Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition will oppose the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill 2022. On this side of the House, we know that the best way we can support the manufacturers of Australia is by creating the right economic conditions for them to succeed. Unsurprisingly, our economy is being managed woefully by this government. The government says, 'We want Australia to be a country that makes things again.' I say to those opposite: we do make things in this country, and we're bloody good at it.

Instead of jetting over to the US and socialising in the silicon valley, the minister could have walked down to Glendenning in his own electorate and listened to what our manufacturers actually need from their government. They would tell you that their success depends on the government managing the economy in a way which creates the preconditions for their success. Those opposite should listen to what our Australian manufacturers are actually saying. Energy prices are sending them to the brink, businesses are being forced to drop products because supply chains aren't coping, and they can't expand because there aren't enough workers.

This bill does nothing for them. This bill is silent on the No. 1 issue that's raised by industry, whether you are an aluminium smelter, a pill pressing plant or a lumber mill. The coalition is opposing this bill because this arrogant government is telling our manufacturers what they think they need rather than addressing what manufacturers actually want.

This is a minister that talks big about value add onshore but sells out as soon as he gets back to his desk. The only value he's adding is to the offshore paper industry, wasting taxpayer dollars on $100-a-ream paper rather than $8-a-ream Australian-made paper which is used in every other printer in this place. As Labor tries to rush its National Reconstruction Fund through the parliament, it just demonstrates that while they talk the talk on supporting Australian manufacturers, they just don't walk the walk. Quite frankly, the minister's commitment to Australian manufacturing isn't worth the paper it's written on. Fancy Conqueror branded paper will not do anything to conquer the rising pressures on our manufacturing. The simple fact of the matter is that without addressing these key economic challenges which are holding industry back, government spending is useless.

Under the economic mismanagement of this government, any proposed financial support will be whittled away by increased input costs. Instead of reinventing economics and remaking capitalism, the government should focus on economics 101. Input costs affect the bottom line, and the price of energy is the first among those input costs for so many of our manufacturers.

In a recent survey conducted by the Australian Industry Group, 83 per cent of respondents experienced rising energy prices. In fact, it represented the highest score in the history of the survey. There hasn't been a single conversation I have had since I have taken on this portfolio where the cost of energy hasn't been raised as a concern. Take Solaris Paper: they have been manufacturing in Australia since the 1950s, with products including Sorbent toilet paper, Deeko serviettes and Handee Ultra Paper Towels. They are facing a tripled gas bill. Making their concerns public, they say that there is a real crisis looming. They said, 'It's a tremendous challenge for us,' and 'It is only one of our costs.' Regional Victorian manufacturer Advanced Bricks and Pavers announced they will let their brick oven go cold after 82 years of business. Why? Because they have gone from paying $6 a gigajoule of gas to more than $37 a gigajoule overnight. The bill offers no hope for manufacturers like second-generation family business Advanced Bricks. Each one of these closures has a human element to it—people out of work, craftsmanship lost and communities losing as a result. So many of our manufacturers rely on gas, yet this government's demonisation of this essential element does nothing but drive prices up. The industry minister thinks he can shirtfront the gas companies into submission and, as a result, prices will drop. I hate to break it to the minister but that is not how economics works. A government divided on the issue with two cabinet ministers at loggerheads in a very public way also diminishes confidence in the supply of this critical resource. The Minister for Resources has one view and the minister for industry has another.

Labor's mismanagement of energy policy is making a bad situation worse. Why do Australians always have to pay more under Labor? We know that, according to the Food Supply Chain Alliance, some businesses are facing 100 to 300 per cent increases in electricity costs, with a further 56 per cent rise foreshadowed in the October budget. Manufacturers can't afford this hit to their bottom line. The government claims it is prioritising manufacturers through the introduction of this legislation. The reality couldn't be further from the truth. This bill does nothing to ameliorate the input costs that are pushing businesses to the brink right now.

Labor misled the Australian people at the last election, saying they would reduce energy prices. We know that the problem is much deeper than that, and it is not just inaction on energy costs hurting which is our industries. Supply chain disruptions and staff shortages have also been left unanswered by this government. This reconstruction bill does not fix these economic drivers which are making it impossible for manufacturers to do business in this country. The Food Supply Chain Alliance has said a 30 per cent increase in fuel bills is cutting into the viability of our hardworking industries every time their truck drivers hit the bowser.

Independent Food Distributors Australia have said the fuel, electricity, transport costs and many other costs have risen by an average of 29 per cent in nine months. The Australian Industry Group says 90 per cent of businesses expect to be affected by staffing shortages. What has the government done to address this? There is no point to this bill reconstructing our manufacturing base if there is no-one to carry out that renewed effort. If they listened to our manufacturers they would know these are the issues they demand action on instead of arrogantly telling them what they need. They did this with their radical industrial relations changes, putting a regulatory noose around the necks of manufacturers. They didn't care to listen. In case those opposite have short memories, this is what they said, 'We know the Labor Party when it suits them is fond of walking into this House and quoting the business community.' The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that it would be 'particularly damaging given already serious global risks and uncertainty'. The Australian Industry Group called the secure jobs, better pay bill 'flawed and unnecessary', noting it would implement major and regressive changes to Australia's workplace relations arrangements that would set us back decades. But we know these trusted voices are not the ones those opposite listen to.

Millions of dollars in donations equals policy influence in this government and that is at the heart of the Albanese accord—donations go in, policy comes out. Many Australians had to live through the last time industrial disputes wreaked havoc in our economy and they remember it vividly. That was when the then industrial relations minister, the member for Maribyrnong, chose to scrap the Australian Building Construction Commission, the last time the Labor Party was in government, and we know what happened. Unsurprisingly, the number of industrial disputes skyrocketed, the number of working-days lost rose and, as a result, the cost of infrastructure went up by 30 per cent. That means that infrastructure like hospitals, schools and roads all cost 30 per cent more than it had before—a direct consequence of Labor's ideological industrial-relations-induced mania. Have they learnt their lesson? Of course not. Instead, in a high-inflation environment, they are once again encouraging an uptick in industrial disputes, driving up inflation and putting pressure on our manufacturers.

This bill does nothing to support industries impacted by inflationary pressures. The government is not listening to our manufacturers. By bringing on this debate ahead of the conclusion of a Senate inquiry process, the industry minister is sneakily avoiding any scrutiny of due process. The inquiry by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee is yet to even close its submissions—they are open as I speak—let alone hold a hearing or report back to the Senate with valuable industry feedback. The government was disingenuous at its jobs summit and it's disingenuous about its consultation—

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