Fifty years ago John ‘Black Jack’ McEwen became deputy prime minister of Australia. McEwen was a protectionist and a Victorian. Protectionism has always flowed in the blood of Victorians.

In the 19th century, Victoria hid its infant industries behind a tariff wall along the Murray River. In the 1950s McEwen built a national wall of protection that made our industries inefficient and uncompetitive.

In the 1980s, industry minister John Button, from Victoria, devised an array of expensive schemes to keep key Victorian industries afloat just as the rest of the nation, led by Sydney, embraced the benefits of free trade.

Now, protectionism threatens to rise from the graveyard. This time round the one wearing the McEwan hat is industry minister Senator Kim Carr, backed by a significant number of Victorian ministers who hold key economic portfolios: Julia Gillard has employment and workplace relations, Simon Crean has trade, Lindsay Tanner has finance, Martin Ferguson has resources and energy, and Senator Stephen Conroy has telecommunications.

Senator Carr kicked off his work for the Rudd government with two inquiries, one into the textiles, clothing and footwear industries, and the other into the car industry; both key Victorian industries with long histories of dependence on tariff protection and government handouts.

Not surprisingly, pundits are predicting a load of taxpayer assistance and delays to tariff cuts to again be targeted at these industries following the reviews.

Meanwhile, Sydney MPs have only two key economic portfolios: Anthony Albanese has infrastructure while Chris Bowen has competition. Fortunately our boys are 21st century types. They know what it means now to build a successful economy.

They know that trying to pick new industrial winners while protecting old industrial strugglers has never been clever. Putting together a strong economic platform, however, makes good sense, especially one that has excellent infrastructure and thriving competition.

Of course, the Victorian view and the Sydney view don’t go together. Protection for one industry impedes the international competitiveness of another.

In a world of climate change and high energy costs, Australia’s east coast cities – especially Sydney – will thrive so long as they are not starved of the funds needed to build efficient, sustainable infrastructure and quality amenities.

I’m nervous, though, that Rudd’s economic ministers from that grey bleak city down south may have a different view – a redundant Victorian view – one that caters to short-term vested interests while impeding progress towards the stronger, more sustainable national economy that is within our reach.

*Phillip O'Neill is Professor and Director of the Urban Research Centre for the University of Western Sydney. He regularly comments on matters affecting Sydney.