Made in Australia? Unlikely, under ‘United Nations’ Albanese.

But surely UN loves us by now? Didn't come across that way, when the self-important UNFCCC chiefvisited. If we didn't meet our "climate targets", he lectured, we'd need to be "front and centre" in resettling entire populations of climate refugees.

UN-themed industry policy

It's often said Australia shouldn't "pick winners", industry policy no longer being favoured.

All advanced nations pick distinctive industry priorities. Sardonically, ours read like intensive agriculture, natural-resources giveaways, extreme population growth, "export" education, and real-estate speculation.

The first industry, they say, feeds more than 60 million people (in total). Given our poor soils and climatic extremes, let's protect this small global virtue. Don't risk it through Big (or Huge) Australia.

The second, especially iron-ore and fossil-fuels, keeps us afloat. As a commodities price-taker, our federal Budget can stand or fall on red-dirt fluctuations. Unlike sensible nations, we sequester far too little of the come-by-chance spoils.

Instead of enforcing vigorous wealth-funds, robust levies, strict taxes, Australia kowtows to extractive multinationals. Juukan Gorge explosion symbolises the contempt we receive in return.

Isn't the only way up? Don't bet on it.

Last year, Treasurer Chalmers' Budget trumpeted "renewable-energy superpower" and "net-zero industries". Now, this is morphing into industry policy.

Albanese's Made in Australia launch declares, this isn't "about ideology". The hell it's not.

Australian manufacturing has further collapsed this century. Energetic R&D, buzzing venture-capital culture, aren't local style.

Manufacturing inputs like land, transport, energy, communications, labour, are costly. In the name of "export education", training locals for vital professions and trades is at a discount. Twenty years of Big Australia has wrecked productivityand capital formation.