Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my pleasure tonight to rise to speak on the Australian Jobs Bill 2013. This bill will help support and create Australian jobs in manufacturing for the next decade plus. We all know that manufacturing has been doing it particularly tough, principally because of the high Australian dollar and the difficult trading and retail conditions that have come in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. But we do have hope in the manufacturing sector, and this bill is a significant part of that.

There are very significant projects happening right now in Australia, principally in the mining states. The Australian Jobs Bill will require that major projects submit a specific plan that will ensure Australian businesses have full, fair and reasonable access to bid for jobs and opportunities. I think that is the Australian way. The bill will require all major projects that have capital expenditure of $500 million or more to develop an Australian industry participation plan. The Australian industry participation plan will be prepared at an early stage of a project's approval, to enable Australian industry to participate in the design and, importantly, the development of the project. This will increase the chances of Australian companies in securing work opportunities that come from those projects, and it will enable Australian industry to participate in and to influence the tender specifications of these very large projects. I think, and the government believes, that it is important to enable Australian industry to participate in these large projects.

The whole process will be managed by the Australian Industry Participation Authority. The authority will evaluate and approve Australian Industry Participation Plans and publish those plans in summary to enable those companies to have full access. The authority will also take responsibility for delivering and supporting arrangements to help Australian businesses to develop the capabilities and the connections that they need to take advantage of and capture those opportunities within those very large projects which are not exclusively but principally within the mining sector. The authority will have the opportunity to coordinate in these important areas and will also take a significant role in the Buy Australian at Home and Abroad initiative, with relevant expertise and assistance provided by AusIndustry and, importantly, Enterprise Connect.

The authority will be a one-stop shop for Australian firms seeking to build their capabilities so that they can link into these new business opportunities. For projects of $2 billion or more they will have an embedded Australian industry opportunity officer in those projects to enable procurement teams to help promote Australian firms into the global supply chain. The bill will also give workers in the manufacturing industry hope. These very large projects will enable Australian industry to directly participate, and pre-existing arrangements and employment with those Australian companies will provide those workers that opportunity to work directly in partnership in accessing these particular projects.

It is estimated that these changes that the Labor government is pursuing will create up to $6.4 billion worth of economic activity for firms in this nation. I come from the very proud manufacturing town Geelong, and this will provide opportunities for Geelong fabricators and Geelong industry to participate in these very large, globally significant projects.

Further to these reforms Labor will also introduce much stronger rules with respect to dumping. Dumping of products can undercut local manufacturers and in some cases deny them the opportunity to be able to compete in the type of manufacturing they do. A new antidumping commission is being created to investigate complaints of dumping which is injuring local industry and costing local jobs right throughout the nation. We will invest $24.4 million to increase our investigative capability with respect to this, almost doubling the number of investigators available to stop the insidious activity of dumping in Australia. Having more investigators out there will send a very strong message to foreign firms that any dumping will be cracked down upon immediately. It also sends the message to investors in the industry that Customs will investigate their concerns immediately and be empowered to take action to stop dumping behaviour.

As part of the Australian jobs announcement Labor will also commit to establishing 10 industry innovation precincts. This will be a significant additional investment in manufacturing. In my community in the Geelong region we have incredible research capacity. We have a very strong university in Deakin University, which has been at the forefront of linking our major employers within the Australian economy, particularly those in the manufacturing sector, to expertise from universities. These 10 industry innovation precincts, which will be located around Australia, will add significantly to the partnership led by industry and universities.

Deakin University is working, as we speak, with a consortium and will be making an application to the Commonwealth in due course. I have spoken at length with senior people at Deakin University, and I look forward to doing my piece as a local member, along with the member for Corio, to advocate that one of these potential innovation precincts be located within our region. I think we have a very strong case to make. We have the expertise in the region at play and of course Geelong is a passionate and proud manufacturing community.

We will certainly do everything we can to take full advantage of these innovation precincts to enable us to harness the best and the brightest minds, from academia, universities, CSIRO and, importantly, partner them with, and led by, the private sector. This will ensure that we can use the full grunt that comes from Australian universities to innovate our manufacturing sector and to develop new opportunities for Australian companies to develop product that is ready for the marketplace, that is innovative and that is high-tech. That is certainly the path that we as a Commonwealth government wish to go down and it is certainly a path we have gone down in the Geelong community. There is no doubt that this bill provides a very strong way forward.

Last week we had some terrible news: the decision of Ford to cease production of Ford motor cars from October 2016. Geelong has had a long, strong and proud association with the Ford Motor Company that goes back to about 1925. Our region is a strong region. We are proud manufacturers, but we know that as community leaders we have a lot of work to do in Geelong to build new opportunities for people. I believe that the Australian Industry Participation plan, which stems from the Australian Jobs Bill, is the way forward and will provide us those opportunities into the future.

We also need to carefully note some of the policy positions that the coalition have adopted, particularly with respect to manufacturing. We know that, if they are elected to government in September, they will immediately rip $500 million out of the New Car Plan. They have further plans to rip a $1.5 billion out of the New Car Plan but they are not, at this stage, admitting to that upfront. The reality is that, if the coalition are elected, the car industry will have no choice but to leave Australia, creating a crisis for some 200,000 workers in the auto sector across this nation. We are certainly making very plain to the Australian community the stark choices, particularly with respect to the auto sector, that people will have come September this year.

As I have indicated, Geelong had some very confronting news last week with respect to the Ford decision. But we have a plan to help support the Geelong community and the workers at Ford and, indeed, those workers at Broadmeadows. We have a funded plan to help support the supply chain which of course has companies scattered right throughout Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.

It is Labor that supports manufacturing, it is Labor that supports manufacturing communities and it is Labor that will stand up for manufacturing workers across this nation, whereas Tony Abbott, if he is elected as Prime Minister, will not stand up for those workers and those communities. In fact, he will put some very significant cuts in place that will have severe consequences for the manufacturing capabilities of this nation.

In conclusion, I certainly recognise the importance of this particular bill, the Australian Jobs Bill, and I commend the passing of this legislation to parliament, to enable us to move forward as a nation and to help strengthen manufacturing opportunities in this country not only for those companies but also in recognition that Australian industry works in partnership with its workers and unions. This legislation will provide every opportunity for our industry to move forward with a strong, comprehensive plan around supporting Australian jobs. I commend these measures to the House.

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