17 Feb 2014 5:36:54pm
So we need to keep paying Toyota & co so that factory workers can remain preserved in a 'routine, predictable' time capsule? Things change; people can choose not to change as well but they can't expect their calcification to be sponsored by everyone else.
An embarrassingly bad article, Mungo.
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question_everything:
17 Feb 2014 5:54:46pm
Recall election. Get 500,000 or whatever number of signatures on a petition and then go back for a recall election. Keep these bastards honest. Direct Democracy/ Switzerland Democracy/ Athenian Democracy/ Pure Democracy! Make it easier on the people by using a highly secured e-democracy (electronic democracy) and through out those dodgy pencils and paper ballots.
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Ian:
17 Feb 2014 5:57:29pm
I worked in the auto industry for 35 years. To say that it?s collapse is Abbott?s fault is simplistic, juvenile and quite frankly slightly embarrassing. Go back and have a look at the history of the component manufacturer?s and OEM company failures over the last 10 years and see how many businesses have failed. First Nissan, then Mitsubishi and then Ford. I don?t recall the same noise from the press when these businesses failed. I was retrenched from the industry two years ago and saw the future and moved into another industry. The government could not continue on with paying millions of dollars into an industry that has been in decline since the Button plan was implemented.
The main question should be why don't we ask for the money back especially the money which was given to GM/Ford last year after yet more false promises!
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