...administration’s “pivot” to Asia and its war preparations against China.
"In the 2013-14 Budget, the Government has provided $113.1
billion (including $1.4 billion for Operations) to Defence over the
Forward Estimates, with the Budget growing from $25.3 billion in
2013-14 to $30.7 billion in 2016-17. "
http://www.hawkinformation.com/fvnews/australian-defence-budget-overview-2013-2014.html#.UvrxdPtpm_I
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) last month submitted a
so-called auto jobs rescue plan to Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s
government. The trade union urged the government to seize on the closure
of GM Holden’s Australian operations in 2017, on top of Ford’s exit in
2016, as an opportunity to channel billions of dollars in subsidies to
military industries and other manufacturing companies.
The union’s “A Prosperous Australia” blueprint advocates the creation
of a new manufacturing base to provide the support and skills needed to
expand the defence industries—in other words, to meet the
military requirements of Australian imperialism demanded by the Obama
administration’s “pivot” to Asia and its war preparations against China.
The document underscores the trade union movement’s commitment to the
unconditional alignment behind Washington’s military and strategic drive
against China, initiated by the former Labor government and continued
under Abbott’s Liberal-National government.
The AMWU, which covers the car industry, cynically professes concern
for the thousands of working people who will be affected by the auto
closures. It declares that “very significant funding from the Federal
Government” is needed to “minimise the dislocation Holden’s closure will
cause to already disadvantaged communities.” At the same time, it
demands that manufacturing employers be provided with “access to
capital to invest … so that the manufacturing base can transition to a
situation where it does not rely on automotive manufacturing.”
Thus, from the outset, the AMWU plan presents the GM and Ford
closures, along with whole sections of the automotive parts industry, as
a fait accompli. This dovetails with what is happening on the ground.
The car unions are working overtime to block any opposition by auto
industry workers and prevent any broader industrial and political
campaign in defence of jobs.
To cover up its own role, the AMWU condemns the Abbott
government—which took office in September—declaring it “has stood idly
by and let automotive manufacturing in Australia cease due to
ideological aversion to the global reality of industry support.” In
reality, the union has worked closely with successive Labor and
Coalition governments, backing the car companies’ restructuring and
massive destruction of jobs over three decades.
Labor governments, along with the unions, previously justified
continuous multi-million dollar subsidies to the auto industry by
pointing to what they termed “the broader strategic considerations” for
Australian capitalism.
In January 2012, Labor’s industry minister Kim Carr made more
explicit the military content of such considerations. Backing a further
round of auto industry handouts, Carr declared that maintaining a skills
base in car production “was necessary for other industries, including
instrument making, aluminium, glass and military production.”
Making clear that these “broader strategic considerations” are
central to the AMWU plan, a recent article on the union’s web site
insisted that “the skills at Holden are transferrable to defence.”
The AMWU’s plan calls on the government to “immediately order
additional Air Warfare Destroyers and link these builds into the future
frigate project so a continuous build program can be developed that
supports our Navy and our manufacturing industry.”…
More…
http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/military-spending-future-of-australian-
