• Pacific in push for $7m Government grant
  
  

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The Rudd Government appears largely powerless to stop the company from getting most of the funding despite the loss of 1850 jobs.

“Yes, we have an application for funding,” a company spokesman said. “It’s for money spent on Australian-based research and development.”   A spokeswoman for Industry Minister Kim Carr, said the grants process was “not a process the Government controls” and was “done at arm’s length”.

Well, if that is the case, why is Prime Minister Rudd claiming he will demand previous funding be returned.  The government had better get used to the idea that we are not in a mood to accept that as an excuse.

“Pacific Brands was given support by the Australian government over a long period of time, and most of that occurred during the previous government. “There is nothing we can directly do to stop that, but what we can do is talk to those companies about what additional assistance may be required.

… and they must hold the companies accountable for the use of grant moneys.  I guess the  Australian based research grant worth $7 million will be spent on finding the cheapest manufacturing of their products

The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union’s Ms O’Neil said the Government should continue to press the company to reverse its decision and, if that failed, broker serious discussions about selling it off to a local interest.  A threatened product boycott has not been activated while officials work through options to try to save the jobs.

If that is what it takes, then let’s get on with it whilst the population of Australia is still angry

The North East Bloggers: King Valley Watchdog (Greg) - Alpine Opinion (Ray) - Albury Wodonga Online (Jack) - Dave from Albury (Dave) and Border Journal (Kieran) at one of their random meetings

What the local Bloggers posted yesterday

• Some good news at last « Alpine Opinion
  Maybe it’s in response to our record low interest rates and to the cash bonuses the Government is handing out, but this article in today’s Herald Sun about the property market & retail sales is a positive sign that the doom & gloom merchants might have it wrong:

  

  Hilary Clinton

• Watchdogging the News: Clinton has her priotities on China challenged
  Human rights violations by China cannot block the possibility of significant cooperation between Washington and Beijing on the global economic crisis, climate change and security threats such as North Korea’s nuclear program, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday.

• Watchdogging the News: Private Rail system costs more than owning it
  Despite an average of 20 cancelled trains a day, Connex still raked in $175 million in payments from the Government for services provided and in ticket sales.

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