Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I promise you that. You will see from what we have documented there that there are possibilities out there and that the people, with some support, can deliver world-beating products from Australia to the world. It's no surprise to me that, in the May 2024 budget, the government outlined its plan to invest $22.7 billion over the next decade to build a future made in Australia.

They say we live in the lucky country, but I'm not sure that that's right, because luck has an element of chance put in it. This country is fantastic because it has been built on ingenuity, hard work and the desire to build a better future for our kids and our nation. Our land is filled with the resources to kickstart industry and one of the most upskilled workforces on earth to make this happen. These strengths also make us an ideal destination for private investors and industry to boost this program. Although the government has a vision and has initiative to get industry off the ground, we are opening the doors for private enterprise and investment to help us seize the opportunity that lies before us.

This plan of increasing Australia's manufacturing capability will build a stronger, more diverse and more resilient economy, and that's what we need to do. We've seen the need for this due to an increasingly unstable and tense geopolitical climate. Whether it's Russia's illegal war in Ukraine, the escalation of violence in the Middle East or rising tension amongst our neighbours, these ever-changing global events put supply chains under pressure. The Future Made in Australia plan will better protect Australians from this global pressure while also creating a source for well-placed jobs that deliver benefits to communities across the country. It's not about cost; it's about the investment. The more we give people better, secure jobs, better-paying jobs and reliable jobs, the more they can invest in the economy and the economy grows. We can't continue with the nine years of shrinking that we saw under the previous government.

So what is a future made in Australia all about? It's about attracting and enabling investment. It's about making Australia a renewable energy superpower, value-adding to our resources, strengthening economic security, backing Australians and Australian ideas with innovation in digital and science, and investing in people and places—all the things that those opposite oppose.

The bills before us impose rigour on government decision-making, giving investors the clarity and certainty they need to invest. Through this, we recognise our combined comparative advantage in renewable energy and traditional strengths in resources and manufacturing, to build new opportunities, including critical mineral processing, green metals, clean energy technology and low-carbon liquid fuels. It's an outrage that we produce the product to make the fuels and we send it over and buy it back. We should be doing it here.

This is an opportunity we have right now before us, as we hit the quarter-of-the-century mark, to say, 'Where do we want our country to go?' We don't want another case like the one where the opposition told the auto industry in 2014 to get lost. Forty thousand people directly lost their jobs, whether for the big manufacturers or for those in the supply chain. It's no surprise that the coalition oppose a bill like this, because they know nothing about bringing manufacturing to Australia. What they do know is how to scare manufacturing off. The decision from the coalition not to back the auto industry means Australia is missing out on increasing global demand for hybrid and electric vehicles. We could have been capitalising on this opportunity. We could have been one step ahead. But instead, because of Abbott and Hockey's decision to force the auto industry offshore, we're two steps behind. A decade of manufacturing neglect has made the work to repair all this much harder. Our government refuses to let that same type of opportunity slip away from our nation.

This is where the Future Made in Australia plan comes in—renewable Australia as a renewable energy superpower, and specifically the technology and resources available to Australia to become a renewable superpower. You only have to go and look at manufacturing in this space to see what ingenuity comes out of this country, what we can build and how we can be world leading. No more do we want to see Pig Iron Bob or John Howard—who was pig iron mark 2, as we watched PV cell technology shipped overseas and then had to bring it back and pay for it. We have the ability here. Whether we look at this or at defence—wherever we look in manufacturing—Australia has a reputation globally for building high-quality, reliable products in niche markets. This is something we should be celebrating and grasping. We should not be sitting there, looking in the mirror and talking for 20 minutes about things that have nothing to do with the bill; we should actually go out there and back Australian workers.

What I've seen through chairing this committee has been thousands of Australians of all different ages, in all different industries, wanting to have a go and wanting to actually get there and do things in this country. The one thing that stopped them has been not getting the backing from their government. Well, that changed. We often say that when you change the government you change the country, and that's what we did. We changed the government, and we now have a government that's out there backing you—every single one of you—to keep and grow your jobs and your businesses and, most importantly, to keep us at the forefront of technology and the ability that we have. No matter where you look, up and down the country, there are people out there who are designing, building and manufacturing things and trying to sell them offshore, when we could actually bring money in. Wouldn't it be nice if we backed our exporters, developers and manufacturers? That's what this is about. We made strong commitments to support workers in this country. We've done that. For the aged-care workers who were treated like nothing under the former government, we gave them a reasonable pay rise to value the work that they do. We do that in manufacturing as well.

Making more things here is the key of this legislation—a belief that we should benefit from the manufacturing and export opportunities that are available here with the resources we have. Currently, with resources, we dig it, ship it and sell it. That's not the way we build a future. We shouldn't turn Australia into a big hole. We shouldn't be importing a finished product back. We should be looking at how we can build it here. Rather than taking a boatload of rock, let's take a boatload of products—high-value products that have been produced here by Australians and are sent overseas, where we can actually make a better financial investment and get a much bigger financial return.

We are adding value to Australian resources by strengthening the country's economic security. It's so important that we build up resilience and security by shoring up and diversifying our supply chains. This will power the next generation of Australian manufacturing with cheaper, cleaner energy, creating long-lasting jobs and opportunities in every part of the country, especially in rural and regional Australia.

A future made in Australia is something that we should be backing wholeheartedly. It's not about politics; it's about backing the Australian workers, designers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs. It's about backing the Australian economy. Rather than sit there and hope for the best, let's put our shoulders to the wheel and get out there and actually deliver what needs to be delivered for a better nation.

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