Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to share with the Federation Chamber that innovation is alive and well across my electorate of Forde. Since its early days in 1884, when Australia's first rum distillery opened in Beenleigh, to the recent grand unveiling of the tech start-up eLumina, my electorate of Forde is renowned for its pioneering ideas and innovations.

We now have another, who has not only been recognised by myself previously, but recognised at the 'Oscars of innovation'. At the end of last year, Loganholme based tech company, BlockTexx, won the Manufacturing Innovation Award at the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence. Their recycling solution of bringing a 'fibre-to-fibre' future to the fashion industry saw them recognised for their achievements. BlockTexx took out the award for its solution for transforming difficult-to-recycle textile waste into sustainable products. They also took out the Australian Hero Award at the InnovationAus Awards, which was the top award of the night.

BlockTexx is aiming to address a huge problem of wastage in the fashion and textile industries with 113 million tonnes of fibre produced; much of this is very difficult to recycle. With the growth of fast fashion and wastage, this number is expected to steadily increase in the coming years. BlockTexx has developed a tech solution that is capable of significantly boosting the ability to recycle these types of polyester so it can be reused in other products. They collaborated with the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Queensland to conduct a pilot of this technology. The company designed, built and commissioned the first-ever commercial-scale chemical recycling facility, which has the ability to take in hard-to-recycle polyester and cotton blends. It deconstructs them and separates the cotton from the polyester. This factory now has expanded to be able to take in 10,000 tons of textile waste a year. It gathers textile and fashion waste from large companies, government agencies, commercial laundries, charities, manufactures and local councils. Earlier last year more than 150 global companies and suppliers signed the 2025 Recycle Polyester Challenge, led by Textile Exchange and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This challenge commits companies to increase their share of recycled polyester to 45 per cent by 2025 and 90 per cent by 2030. Without the innovation of companies like BlockTexx these targets would likely be unattainable. I want to see manufacturers like BlockTexx continue to thrive and survive and grow.

For every BlockTexx there's a Technical Fabric Services Australia, another quality innovative business doing incredible work in and around my local community. But they are doing it tough. More and more of our great innovators are doing it tough. And TFS's general manager has told me they are facing extreme difficulties, as 'billions of government dollars are being allocated to chosen industries and renewable energy, whilst leaving many sectors, like manufacturing, seriously behind'.

Manufacturing insolvencies have tripled since the last election, and domestic energy prices are among the highest in the world. We are seeing the flow-on consequences of that. I am pleased to say that a coalition government is working towards ensuring Australia can play its part in the world and play to its strengths. We are looking to build a nation which is a mining, manufacturing and agricultural powerhouse, a leader in technology and innovation. We've seen the Prime Minister attempt to talk up his Future Made in Australia manufacturing scheme, and he's gone quiet on that for a little while now. What he has repeatedly failed to acknowledge is that economist after economist has criticised the policy for its lack of breadth. Not even the Labor-aligned unions believe the government has the mettle and the know-how to run this scheme successfully. The policies the coalition will seek to implement in the next election are not just about the next election cycle but about the foundation of forging a better Australia—the reason being that we need companies like BlockTexx and TFS to grow and prosper so we have a sovereign capability. Australia will get strong economic management only with an LNP government at the helm.

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