Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like the first 20 years of the 20th century, innovation has exploded in the first 20 years of the 21st century. While 100 years ago innovation like the moving picture, the telephone and even the car saw changes the likes that had not been seen, I would argue that we are seeing an equally incredible flourish of innovation in the first 20 years of this century—innovation in energy and electric vehicles, innovation in medical technology and, most importantly of all, innovation in the digital world.

With the paint not yet dry on the digital revolution, the speed of this innovation and its impact on society continues to provide incredible opportunities. Just like 100 years ago, the opportunities of a flourishing world of innovation, of ideas and of science are impacting profoundly on the way that we work, play and even live. Just like 100 years ago when innovations in science led to women joining the workforce like never before, so too have they done so 100 years later. Just like 100 years ago when the world faced the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 20 to 50 million people, so too are we facing a subsequent economic crisis globally.

But things are different this time because science and innovation and the digital connectivity of the world can deliver solutions at speed. Let's just look at the Spanish flu, for instance. A hundred years ago we couldn't even diagnose if someone had the flu because we had no pathology tests. A hundred years ago we couldn't do what we have done this time in Australia with COVID tracking and tracing, and we certainly couldn't do rapid public health messaging. So too with regard to our economic response. A hundred years ago we couldn't do what the Morrison government has done, which is to prepare, through modelling, for the future of our economic response. I would say that science and innovation have made sure that our response to the dual economic and health crisis of COVID has never been answered in a more rapid and fulsome way.

It is important, however, that we do not rest on our laurels. We need to remain vigilant towards COVID, through our quarantining and contact tracing being of the highest quality and standards, so we that can avoid the worst outcome, which is of course lockdown. This has unfortunately been necessary in my home state of Victoria. But so too from an economic perspective we can't rest on our laurels as the lucky country. For too long we've relied on the natural resources of this country, whether it was on the back of the sheep, on the gold rushes of previous eras or on the export resource boom of today. We need to prepare ourselves to take the opportunities that a post-COVID world will present.

That is why I welcome the recent announcement that the Morrison government has made in manufacturing: a new future for our nation through the $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy. This strategy will create a manufacturing sector for a modern Australian economy by making our businesses scale, become more resilient and boost their competitiveness on the global stage. This strategy will help drive our economic recovery and our future. This is not the old manufacturing where men bent metal. This is the new manufacturing—smart technology driving the way that we do things through automation, through augmented intelligence and through smart thinking. As the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, who I'd like to acknowledge here today, has so eloquently put: it's a declaration to the world and to private investors that Australia is not only 'open for business, but we mean business'.

I sit on the Joint Standing Committee for Trade and Investment Growth as well as the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources. I'm proud that both of these committees are undertaking very important inquiries that speak to the issue of modern manufacturing and its future in Australia. The first is an inquiry into diversification of trading partners, having handed down the Trade transformation report earlier this year, where the committee clearly identified that we not only needed to diversify our trade exports, but that we also needed to diversify our trading partners. The second is the inquiry by the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources looking at waste and recycling, so that we can build a modern manufacturing industry that helps us meet our climate change commitments for global emission reductions.

This is why I welcome the Morrison government's wide-ranging commitment to building modern manufacturing in Australia. Lastly I would like to mention some important local businesses: Microbio, which is looking at mRNA technology, and Edge Electrons, which is about voltage reduction to reduce emissions. My question to the minister is: how will the government's modern manufacturing initiative help these local businesses

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