Jodie Campbell (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to add my support today to the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program Amendment (Building Innovative Capability) Bill 2009 and to acknowledge the commitment and dedication of Minister Carr to the sector and his sheer hard work. The Rudd Labor government is a major supporter of the Australian TCF industry and the many thousands of hardworking Australians that it employs. This bill will rename the TCF post-2005 SIP scheme as the Clothing and Household Textile Building Innovative Capability Program and will provide an extra $5 million in assistance per year to 2015. I believe the government has taken stakeholder views into account as part of its consideration and implementation of the TCF innovation package.

The package arose out of a report compiled by Professor Roy Green and its recommendations. The report, Building innovative capability, was released on 19 September 2008. The report found that, whilst support should continue, there should be a change in focus away from structural adjustment support for industries subject to tariff reductions to providing a wider range of TCF industries with support.

In 2009, the budget’s building innovative capability program, BIC, was announced as part of the overall TCF package, which included the establishment of a TCF Industries Innovation Council. The Rudd Labor government is driving innovation and renewal in the Australian textiles, clothing and footwear industries by investing approximately $40 million in a retargeted TCF package from 2009-10 to 2015-16. The new TCF innovation package redirects $55 million towards innovation, including $10 million in new funding. As part of this textile, clothing and footwear package, the building innovative capability program will provide innovation grants to entities that manufacture, or design for manufacture, in Australia clothing and certain finished textile products. Particularly in my electorate of Bass, these grants will assist the community greatly. The clothing and household textile manufacturing sector will receive assistance under the building innovative capability program as the sector is still undergoing the greatest tariff reforms of the Australian textile, clothing and footwear industries, with tariffs set to drop from 17.5 per cent in 2009 to just five per cent in 2015.

I understand that the building innovative capability program will operate for the 2010-11 to 2014-15 income years and will increase the funding cap from the current special appropriation of $87.5 million to $112.5 million for the 2010-11 to 2014-15 income years. The package recognises the importance of the textile, clothing and footwear industries, which employs a great number of people within my electorate and over 50,000 Australians across the country. The textile, clothing and footwear industries underpin the regional economy in my electorate and across the country. This bill aims to make the Australian textile, clothing and footwear sectors stronger and more sustainable by supporting the development of new products and processes, especially at the high-tech, high-value end of the market—support that this industry in particular did not receive, and will not receive in the future, under a Liberal government.

The Rudd Labor government is not giving up, and will not give up, on the Australian textile, clothing and footwear manufacturing industries, and this bill is a prime example of that. Indeed, those on this side of the House are striving to assist those industries by building their capability through innovation and development—through forward thinking for the future. The Rudd Labor government is driving innovation and renewal in the Australian textile, clothing and footwear industries by investing $401 million in a retargeted TCF innovation package.

The Rudd Labor government has always run on the philosophy that industry policy is innovation policy. We are about helping businesses become more innovative, allowing them to meet the ongoing challenge of global competition. That is why the Rudd Labor government has fundamentally reshaped TCF support in this package, in line with the recommendations in Professor Roy Green’s review, and added very significant incentives for firms to innovate, including $10 million of new funding. Overall, an extra $55 million has been earmarked for innovation—which is the key to success for the TCF industries as they adapt to a more competitive international tariff and market environment.

I believe that it is important to stress that all current legislated support for the TCF industries remains in place. Support for investment under the strategic investment program for expenditure in 2009-10 continues in 2010-11. The funding levels under this program remain at approximately $98 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The strategic investment program will be replaced by the building innovative capability program, which will provide support from 2011-12. The new program is focused on clothing and household textiles, as they continue to face significant tariff reductions.

The Rudd Labor government has also created a new $30 million Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Capability Program which will support innovation and is open to all TCF industries. All textile, clothing and footwear industries are also eligible for support from Enterprise Connect. Unlike those on the opposite side of the House who failed to support innovation within this industry for their 12 years in government, the Rudd Labor government will continue to work with the new Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industries Innovation Council to ensure that the sector gets stronger and more sustainable into the future.

Furthermore, under the package the government will introduce a new $30 million TCF Strategic Capability Program to support large projects that will boost innovation capacity and performance at the enterprise level; will establish a Clothing and Household Textile Building Innovative Capability Program to support innovation—based on the TCF Strategic Investment Program—with funding of approximately $23 million per annum, totalling $112.5 million; will establish a TCF Industries Innovation Council bringing together business, unions, researchers and government to champion innovation in the sector and provide strategic advice; will establish a National TCF Innovation Network to support collaboration between companies and between industry, researchers and educational institutions; will retain the TCF Small Business Program to improve business enterprise culture; will commission the TCF Industries Innovation Council to provide further advice on the introduction of a voluntary ethical quality mark, voluntary national sizing standards for clothing and footwear, and a national human measurement database; and will proceed with the 2010 TCF tariff reductions.

The $5 million per annum TCF Structural Adjustment Program, SAP, will also continue with enhanced assistance to retrenched workers, an example of the Rudd government continuing to provide a fair go to Australian working families. I am confident that the bill addresses concerns of various stakeholders within the industry and ensures that we support the Australian textile, clothing and footwear industry by building its capabilities through innovation and development, thus demonstrating forward thinking for the future. I commend the bill to the House.

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