Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The COVID-19 pandemic showed us how vulnerable Australia's supply chains really were. It taught us that revitalising Australian manufacturing was so important because we had to not only diversify our economy and create sustainable and secure jobs but guard against future shocks. Our government was elected last year on a mandate to drive the transformation of Australian industry and to revive our ability to make world-class products in Australia—sophisticated products, advanced manufacturing products. Manufacturing matters because it creates full-time, meaningful work and secure jobs, and insures against those shocks.

We saw through the pandemic that our supply chains were under huge pressure. Products we expected to have were hard to obtain. We need to revitalise manufacturing after years of neglect—let's be honest—from those opposite, the coalition government. They had nine industry ministers in nine years, and, as a result of that lack of continuity and a lack of genuine desire to have a manufacturing industry that is sophisticated and world-class, the manufacturing industry is in tatters. As the member for Spence quite correctly articulated, they goaded the car manufacturing industry in Australia, in South Australia, to leave the country, and it did. As the member for Monash—who I've got a lot of time for—reminded us, General Motors-Holden had been making motor vehicles here since 1949. When I saw former treasurer Joe Hockey in the parliament last week, I was reminded how Holden were goaded into leaving. Back then he was on the cigars, celebrating, when it was such a shameful period of federal government in this nation.

Thankfully, we now have a Labor federal government which believes in Australian manufacturing industry, and that's why we are delivering the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, a key platform to support, diversify and transform Australia's industry and to create those sustainable, well-paying jobs that I just mentioned. The NRF will provide finance—including loans, guarantees and equity—to drive investments in seven priority areas of the Australian economy. These will leverage Australia's natural and competitive strengths, support the development of strategically important industries and shore up our supply chains. I think it's worth mentioning the priority areas, which are: resources; the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector; transport; medical science; renewables and low-emissions technologies; defence capability—so important in this day and age—and other enabling capabilities.

Our government has previously announced targeted investment levels for specific priority areas of up to $3 billion for renewables and low-emissions technologies; $1½ billion for medical manufacturing, which is where we have so much potential; and $1 billion for value-adding in resources—so not just digging it and shipping it, but doing more processing here. There's $1 billion for critical technologies and $1 billion for advanced manufacturing, such as what we will be doing up in Darwin, which is building, constructing, aircraft—amphibious aircraft. And that company, AAI, has already got presales coming in. But that would have been unthinkable under the former government, the same mob who chased the advanced manufacturing sector in motor vehicles out of the country. There's $500 million for value-adding in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and fibre, which is so important to our farmers.

I really look forward to this fund getting to work, and I congratulate the minister for the work he has done to date. We're looking forward to hosting him next month, up in Darwin.

Australia is rich, Deputy Speaker Sharkie, as you well know, with critical resources. I also note that next month we will have an ASPI critical minerals conference up in Darwin. The Northern Territory has abundant critical minerals. They're important for our transition to renewable energy, and they go into things like phones and will go into EVs into the future. So there will be car manufacturing in this country again, under our government.

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