Various temporary assistance measures were implemented by the Government, until in 1982 a seven-year plan of assistance measures was adopted whereby the industry was to be subjected to gradual but annual reductions in protection. This plan ends in 1988, the bicentenary year, and thereafter the industry will continue to face reductions in protection, if current Government policies are followed.

The changes in Government policies in the last 15 years have had significant impact on the structure of the industry. Firstly, between 1973 and 1975 there was a significant decline in the number of firms in the yarn and manufacturing sector, especially amongst small firms. Secondly, the overall size of firms, in terms of numbers of employees, decreased for topmakers, and yarn and fabric producers. This was a result not only of reduced protection but also of a significant commitment by those companies remaining to improve productivity by using the latest technology.

In general -and in an industry as diverse as the textile industry there are always exceptions -the current textile industry shapes up as well as any in the world in respect of technology. Several companies -notably Bonds Coats Patons Ltd. and Pacific Dunlop -have been among the first in the world to adopt new technology. Except in the wool sector as explained above, most of the major new developments have come from overseas.

The past 40 years, in fact, have been extremely productive in international textile research. Improved engineering and control systems have seen card-production rates go above 100 kg/hour for coarse wools (for carpets), cotton and synthetic fibres from 25 kg of 20-25 years ago; new fibres with a whole host of different properties have been specially engineered by the synthetic-fibre manufacturers of Europe, the U.S.A. and Japan (over 7000 patents between 1980 and 1985); as well as self-twist spinning and Sirospun for wool, new systems of spinning (open-end and friction spinning) of cotton and other short-staple fibres have raised production rates to 150-300 metres/min. and shortened processing routes; in weaving, the traditional shuttle loom, while still the predominant loom in numbers internationally, has been well displaced in production capacity by looms that transport the weft yarn by projectile, rapier, water or air; in knitting, new types of needles and the application of electronic control and microprocessors in pattern generation have increased speed and expanded the flexibility of machines, reduced losses, and expanded the nature of fabrics that can be produced, e.g. a new pattern can be computer-programmed into a knitting machine in a matter of minutes instead of hours only a decade ago; in dyeing and finishing, new dyes, new chemicals, new machines and automated colour computation and control systems have turned what were once craft industries into high-technology sectors, as well as giving products that perform to the high market requirements; completely new systems of end-product manufacture have appeared, e.g. tufting of carpets, needle-punching, and the production of non-woven textiles, e.g. diapers, by use of technology similar to that used in paper making.

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering