Australian subsidy for automobile manufacturing is/was? 18 cents per capita whereas in Germany it is 96 cents per capita and in the United States it is $2.70 per capita.As for China we will never know but it does happen but we don't hear about it. Go figure! When the dollar drops to 50 cents we will have NO skills to take advantage of this and we will need to import workers. What a dumb country and getting dumber!
It's hard to compete on those terms.
One other problem you have in OZ is the massive effect the mining industry has had on wages. They've driven up wages over there which has been good for many, BUT, it's help make industries like car production uncompetitive. This problem must have also flowed in to other industries as well.