Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to speak in support of this important bill, the Future Made in Australia Bill. The community I represent in this parliament has a proud manufacturing history, from established names like MasterFoods, Sanitarium and Eastcoast to promising local ventures like the Marshmallow Co. Food manufacturers on the Central Coast produced some of Australia's favourite foods, like Weet-Bix and tomato sauce. It's a vital industry that I've been advocating for since I arrived in this place. It's why I championed a food manufacturing hub at the last election and was so pleased that, with the election of this government, we secured funding to bring this industry supported project to reality.

At the last census, more than 2,300 Central Coast workers were employed in food manufacturing. That was 2,300 local people working in food manufacturing. It is our largest but by no means only important local manufacturing activity. The Central Coast is home to skilled workers in timber production, chemical production, metal fabrication and machinery manufacturing. These industries are crucial to my community and our economy, as they are to the southern end of the Central Coast in the electorate of Dr Gordon Reid, the member for Robertson.

But a proud history isn't enough to guarantee a stronger future. As the Treasurer said when he introduced this legislation, if we get stuck in the past, this country will be poorer. That's what we saw during the wasted decade under the previous government. I am proud to be part of a Labor government with a $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia budget package which gives life to this policy and to this legislation and, more importantly, has the financial resources to underpin it. We believe in backing Australian workers and businesses to grow and prosper and drive our economy. Government has a key role to play here in giving investors the clarity and the certainty they need to unlock growth and create secure, well-paid jobs for Australian workers, including in the regions.

The Future Made in Australia Bill comes to this task in a well-thought-out way through a set of actions to support our diversified, resilient and robust economy. The National Interest Framework will help identify those areas of comparative advantage and economic importance. I note the presence in the chamber of my colleague Dan Repacholi, the member for Hunter. He's someone who has worked in industries like this and knows the real benefits to the regions like his and the Central Coast. COVID and conflict overseas exposed some of the weakest links in an economy that was left to become too vulnerable to supply shocks and other challenges. But this period was not followed by a return to normal, as households and businesses know. We are in the middle of an enormous transformation in the global economy and we have a unique set of advantages to make the most of it for individuals, families, our regions and our economy.

The National Interest Framework and the second component of the bill, the sector assessment process, will help Australia seize the great opportunities available in the net zero and other growth sectors. Through Export Finance Australia and the new Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund, investment will be able to flow to priority sectors and those with national economic importance.

Our government is seeking to mobilise the private investment we need to benefit from the big changes underway in the global economic system. We can embrace this change and at the same time, with careful planning and foresight, make sure our communities are made the main beneficiaries. People, families and local businesses in urban Australia and in the regions across the country as the main beneficiaries: that's what our government wants to see. We want to see the economy work for the people and not the other way around. The local startups that I've met on the Central Coast that are bringing their innovation and ideas to reality can benefit our community and all Australians. The opportunities and potential need to be unleashed and can be through this type of careful planning.

Under this legislation, a set of community benefit principles will mean public investment and the private investment which flows will support stronger communities on the Central Coast, in the Hunter, in Victoria and right around the country. For me this is where some of the great opportunities lie for the businesses and workers of Lisarow, of Berkeley Vale, of Wyong, of Killarney Vale and across the whole of the Central Coast.

Investments made under this legislation will need to be made in ways that deliver benefits across the local community and economy—for example, in local industrial capacity and supply chains. I've had the opportunity over a very long time now to work with Central Coast Industry Connect, a local not-for-profit headed up by Frank Zammit and Ian from Herbie's Spices. They work they do to really bring together and harness the expertise, the skills and the potential of our local industries deserves this kind of support, and that's what they'll get under this government.

The principles will mean that, where public money is invested, it is supporting safe, secure, well-paid jobs and skilling up local people to succeed in those growing sectors. The Minister for Education spoke earlier today about the University of Newcastle, its university-ready programs and how one in five commencing students across their campuses start through job-ready programs. I've seen those students at the University of Newcastle Ourimbah campus in places like food manufacturing. This is a pathway for local people to the skills and training they need for steady jobs and prosperous futures. In communities like mine, where persistent unemployment and economic disadvantage still shape the lives of too many people, these are the opportunities we need to grasp for a better, more positive future, especially for the regions.

The other key focus of this legislation, of course, is to help Australia succeed in the transition to cheaper, cleaner energy, which is happening around the world. It would be unforgivable for any government to turn away from the natural advantages Australia brings to this moment such as the powerhouse regions like the Hunter. For our economy here in Australia and around the world, private capital needs an environment of certainty and a rational policy framework to give the confidence to invest in these big opportunities now and into the future. Under our government, that framework is being put in place through this and other legislation.

Targeted government investment has always been part of the picture as industries mature in Australia and around the world. As a parliament, debate around the best way to benefit for this change should be our focus. As the National Interest Framework takes shape and we see the assessments from Treasury, let's look at the evidence and debate the best ways to realise the community benefits, which every Labor member here is determined to see and to realise in their communities across the country. I'd suggest to the opposition that this is a better use of their time than advocating for hundreds of billions of dollars of public money to go on a nuclear project that will never happen. It's not a serious policy. It's got no economic merit. They are desperate for another climate war. That's what they're after.

I say again: if we get stuck in the past, this country, our country, will be the poorer for it. I want to see opportunities, incomes and living standards growing on the Central Coast and around the country not just in the short term but over the decades to come. This bill is good for Australians. It's good for the regions. It's good for our economy. I commend the bill to the House.

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