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APPENDIX - A brief profile of manufacturing in New South Wales

 

While the relative economic importance of manufacturing to NSW has declined the manufacturing sector contributes around $40 billion to the State economy per year (in 2007-08 value added was $35.1 billion; total sales were $91.5 billion). Manufactured exports from NSW presently exceed $16 billion.  In a typical year annual capital expenditure by manufacturing businesses in NSW on new plant, machinery and equipment (excluding property and buildings) is estimated to exceed $6 billion (expenditure on plant etc by all sectors exceeds $25 billion annually - ABS 52200.02 Australian National Accounts – State Accounts, NSW).

In all economic sectors there are strong, dynamic world competitive enterprises; in addition to providers of products and services no longer relevant or able to compete (in banking: traditional book keepers; or in manufacturing: consumer audio tape). Australia has low levels of unemployment and a strongly growing economy based on the ebb and flow of business formation; including their quick demise when they lose their competitive advantage. 

The overall mix of these business activities is set by the prevailing competitive environment and economic policy settings. Some areas of manufacturing activity, that may be strong overseas, are not competitively viable in Australia due to these economic realities (like a high dollar or distance from market) or alternatively, the lack of the unique intellectual property (technology, knowledge, skills or management) that would confer an advantage. 

In such cases, an initiative to attract an overseas company with the necessary intellectual property may be a fruitful local or government strategy. This is in contrast to some government 'investment attraction' initiatives that are often political 'window dressing', at best or at worst, counter-productive attempts to interfere in commercial investment decision making. These may include incentives to redirect new capital investment to one location or another; albeit on an infinitesimal scale relative to overall business investment and capital expenditure in the economy.

The following table provides a sectoral comparison for the presently dominant sectors in NSW

 

Sector

Employment at end of June 2007

no.

Wages and Salaries
 

$m

Wages and Salaries per Employee

$000

Sales of goods and services

$m

Number of Locations
 

no.

Primary metal and metal product mfg

18,366

1,337

72.8

13,614

823

Beverage and tobacco product mfg

9,287

599

64.5

6,117

481

Machinery and equipment mfg

37,477

2,084

55.6

11,422

3,453

Printing (including the reproduction of recorded media)

17,459

904

51.8

3,845

2,774

Non-metallic mineral product mfg

12,909

752

58.3

4,072

1,300

Fabricated metal product mfg

29,518

1,395

47.3

6,852

4,590

Wood product mfg

13,277

540

40.7

2,856

2,296

Food product mfg

54,017

2,575

47.7

18,404

3,139

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 82210DO010_200607 Manufacturing Industry, Australia, 2006-07 (Additional Datacube) Released at 11:30 am (Canberra time) Tues 14 Apr 2009 Table 1 Manufacturing Census, Industry Class by State

 

 

The following diagram depicts the export orientation of the broad industry sectors at a national level:

image003

 

After the resourced based manufacturing sectors (dominated by meat, dairy and wine in the food sector) ‘machinery and equipment manufacturing’ is the subdivision containing the greatest number of firms competing in international markets.

It is clear that many enterprises within the ‘machinery and equipment manufacturing’ subcategory are important to NSW, collectively representing about 14% of total manufacturing employment in the State and slightly higher value added.  This subcategory is also the dominant source of elaborately transformed manufactured exports. It aggregates a number of businesses that are enjoying a comparative advantage when compared to other sectors and other States and this comparative advantage appears to be based mainly on their intellectual property (technology, knowledge, skill and management capability).

A more detailed breakdown of this sector follows:

Item

Employment at end of June 2007

no.

Wages and Salaries
 

$m

Wages and Salaries per Employee

$000

Sales of goods and services

$m

Medical and surgical equipment mfg

4,085

227

55.6

1,472

Other electronic equipment mfg

3,833

258

67.3

964

Other electrical equipment mfg

3,421

172

50.3

1,273

Lifting and material handling equipment mfg

2,883

168

58.3

977

Other professional and scientific equipment mfg

2,418

147

60.8

583

Other machinery and equipment mfg n.e.c.

2,246

127

56.5

542

Mining and construction machinery mfg*

2,207

121

54.8

896

Electric lighting equipment mfg

2,132

106

49.7

420

Communication equipment mfg*

2,006

110

54.8

545

Other specialised machinery and equipment mfg

1,693

91

53.8

394

Fixed space heating, cooling and ventilation equipment mfg

1,525

81

53.1

405

Other domestic appliance mfg

1,324

na

 

266

Pump and compressor mfg

1,263

80

63.3

326

Whiteware appliance mfg

1,227

na

 

265

Computer and electronic office equipment mfg*

1,222

67

54.8

714

Machine tool and parts mfg*

1,222

67

54.8

252

Electric cable and wire mfg

1,124

64

56.9

779

Agricultural machinery and equipment mfg

1,038

47

45.3

250

Photographic, optical and ophthalmic equipment mfg

609

27

44.3

98

Total machinery and equipment mfg

37,477

2,084

55.6

11,422

 Source: as above
* employment data not published (withheld) – number estimated from total wages and published total

Also important for its contribution to exports and value of sales (relative to employment) is: ‘human pharmaceutical and medicinal product manufacturing’ (within the ‘basic chemical and chemical product manufacturing subdivision’).

 

 

 

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Israel

 

 

 

 

 

2024 Addendum

 

It's shocking that another Addendum to this article is necessary.

Yet, we are no nearer to a peaceful resolution like the, internationally called for, 'Two state solution', or some workable version thereof.

Indeed, the situation, particularly for Palestinians, has gone from bad to worse.

