Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program Amendment (Building Innovative Capability) Bill 2009. I welcome the introduction the bill before us today, which is primarily designed to help strengthen Australia’s innovative capability and productive capacity in these vital industries. I welcome the longstanding efforts of the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon. Kim Carr, that are aimed at providing Australia with a clear direction on how to help deliver to these industries and their workers a strong competitive advantage in today’s globalised environment.

As chair of the House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Innovation—and, of course, as the member for Calwell, which has a very large manufacturing base—I work closely with Minister Carr to try and examine, report on and make recommendations regarding areas of policy that affect these industries. That is why I understand the importance of the government’s commitment to making use of the extensive consultation process which began last year. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the minister’s continued efforts, which are aimed at ensuring that a strong and viable textile, clothing and footwear industry remains an integral part of our national economy and social framework. I also take this opportunity to welcome the efforts of Dr Craig Emerson, the Minister for Small Business, for introducing this important piece of legislation to the House. This bill aims to provide an important legislative authority for the new clothing and household textile building innovative capability scheme, which is a key component of the federal government’s textile, clothing and footwear innovation package.

The textile, clothing and footwear industries employ over 45,000 Australians across the country. They generate exports that are worth $1.6 billion as well as contributing $2.8 billion each year alone to our national economy. The employment patterns within these industries, particularly in regional economies, ensure that entire communities across Australia are strongly supported by the development of these industries, and of course my electorate is one such community that would obviously benefit greatly from the government’s commitments. That is why the initiatives and programs introduced by the Rudd Labor government are crucial to promoting capital investment and innovation aimed at ensuring that Australian made products continue to be a driving force for our local, regional and national economy.

In last year’s federal budget, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, announced the establishment of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industries Innovation Council as part of the TCF innovation package, which is in addition to five other councils, all of which, to a large degree, serve to have a strong impact on driving innovation in Australian industries. In my capacity as chair of the industry committee—and, again, as the federal member for Calwell—I know too well the importance of working closely with local businesses, unions and researchers in ensuring that communities across Australia further develop a sustainable local economy that will see us well into the future. It is about combining all of our efforts and our productive, competitive and innovative capacity to ensure that Australian industries continue to lead the way in innovative design and production.

The government understands that it is about getting the balance right between an innovation-driven industry whilst maintaining a strong focus on Australian workers, the very people who actually make the things that drive our economy and strengthen our productive capacity. If we want to remain a nation that actually makes things—a country that has a strong and sustainable productive capacity, underpinned by industries which are driven by a skilled workforce—we need to ensure that governments understand the importance of strategic investments in this increasingly competitive commercial environment.

On this account, I am pleased to say that in today’s Australia we have a government willing to assume its responsibility towards the nation’s vital industries. Central to the government’s innovation agenda is the question: what role will Australia’s TCF industry play within an increasingly competitive environment? The answer to this question, of course, needs to occur within the framework of government and industry working together to secure growth in the future.

In his submission to an extensive review of the TCF industries, Professor Roy Green noted with optimism:

… there are many challenges facing the TCF industries, but they have a promising future providing they deliver products that are differentiated from those of their competitors by their uniqueness, product quality and design and branding … we can develop new capabilities in innovation, supply chain management and ethical branding.

Highlighting the important role of public policy in the future of our TCF industries, Professor Green also notes:

… the policy approach should now shift focus from assistance for structural adjustment to building innovative capability at the level of the enterprise and workplace.

As such, the federal government has recognised the need for essential reforms to ensure that our industries continue to make a strong contribution to our national economy as well as producing a uniquely Australian brand that will help guarantee the viability of our TCF industries. The Rudd Labor government is laying the groundwork for Australia’s future with a focus on innovation. The Labor government is laying the groundwork for establishing a clear competitive advantage in today’s increasingly tough economic environment. It is helping develop Australia’s capacity to promote Australian products as we move forward into an increasingly uncertain global economic environment.

The Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, recently announced in respect of developing a visible campaign aimed at promoting Australian made products:

Building Brand Australia is about promoting Australia as a nation producing quality products and services across a diverse field of activities.

We need to get the message out that we are an innovative nation and a quality supplier to the world of key products …

This March will mark the end of the line for some 298 workers and their families in my electorate. The Pacific Brands hosiery factory in the suburb of Coolaroo, which manufactured our iconic Bonds underwear and stockings, will be among the first of seven Australian plants to finally close its doors. This manufacturing plant has been a part of our community for a long time and many of my constituents have been hit hard by the decision to close the Hard Yakka factory—none more, of course, than the actual families directly affected by the closure and the disruption to what was once a secure and stable income.

