Did you know that Australia spent $1,174,000,000 (thats well over a billion dollars) overseas on print in 2008-2009 and it's getting bigger every year? Source: DFAT composition of trade 2008-2009
(Full report available here)... Thats hundreds of Australian jobs!
9th Sept 2009?
Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig has cut the annual allowance from $100,000 to $75,000 for MPs and from $16,667 to $12,500 for senators. Prior to the Rudd administration's election, MPs had been entitled to $150,000 a year.
Ludwig also restricted use of the allowance to parliamentary and electorate duties and banned it for electoral purposes, including letterbox flyers and how-to-vote cards. All purchases made with the allowance must now also be published on the internet.... more here
Our question is... what is wrong with protectionism?
Australia seems to be the only country playing the level playing field of Trade Agreements to the letter! Ask our farmers, ask our Telecommunications industry, ask anyone, but closer to home for us, ask our printers... what is left of them!
However, as usual the rhetoric hasn't eventuated in much to hang your hat on, in fact more printing companies are even more under the pump due to the NSW Labor governement's decision to centralise print buying for the NSW Education Dept and we also hear Health!
NSW printers will now have to register and be approved by what amounts to one of their own competitiors in the supply of print...an ASX listed company called Salmat... just to keep their current relationships with schools and if the rumour is true possibly hospitals!
We might agree that the reason(s) behind this might have merit, but in practice it's a shortcut to reducing competitiveness and ultimately choice! Yet another exercise in the Public Service empire building, with the result being that the supply of printing to this (these) departments will ultimately cost more if one factors in the cost of the Public Servants administering the arrangement... rediculous!
2010/2011 - Australian printers not faring well!
- 22nd February 2010 Carbonbook and The Printing Department article here - administration
- 28th February 2010 Worldwide Online article here
- 2nd March 2010 Rapid Digital article here
- 3rd March 2010 e2e article here - Liquidated print manager e2e
- 9th March 2010 Paragon Printing article here ... and here ... and here
- 15th March 2010 Apex Press article here.
- 22nd March 2010 Pettaras Press article here
- 26th March 2010 Remedies Print article here - administration
- 9th April 2010 Beaver Press article here
- 12th April 2010 Further bad news, a major Paragon Printing customer, Argus Solutions, has elected to source printing from Asia! article here
- 15th April 2010 AdType Colour outstanding debt has pushed defunct Sydney pre-press specialist to formally enter liquidation! article here
- 20th April 2010 Chippendale Printing article here
- 27th April 2010 Scott Printing Pty Ltd article here - voluntary administration
- 5th June 2010 Equity Packaging article here - liquidation
- 15th June 2010 M & M Binders article here - liquidation
- 18th June 2010 Bravo article here - liquidation
- 21st June 2010 Litho Print Pty Ltd article here - liquidation
- 22nd June 2010 Quality Print Group article here - liquidation
- 1st July 2010 Pyx Group article here - administration
- 16th July 2010 Government report shows huge drop in printing vacancies article here
- 17th July 2010 Final chapter for Standard Publishing House - who "rescued" Rapid Digital earlier this year... article here
- 14th September 2010 Document Printing Australia (DPA) in liquidation... article here...and here
- 22nd September 2010 Goanna Print enters administration... article here
- 28th September 2010 Director blames Chippendale and Pettaras Press for failure of TLC NSW... article here
- 7th December 2010 Printpoint, now Red Gum Pacific Pty Ltd... article here - in liquidation
- 8th February 2011 PMG keeps Wodonga closure quiet... article here - CLOSURE
- 8th February 2011 Former Paragon plant still set to close... article here - CLOSURE
- 15th February 2011 PrintLinx closes it doors... article here - CLOSURE
- 23rd March 2011 Goodcrowd business into liquidation... article here - LIQUIDATORS
- 7th April 2011 Brisbane printer D&D Colour calls in liquidators... article here - LIQUIDATORS
- 20th April 2011 Colourplus gets liquidated... article here - LIQUIDATORS
- 2nd May 2011 DoubleSix Printing and Design bites the dust... article here - CLOSURE
- 14th May 2011 Superfine Printing Co Pty Ltd... notice here - VOLUNTARY ADMINISTRATION
- 31st May 2011 Moore goes under... article here - ADMINISTRATION
- 31st May 2011 Book chain closure... article here - ADMINISTRATION
- 14th June 2011 Colourscan fades to black... article here - CLOSES UP SHOP
- 30th June 2011 Australian Envelopes... article here - ADMINISTRATION
- 11th July 2011 GEON moves to single-site print operation in Sydney... article here - CONSOLIDATION
- 1st August 2011 Embassy Press... article here - LIQUIDATORS
- 10th August 2011 Colorpak pulls packaging plug on Reservoir plant... article here - RATIONALISATION
- 10th August 2011 $175 million exposure on Blue Star... article here - INVESTORS LOSE OUT!
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