At the same time, Israeli losses are mounting as the war drags on.  Yet, Hamas remains undefeated and Bibi remains recalcitrant.

Comments:

 On Wed, 4 Sep 2024, at 1:23 PM, Barry Cross wrote:
> There seems to be no resolution to the problem of the disputed land of Israel. You consider Gaza to have been put under siege, but I wonder if that and the other Israeli acts you mention are themselves responses to a response by them of being under siege, or at least being seriously threatened, by hostile forces who do not recognise the legitimacy of the state of Israel? Hamas’s claim and stated intention of establishing a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea” and periodic acts of aggression need to be taken into account I suggest, when judging the actions of the Israeli’s. In addition, there is the menace coming from Iranian proxies in Southern Lebanon and Yemen, and from Iran itself.
>
> Whatever the merits of the respective claims to the contended territory might be, it seems reasonable to accept that Israeli’s to consider they are a constant threat to their very survival. Naturally, this must influence their actions, particularly in response to the many acts of aggression they have been subjected to over many decades. By way of contrast, how lucky are we!
>
> These are my off the cuff comments for what they are worth.
>
> Regards
> Barry Cross
>
> Sent from my iPhone

 

 

 

2023 Addendum

 

It's a decade since this visit to Israel in September 2014.

From July until just a month before we arrived, Israeli troops had been conducting an 'operation' against Hamas in the Gaza strip, in the course of which 469 Israeli soldiers lost their lives.  The country was still reeling. 

17,200 Garzan homes were totally destroyed and three times that number were seriously damaged.  An estimated 2,000 (who keeps count) civilians died in the destruction.  'Bibi' Netanyahu, who had ordered the Operation, declared it a victory.

This time it's on a grander scale: a 'War', and Bibi has vowed to wipe-out Hamas.

Pundits have been moved to speculate on the Hamas strategy, that was obviously premeditated. In addition to taking hostages, it involving sickening brutality against obvious innocents, with many of the worst images made and published by themselves. 

It seemed to be deliberate provocation, with a highly predictable outcome.

Martyrdom?  

Historically, Hamas have done Bibi no harm.  See: 'For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces' in the Israel Times.

Thinking about our visit, I've been moved to wonder how many of today's terrorists were children a decade ago?  How many saw their loved ones: buried alive; blown apart; maimed for life; then dismissed by Bibi as: 'collateral damage'? 

And how many of the children, now stumbling in the rubble, will, in their turn, become terrorists against the hated oppressor across the barrier?

Is Bibi's present purge a good strategy for assuring future harmony?

I commend my decade old analysis to you: A Brief Modern History and Is there a solution?

Comments: 
Since posting the above I've been sent the following article, implicating religious belief, with which I substantially agree, save for its disregarding the Jewish fundamentalists'/extremists' complicity; amplifying the present horrors: The Bright Line Between Good and Evil 

Another reader has provided a link to a perspective similar to my own by Australian 'Elder Statesman' John MenadueHamas, Gaza and the continuing Zionist project.  His Pearls and Irritations site provides a number of articles relating to the current Gaza situation. Worth a read.

The Economist has since reported and unusual spate of short-selling immediately preceding the attacks: Who made millions trading the October 7th attacks?  

Money-making by someone in the know? If so, it's beyond evil.

 

 

A Little Background

The land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea, known as Palestine, is one of the most fought over in human history.  Anthropologists believe that the first humans to leave Africa lived in and around this region and that all non-African humans are related to these common ancestors who lived perhaps 70,000 years ago.  At first glance this interest seems odd, because as bits of territory go it's nothing special.  These days it's mostly desert and semi-desert.  Somewhere back-o-Bourke might look similar, if a bit redder. 

Yet since humans have kept written records, Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Ancient Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, early Muslims, Christian Crusaders, Ottomans (and other later Muslims), British and Zionists, have all fought to control this land.  This has sometimes been for strategic reasons alone but often partly for affairs of the heart, because this land is steeped in history and myth. 

Read more: Israel

Fiction, Recollections & News

The Password

 

 

 

 

How I miss Rio.  Rio de Janeiro the most stunningly picturesque city on Earth with its dark green mountains and generous bays, embelezado with broad white, sandy beaches.  Rio forever in my heart.   Rio my a minha pátria, my homeland, where I spent the most wonderful days of my life with linda, linda mãe, my beautiful, beautiful mother. Clambering up Corcovado Mountain together, to our favela amongst the trees.

Thinking back, I realise that she was not much older than I was, maybe fifteen years.  Who knows?

Her greatest gift to me was English. 

Read more: The Password

Opinions and Philosophy

Australia and Empire

 

 

 

The recent Australia Day verses Invasion Day dispute made me recall yet again the late, sometimes lamented, British Empire.

Because, after all, the Empire was the genesis of Australia Day.

For a brief history of that institution I can recommend Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World by Scottish historian Niall Campbell Ferguson.

My choice of this book was serendipitous, unless I was subconsciously aware that Australia Day was approaching.  I was cutting through our local bookshop on my way to catch a bus and wanted something to read.  I noticed this thick tomb, a new addition to the $10 Penguin Books (actually $13). 

On the bus I began to read and very soon I was hooked when I discovered references to places I'd been and written of myself.  Several of these 'potted histories' can be found in my various travel writings on this website (follow the links): India and the Raj; Malaya; Burma (Myanmar); Hong Kong; China; Taiwan; Egypt and the Middle East; Israel; and Europe (a number).  

Over the next ten days I made time to read the remainder of the book, finishing it on the morning of Australia Day, January the 26th, with a sense that Ferguson's Empire had been more about the sub-continent than the Empire I remembered.

Read more: Australia and Empire

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