David Fawcett (Wakefield, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to talk about some of the partnerships that the Australian government conducts in the seat of Wakefield. The slogan I have on much of my material is ‘Working with you in Wakefield’, because I believe it is important to work with people to secure a future for our community. The manufacturing sector is one such partnership. When the Hon. Alexander Downer, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, opened the Manufacturing Prosperity Conference in 2005—a partnership between a number of industry players and the Playford Council, in the electorate of Wakefield—he made the comments that manufacturing still accounts for around 11 per cent of our economy, it generates some $88 billion in income and it employs over one million Australians.

Whilst manufacturing’s share of GDP has declined, manufacturing has nevertheless grown by 43 per cent in real terms over the last 20 years. That is not by accident; it is a result of people working together to ensure long-term investment. An example of those long-term investments is the auto industry in Wakefield, which is the home of General Motors Holden. This government has committed $7.3 billion into long-term development of technology in the auto industry to make this Australian product export-ready. The recent announcement of the export of the Pontiac G8 by Holden to America is a good example of that.

Hirotech, a stamping plant in the seat of Wakefield, produces boots, bonnets and doors for a number of car manufacturers. It needed infrastructure to ensure it could supply parts to General Motors Holden on a just-in-time basis. To do that, a road called West Avenue required upgrading. The upgrading of that road was an $8 million program, on which the Australian government worked in partnership with local government and provided $5 million to achieve that outcome.

The Australian technical college is building trade skills in our young people. The college partners with industry in the area to provide the workers with the skills they require. This government is finding ways to work in partnership with companies to enable their activities.

At the Manufacturing Prosperity Conference, the foreign minister announced the formation of a global consortia, called Beyond Automation, which brings together six companies from Malaysia, Germany and Australia to focus on providing high-tech manufacturing outcomes. Invest Australia also helped with that, but credit has to go in large part to Peter Page and Peter Parrish, of Priority Engineering. This firm, in Elizabeth West, has shown itself to be a real leader in the area with its innovation in advanced automation and robotics. They are looking to establish partnerships here in Australia and overseas. They are particularly looking to outsource work to local small businesses, many of which have only two to 10 employees. These small businesses are the backbone of manufacturing. Priority Engineering’s model is to form partnerships overseas, to bring work back into Wakefield and to partner with these smaller companies.

The Prime Minister opened the Innovation Network, which is based on work done by Priority Engineering in the Playford Council. I am pleased to report to the parliament tonight the latest part of this—a $50 million project called Playford Evolution, which is being spearheaded by Priority Engineering Services with the support of Playford Council. They have created a hub in Elizabeth West for high-technology companies, and that builds on a number of things that have been put in there through long-term partnerships. AusIndustry helped Priority Engineering with an R&D fund. There is also the Sustainable Regions program. Assistance has been provided to the Cad Cam Centre to develop its expertise. The bottom line is that we are looking to secure jobs and to secure the future for the people of Wakefield through effective partnerships.

I particularly want to congratulate tonight Peter Page and Peter Parrish, of Priority Engineering, and their workforce. They have worked to provide the skills and the base for this exciting initiative, which is now attracting companies from Australia and overseas, which will establish a larger hub to secure the future of families for people in Wakefield.

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