The issues of offshore outsourcing require a sensible, nuanced discussion

The answer is not an easy-cut-and-paste job. It requires thought and it requires the intelligent direction of resources. This support will need to be in the form of government investment in education, training and resources, and in private-sector research. This could take the form of tax incentives for investment in research and development. The government could also provide assistance through its own research arms such as CSIRO.

The Australian Democrats believe the longer we take to act, the harder it will be. We believe Australians are mature enough to make the hard decisions if given the chance and we call on both the major parties to join with us in making these decisions.

When Gregory Mankiw, the Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, praised outsourcing as a new way to do international trade, Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert issued a statement disagreeing with him saying he understood that Mr. Mankiw was a brilliant economic theorist, but his theory failed a basic test of real economics. According to Hastert, an economy suffers when jobs disappear and outsourcing can be a problem for American workers and for the American economy. He believed it impossible to have a healthy economy unless there were more jobs in America.

Again, I believe what is true for the US will be more so for Australia.