Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

This debate on the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill 2022 happens as we enter the third decade of the 'no-alition'. In the 2000s we saw them adopt this policy of saying no to everything, when Tony Abbott became Leader of the Opposition. In the 2010s, we saw the 'no-alition' move on to the car industry, saying no to the car industry. Now, and I must say that I am surprised, we have the 'no-alition' saying no to, of all things, investing in the manufacturing industry of Australia.

It is no surprise that my view is that those opposite do not bring any policy ideas into this chamber. They have now had nine months, and the only policy idea that has been brought in is a reheated policy idea from Tony Abbott, a reheated policy idea of saying no to everything that this government has an electoral mandate to deliver. So we have an opposition leader with a one-word policy manifesto: no. I give former Prime Minister Morrison credit that when he looked at this 'no' policy he at least turned it into a three-word slogan. He went from 'no' to 'not my job'. At least he had a three-word slogan there. I've listened to the speeches that have been delivered in this place telling us why they will not vote for this legislation, and I still don't understand. I've seen people putting arguments and rent-seeking as to why we should invest in things in their electorate and why we should do all sorts of other policy initiatives, but there's been no clear reason as to why they do not support this piece of legislation in front of us.

Maybe, if we had $1 for every time those opposite said no, we would start to make a dent in the trillion dollars of Liberal-National debt that was left for this government to clean up. In the context of this policy, I think it's important to note that we developed the National Reconstruction Fund having seen the errors of those opposite: always opposing, always cutting, never seeking to build the nation up, with no manufacturing plan. It's no wonder this lack of vision—not sharing the vision that the government brings about trying to invest in the future of our manufacturing—is the tone of those opposite. When we look at the history of how they acted when they were in government—and I refer, in particular, to the Leader of the Opposition—there were cuts. Cut? Yes, they cut $50 billion from hospitals. Taxes? Yes, he tried to introduce a $7 GP tax. Privatisation? Yes, they launched the Medicare privatisation task force. None of those things were about backing medical manufacturing. This bill is about backing medical manufacturing.

We saw the now Leader of the Opposition cheer as we waved goodbye to the Australian car industry. Again, to this day, that's something that's hard to believe—that that was something the opposition, when they were in government, encouraged. They dared the Australian car industry to leave and then cheered when it happened, saying it was good. We saw the terrible economic judgement of the Leader of the Opposition and his colleagues when they were in cabinet. Not only did they leave us without a car manufacturing industry; they left us with $1 trillion of Liberal debt, agreed to, every single step of the way, by the now Leader of the Opposition. He's proudly the leader of the 'no-alition'. He's proudly voting no to this legislation. I'm probably less generous than the minister for manufacturing and industry, who at least noted that sometimes the opposition backs manufacturing when there's a TV camera around. I'm not even sure if that's true anymore.

Let's talk about what this legislation seeks to do. We seek to invest in the long-term interests of the nation. The National Reconstruction Fund will provide the finance to drive investments in seven priority areas. First, it will add value in resources, expanding Australia's mining science and technology, and increase domestic processing in Australia. That's incredibly important to my electorate, the headquarters of some of the largest mining operations in Australia. I speak all the time to people from the CEO of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, Rebecca Tomkinson, through to the CEOs of those major mining companies. We know there is so much more we can do if we back the science that is already being developed in Perth, already being developed in Western Australia, already being developed across Australia, to make sure that we secure the future of our resources industry and all that it can become. I note that's also on the agenda for the Minister for Resources, as she travels with the Prime Minister and the trade minister to India today.

Second, it will value-add in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors. We know that we can do so much more to add to the raw materials which we, in this nation, extract from the beautiful land we call Australia. If we think about this in terms of what it means, again, for Western Australia, we have some incredibly lucrative export industries, including the crayfish industry. We've got the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour. We can do so much more, particularly in fisheries, to make them sustainable, high tech and high value for the future.

