International:

Stockbrokers are predicting another day of devastation on the Australian Stock Exchange after markets continued to fall following the upheaval in the Asian currency and stock markets.

With the gold price plunging to its lowest level in 14 years to just Au$307.30 and the Au$ falling to just US68.5 cents the stock market seems just one of many problems that have hist Australia from left flank.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, for once, could not blame the event on Pauline Hanson, although I am sure he tried to find an angle, saying, "It (the fall in currencies) could have some effect on tourism numbers coming from South-East Asia (and) it could have some effect on (foreign) student numbers."

Forecasters are predicting that Asian student numbers could drop as much as 20% next years as families find it too expensive to pay the high price of getting an Australian education.

Political:

Industry Minister John Moore was yesterday under attack after it was revealed that his wife, Jacqueline, co-owns some Au$500,000 BHP shares.

Mr Moore said that his wife inherited the shares from her father and said "I do not have the slightest knowledge of what she has. Her affairs are run from Melbourne, I am not aware of (the BHP shareholding) - I don't want to be aware of it."

Mr Moore established a parliamentary committee earlier this year to review the steel industry - his group met with BHP executives before the sudden announcement by the company that it was going to close down its Newcastle steel operation.

The value of Mrs Moore's shares rose by some Au$17,000 on the day of the BHP announcement that the Newcastle site was to be closed. The shares appear to be held in direct conflict with the ministerial code introduced by Prime Minister John Howard. The code reads, "The nature of duties is such that they may need to have regard to the interests of their immediate families (to the extent that Ministers know their interests) as well as their own when ensuring that no conflict or apparent conflict between interests and duties arise." 

You Say:

 Subject: manufacturing

Dear Editor

According to a report in the Australian (21/10/97), 25 years ago the German battery maker Varta shifted operations to Singapore to take advantage of cheap labour. It is now planning to transfer production back to Germany - the country with the highest labour costs of any industrialised nation.

Why? To preserve quality and the company's good name.

Said a Varta spokesman, "For manufacturing highly technical and complicated products the labour pool here is better and it's not that much more expensive." Another company, Sennheiser, which manufactures microphones, has decided to end its relationship with a Chinese factory because of shoddy workmanship. Said a spokeswoman, "With our high quality standards we cannot afford to have faulty parts."

Daimler-Benz has also decided that a highly trained workforce is worthwhile. Last week it opened a factory in Germany employing about 4000 people. Siemens, another German company, is also investing in its own country, planning to establish a medical technology factory.

Perhaps THAT'S why the Germans won the contract to supply the patrol boats to Malaysia, though Pauline Hanson was blamed as usual for Australia's loss. As the Australian tenderer had planned to build the ships in SE Asia, there weren't any jobs for Australians anyway, unless they were in the design teams.

Eat your heart out, young Australians. Come to think of it, most young Australians would probably say, 'What's a factory, Dad?' or, 'What's manufacturing, Mum?'

Dosn't anybody in government or opposition understand that our children can't ALL be brain surgeons or astrophysicists? And that their parents want them to have more opportunities open to them than taxi-driving and waitressing if they're not academically inclined?

Antonia Feitz

Personal trivia, from the global office:

Another gorgeous spring day ahead. The photo on the right was taken from the global office at just before 6am this morning.

Yesterday (see left) young Alex (the Internet kid) and Mum joined me for a canoe up the Brisbane River... as the tide was going out (yes, 40km upstream!) we simply paddled a few hundred metres upstream and then let the tide take us slowly back home... all in all a lazy way to exercise, but quite mesmerising as we enjoyed studying the water boatmen, yabbies, tiny fish and ripples of the bigger fish as we drifted home while enjoying champagne.

Just another perfect day in paradise.

Have a good one.

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