The Australian Dollar - should the RBA intervene?

[Dowdy]

Why is everyone iffy about a high AU dollar?

I think there is nothing wrong with it and the only industries that are struggling are ones that don't want to innovate and blame the AU dollar for their problems

 

[Smurf1976]

Why is everyone iffy about a high AU dollar?

I think there is nothing wrong with it and the only industries that are struggling are ones that don't want to innovate and blame the AU dollar for their problems

How does one successfully "innovate" when you are stuck with input costs (notably labour and increasingly electricity) that are higher than your competitors?

The only real approach would seem to be that of sacking workers or finding some way to pay them less and also finding ways to use less electricity. The latter is an option for some industries (but not the big power users like smelting) but you don't have much chance of underpaying the workers. And if there was a way to operate with a lot less staff then I think that foreign competitors have probably worked that one out also...

Suppose that I was planning a holiday in Perth. OK so far, but I may just as well fly overseas instead. Comparable costs overall, many more attractions. The same applies to most domestic holidays unless you specifically want to go to that location or there is some event that you are attending etc. Other than that, OS has simply become a cheaper option in many cases.