[SEL] Distasterous news for the historical machinery movement in Australia!!!

[Listerdiesel]

On 5/12/05, peter ogborne <jopeter at omninet.net.au> wrote:
> This morning in the "West Australian News Paper '' there is a story that
> could spell the finish of the Historical Machinery movement in Australia.
> Smorgon Steel are doubling the price of scrap steel . It is estimated by
> Smorgon that there is 1.5 million tonnes of scrap steel on Australian farms
> . This is made up of  quote, Smorgon Steel ''Old tractors,trucks
> ,harvesters,tanks,fencing ,windmills and engines, this will be a tidy earner
> for farmers ''Smorgon are big noting themselves by offering $15 to Fire
> Brigades for every tonne collected.
> York farmer Stephen Penny has given the scheme the thumbs up '' I reckon i
> have quite a few tonnes of old harvesting and seeding gear lying around''.
> Of course all this is going to Bloody China................what can we do
> BTW on the front page of the paper there is a picture with the
> story....shows a farmer standing on an old ,no doubt something some restorer
> would give a right arm for ...an old Bedford Truck ....what else is out
> there ?
> 

I should let them take the fencing, Peter....

Aside from that, it's the same as has always been, let the Ozzies put
their money up and buy the stuff instead of it going to the scrap man.

Your Government put up a law banning exports of 'rare and significant'
machinery, so the good stuff should be protected?  Certainly it cannot
'officially' be sold to overseas buyers without an export licence as I
understand it, and Oz and NZ are the only countries that I am aware of
that have these restrictions on old iron.

Peter
-- 
Peter A Forbes
Email: listerdiesel at gmail.com
Web: www.oldengine.org/members/diesel