It was a year ago that workers at the Coolaroo plant of Pacific Brands hosiery were told that within the next 12 months—we come to that now in February this year—they would be losing their jobs. I took the opportunity last year to quote the general manager of the Coolaroo plant, Mr Graeme Russell, from his address to a mass meeting of workers on the morning of the announcement. I quoted him because I wanted to illustrate the sort of narrative that Australian workers were being subjected to as they fronted up to work one day only to be told that they were about to lose their jobs. I want to reiterate that quote because the decision has had a devastating impact on our community. I want to make the point that this government is actually responding and doing all it can through all sorts of programs, including the one contained in this bill tonight, to save Australian jobs and to build our capacity to create jobs. Mr Graeme Russell said this to a mass meeting, and I think it is important for us to hear this narrative again:

Good morning everyone and thankyou for coming together at such short notice … This morning Pacific Brands has made an important announcement which I am here to share with you … the company has made a difficult decision to exit the majority of its manufacturing operations globally … sadly it will result in 1,850 redundancies across Australia… Regrettably, the company has decided to exit all manufacturing at Coolaroo …. The intention is to manage an orderly wind-down of manufacturing on this site that will see us cease manufacturing on or around the end of February 2010 … We will give you the next hour or so to digest the news, talk among yourselves, call home, do whatever you need to do—after that, we will need to return to work.

It is now a year later and I can say that, at this time last year, I went and visited many of the people who worked in that plant and who were about to lose their jobs. I cannot express the disbelief, shock and disappointment that they felt, because they felt that their place of work was actually profitable. They could not understand why these decisions had been taken.

I need to take issue with the member for Indi. She made reference to Pacific Brands and I think she indicated that the unions were very quiet on the closure of that plant. That is actually not true. The shop stewards at the plant in Coolaroo stood side by side with the workers. They lobbied and they did everything they possibly could to lobby the management of Pacific Brands and indeed this government. They sought every assistance they possibly could and they stood with the workforce and represented them in the best tradition of union representation. Needless to say, the Pacific Brands decision is disappointing at the very least and the closure did not reflect the strong potential for an innovative and sustainable TCF industry in Australia, which of course is underpinned by hardworking employees who are equipped with innovative skills. That is why this bill is important. As my colleague Minister Emerson described, it provides a framework for the clothing and household textile Building Innovative Capability scheme, which is a key component of the federal government’s Textile, Clothing and Footwear Innovation Package. It provides a framework in which we can go forward.

In helping manufacturers and designers increase their capacity to creatively apply their new and innovative ideas and designs, the government has committed a total of $112.5 million and an extra $5 million in assistance a year until 2015 to support and ensure that Australia’s clothing and household textile manufacturers and designers use their creative talents to help Australia lead the way in innovation and design. This targeted scheme is part of the $401 million TCF innovation package announced by the government in its last budget—redirecting $55 million towards innovation to complement the $10 million in new funding.

Talking and working closely with my constituents, I understand that, despite the economic complexities which industries operate in, for workers, their families, and the local community it is primarily about a livelihood. For them, this reality is not about abstract notions of supply and demand; nor is it about the complexities of a globalised world. It is about their jobs in a modern Australia, and this government is doing all it can to ensure that job creation in a fair workplace underpins our national economy.

We must remember that it is easy to take for granted some of the things we have long assumed were woven into our social fabric—things like the accessibility of Australian made products and the accessibility of jobs within TCF industries that are Australian owned and operated. That is why it is important that we continue to create products that really bring out the Australian character and clothes made for work in an Australian environment or, using the Australian colloquial expression, for ‘hard yakka’. That is obviously a very iconic expression in my electorate.

In looking at Melbourne alone, streets such as Fitzroy’s Brunswick Street, Northcote’s High Street or Sydney Road, which is adjacent to my electorate of Calwell, are renowned for their creativity and cosmopolitan culture. They are our iconic streets where not only locals but all Melburnians—and everybody else, for that matter—can not only go and grab something to eat but also grab something from what Australians call our ‘rag trade’. I want to commend a lot of the small business owners who bring the world of design and creativity to Melbourne and consequently help create world-class products with a uniquely Australian brand and uniquely Australian flair. It is always a joy to see small businesses with Australian designs and Australian made clothing available for sale in our streets. I would like to encourage people to buy their products. Government provides assistance on a broad level but it is really up to us to support local designers and almost one-man-show manufacturers. It is our responsibility to support them by buying their products.

This bill, along with the extensive consultations that the government had with stakeholders before announcing the innovation package last May, is a reflection of the government’s understanding that this is not an either/or debate about the continuation of traditional ‘heavy industries’ but is more about developing a ‘Brand Australia’. It is about ensuring that Australia leads by way of design and innovation with a strong, vibrant and innovative textile, clothing and footwear industry and workforce so that we continue to be a nation that makes things for us here in Australia as well as for export to the rest of the world. And, importantly, it is about placing Australia and its industries firmly into the 21st century knowledge economy. The Prime Minister has noted on a number of occasions, ‘I don’t want to be the Prime Minister of a country that doesn’t make things anymore. I’m determined to work hard to prepare our industries for the challenges of today and tomorrow—to deliver the well-paid, secure jobs we want for our kids in the future.’ This bill is a reflection not only of the Prime Minister’s commitment but of the government’s commitment and also my commitment as the member for Calwell. I commend the bill to the House.

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