Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Labor Party has a great track record on manufacturing, and one of the aspects of this motion that I think resonates most with the Western Australian community is building a stronger and more resilient future through manufacturing. This clearly did not happen in the decade under the last Liberal government. The manufacturing industry is something that the Labor Party fundamentally understands. My father was a metalworker in Kambalda. He inspired me to become an engineer in the industrial and resource sector. This experience taught me that Australians cannot rely on digging up our backyard forever. Because our resources are limited, our economy must become more sophisticated, which brings me to a great example in WA.

The town of Collie is 150 kilometres south of my electorate and has an economy centred around coalmining and coal-fired power generation. But power generation in WA is changing. Renewables and gas are rapidly overtaking coal as the source of power in WA. One in three homes in WA have rooftop solar. The output from base load generation from coal cannot easily be turned up and turned down, as gas generators can and batteries can. There is an end date for coal-fired power generation in WA, and that is 2030. To complement this, there is a transition plan. The town of Collie has been united for over a decade in its transition plan where community, the state government and unions have been working together to reskill and reorientate the local community.

It has been a steady process, one that requires community buy-in and funding and, most importantly, action. This is why the McGowan state Labor government committed over $660 million in funding to the Collie transition plan. To quote Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary Steve McCartney, 'If you're going to take an industry out of a town, you've got to replace it with another industry.' In Collie, WA, state government grants have attracted major investment to the region. Last year we saw a company called International Graphite open a pilot-scale processing plant locally. This is an important component in solar panels. We also saw Magnum Australia receive a grant for a feasibility study for a carbon neutral magnesium refinery right in Collie. Should that project get off the ground, it will create 350 permanent jobs in critical minerals. These are stable, well-paid jobs, jobs that build community and increase resilience, which also creates economic resilience. It's why people from Collie to Kewdale, in my electorate, are excited about the Albanese Labor government's $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.

The pandemic taught us that we need to make more things here and build our resilience. Collie demonstrates that, when government backs manufacturers and their workers, there are huge downstream benefits for the community and the economy. The National Reconstruction Fund will drive economic development across the nation by creating stable jobs, jobs that can insulate our economy against the boom-bust cycles of the resources sector. There are great examples of government support that can build capacity and support new industrial growth. The common user facility for shipbuilding in Henderson was started thanks to funding from the state Labor government. This has helped create infrastructure that's required for shipbuilding in WA at unprecedented levels. We now have the opportunity to build precincts that add value to existing commodities while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In the South West there are massive expansions of rare earth mineral mining and processing, which will play an important role in batteries. Imagine an old coalmining town being at the forefront of decarbonisation which, for example, could be manufacturing batteries or green steel. To quote Daniel Graham, a scaffolding supervisor at the Muja Power Station in Collie, who would like to see green steel manufacturing get off the ground: 'We've got great facilities here. We've got a railway line, our highway is in great shape, and we have the skilled labour to build things.' For my community of Swan, downstream servicing of the resource sector and construction are major employers. As we develop the diversity of our economy in WA, including in the South West, the local economy will also grow in my community. My community is excited about the Albanese government's plan for manufacturing. This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I thank the member for Cunningham for bringing forward this motion.

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