Deindustrialisatin under Labor : 1983-1996

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Australian Labor Party's accession to power as the Federal government. It might be opportune, therefore, to revisit Labor's legacy in terms of industry/trade policies. Contrary to the optimistic assessments and the rhetoric about the ostensible benefits bestowed by Labor's 'reform' agenda, it will be argued that the Labor Party presided over a period of unprecedented structural decline and deindustrialisation. Although one can trace Australia's industrial stagnation as early as the mid-1970s, the neoliberal policies enacted during the Labor era accentuated this historical phase of structural retrenchment. This article does not evaluate Labor's industry policies in detail; rather its focus is on the effects of these policies on Australia's trade and economic performance. The statistical evidence is confined, as far as possible, to the years 1983-96. The aim is to debunk some of the prevailing myths about Australia's economic performance during the Labor years.