Third, we want to invest more in the technology of transport, making sure that we're backing transport manufacturing. I was incredibly proud, late last year, to represent the wonderful minister for infrastructure and transport at an event where we announced our commitment to investing in electric buses for Perth. That's good for my electorate. It's clean transport. It's more transport so people can get to where they work and wherever else they want to go without having to rely on a car. Importantly, I commend the work of Rita Saffioti, the state minister, and the state government, who are working in close partnership to make sure that we make those buses and the charging infrastructure, where we can, in Western Australia, building on the great success of the Metronet's Bellevue manufacturing centre, which I have also visited with the minister.

Fourth, investing in medical science, making sure that we back our world-leading researchers so we not only have those essential supplies that we need but also those breakthroughs that we need for tomorrow, to improve the quality of life for Australians and people the world over. I know that this will be welcomed by the Harry Perkins Research Institute, just about seven metres outside of my electorate in the electorate of Curtin, home to some of Australia's great researchers and it will be welcomed by the universities, not just of Western Australia, but Australia over.

Fifth, making sure that we invest in the future of renewables and low-emissions technologies. I know for towns like Collie in Western Australia, where we are undergoing that complex but important transition to clean energy sources, that if we invest in these technologies then we provide a future for those towns. I think about what we're doing at Midland TAFE in Western Australia, where we're investing in making sure that we train people up for those new jobs in wind turbine installation, manufacturing and maintenance. I was pleased as well to stand with the Prime Minister and the minister for training when we announced the new energy apprenticeships at North Metropolitan TAFE in East Perth, again backing the future of manufacturing, backing the jobs that come with the exciting transition to renewables and low-emissions technology.

Sixth, invest more in defence capability, making sure that we can maximise Australian suppliers, backing our sovereign manufacturing, backing those who serve in our defence forces, backing the Australians who work in manufacturing to make sure that we can do everything necessary to defend this country and build up our armed forces.

Seventh, invest in making sure that we enable the capabilities in data science, engineering and software development. This is a great opportunity if I think about how exciting these opportunities are when it comes to advanced manufacturing, science and technology. I was at Cassia Primary School with a range of people, including Asta Morton from the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, seeing the wonderful work that the Chamber of Minerals and Energy does in investing in technology training for kids in primary school, teaching them how to code. It was really, really exciting to see children in year 2, 3, 4 and 5 actually seeing how this technology applies with these little Bee-Bots and wom-bots. I'm not going to do them justice in terms of the little devices that the kids can code; they go off and do a thing. They've built a program that's uniquely developed for children learning in the Pilbara. I note that it was part of the Port Hedland cabinet meeting that happened a few weeks ago. It was a very exciting moment.

I'm conscious that we need to get this legislation voted on today because it is important, so I conclude by noting that this morning parliamentarians from across the political spectrum gathered just down the road at Old Parliament House to unveil the statues of Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney, something that is welcomed by parliamentarians the nation over, but it is particularly exciting for those of us on the Labor side of politics from Western Australia to see that statue of Doherty Tangney. It was a proud moment. I'll finish by noting her words about the importance of manufacturing and industry in her first speech to the Senate. She said:

Particularly, I pay tribute to the women in industry who, for the first time, have been called upon to take their places in fields hitherto the prerogatives of men, especially those engaged in the engineering industry who have turned night into day, and have pursued a way of life completely foreign to anything they had known before. I have seen them at work in munitions factories. I have seen them going on shifts at midnight with the same heroism as has marked the wonderful exploits of our men on the battlefields. I hope that when the day of peace comes what has been so willingly surrendered by our workers in industry will not be forgotten, and that the maximum of what they have voluntarily given up in the war effort will be the minimum upon which our new industrial standards will be based.

She saw that great opportunity for the manufacturing industry of Australia to grow out of the challenges that Australia faced in World War II. She saw that it was a great enabler of gender equality in this country. I think it was wonderful to see the parliament, the nation, the Commonwealth acknowledge her contribution and that of Dame Enid Lyons just down the road this morning.

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