Think globally, manufacture locally

…While it seems highly unlikely that industrial relocalisation will be driven directly by Government policy, there is a strong case on four fronts for Australia doing all that it can to address wealth disparity between more and less developed nations.

First, there is the potential for domestic socioeconomic benefit in the form of a diversified, localised economy more resilient to the emerging challenges of peak oil; second, there is potential for reducing the growth in national debt; third, there is potential for significantly reducing our contribution to global carbon emissions; and fourth (hardly the least important), there is potential for humanitarian benefits for workers in poor countries.


This “quadruple win” could be achieved by, for example, introducing fair trade standards for imports and supporting existing fair trade initiatives.

Relocalisation need not entail an eco-romantic “return to nature”. There is an important distinction between localisation and isolationism. Local production versus global trade does not need to be based on absolutes, and it need not disadvantage developing countries trying to grow their own economies.

The Age