Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This government, the Liberal-National government, has let down the regions, and it is disappointing that members of this government, on the back bench and in the cabinet, refuse to stand up for regional Australia. Particularly where it has let down regional Australia is in the area of manufacturing. Time and time again, we hear stories about how this government is turning its back on manufacturing. The Bushmaster is manufactured in my electorate. We are the proud makers of the Bushmaster—built, developed and tested in Bendigo. We are at the end of the Bushmaster and we are now waiting for the next contract to be signed. We are the proud makers of the Hawkei. We want to go into production, but we are waiting on this government to sign that Hawkei contract so we can go into manufacturing.

I am not surprised that this government is turning its back on manufacturing. It tries to rewrite the history about the true home of so many products that are manufactured. We cannot go past great Aussie icons like the Chiko Roll, which was born in Bendigo.

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