Unlike most pollies who stuff around with the car industry, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews actually knows a fair bit about mechanical engineering and the private sector. ACCC chairman Rocket Rod Sims knows a lot about everything because he's been around both the public service and private enterprise for longer than Michael McMichael has been drinking Coopers from a glass.
So Kazza and RR must have thick skin because every day the men in Tokyo, Wolfsburg, Hiroshima, Detroit, Coventry, Munich, Seoul, Stuttgart and all the other places that have motor manufacturers' head offices give them the two-fingered salute.
Of course, when the manufacturers go to see Kazza and RR they use the same arguments they did when they actually made something here. "We directly employ 66,400 people, etc, etc."
Bentley is remaking 12 of the wonderful Bentley 4.5 Litre Supercharged Birkins. First of all, they won't be ready for delivery until 2021. Second of all, they are all sold. Third of all, you can't afford one (replicas built on one of the 50 production Bentleys are hitting $1 mill).
Closer to home, our own James Nicholls is selling a 1961 Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder. Maser only built 242 of these and even less in right-hand drive. Prices, depending on condition, have been moving up to about $1.5 mill.