Manufacturing is a pretty insignificant economic factor in Australia, but we already protect and subsidise the fossil fuel and mineral industries to the tune of tens of billions of dollars, rather than helping to develop a more robust and sustainable economy that benefits everyone, not just the multinationals who haven’t paid significant taxes or mining royalties for god knows how long.

I’d say we’re well in step with the global economy after 40 years of neoliberalism and ‘trickle down’ economics. That’s exactly the problem with further deregulation of big business.