Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the important contribution that the Australian food, beverage and grocery industry and its workers make to the Australian economy including:

(a) creating over 300,000 Australian jobs;

(b) contributing over $125 billion in turnover; and

(c) exporting over $30 billion of products; and

(2) encourages the Government to work with the Australian food, beverage and grocery industry to ensure its continued success.

This week is a tragic week for South Australians, with the closure of Holden this Friday. It's a situation we didn't have to face. It was thrust upon us by the Abbott-Turnbull Liberal government, who didn't appreciate the value of Australian manufacturing jobs. We now need to look to the future to find the jobs our nation needs. We need strong and stable national leadership on jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs. That's one of the reasons I tabled this motion.

The food, beverage and grocery industry is one of Australia's key employers and drivers of economic activity across both metropolitan and regional areas. The businesses and the workers of this industry make a critical contribution to the Australian economy. At the national level, the Australian Food and Grocery Council passionately represent their industry in this parliament. I thank them for their ongoing engagement with my office and look forward to seeing them at their corporate affairs committee breakfast this week. Today they released their ninth annual industry snapshot, State of the industry 2017, which covers two years, due to some reporting issues. In 2015-16, the industry's turnover was $127 billion, which was relatively flat, but the capital investment of $2.7 billion was an increase of 4.7 per cent, and direct employment was 320,302 people, which was an increase of 7,317 people. In 2016-17, the industry was made up of 30,748 businesses and the international trade totalled $68 billion, which was a decrease of 8.1 per cent. We have strong employment growth and increasing capital investment, which are encouraging signs for this industry, but we also have flat turnover and reducing exports, which show that we can't be complacent. There is a role for government in ensuring the ongoing strength of the industry.

Labor has always supported industries like the food industry. At the beginning of last year, Senator Carr and I held a food round table in South Australia with Food South Australia and a number of small food and beverage manufacturers. We listened to those industries—their concerns about operating with very thin margins, the inability to access finance for capital investment and high energy costs. Members of the Labor shadow ministry have been meeting with the industry all over Australia and hearing similar messages from manufacturers right across the country.

We've listened, and Labor in government will act. That's why, on the weekend, Bill Shorten came to the Labor Party conference in South Australia and announced a billion-dollar boost for advanced manufacturing jobs through an Australian manufacturing future fund. It's all about backing businesses that manufacture in Australia and create and support Australian jobs.

This fund will finance manufacturers to invest in job-creating plant and machinery that support productivity and efficiency. This is particularly important when we consider that, all through the period when we had the high dollar, there was an opportunity to investment in plant and machinery, and often companies could have availed themselves, through the currency rate, of that opportunity to purchase plant and machinery at a relatively cheaper cost than they would face now, with the currency depreciating. They could have emerged from what we had—a currency crisis—far more efficiently than they did, had such a facility been available. Small manufacturers often find it difficult to access finance through banks, and they will now be able to access finance through Labor's Australian manufacturing future fund. Make no mistake: that will create jobs all over the country.

The food, beverage and grocery industry is supporting jobs, over 300,000 of them. I congratulate that industry and I look forward to engaging with them in the future, developing well-thought-out policies and well-considered policies, and providing stable and consistent national leadership—a national leadership that the current government have been unable to provide because of their division and because of their rotating ministerial line-up. The future Shorten Labor government will provide consistency, stability, predictability and the Australian manufacturing future fund.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a great privilege to be able to get up to speak directly about the importance of Australian food manufacturing and exports in the food, beverage and grocery industries, which provide a critical part of the Australian economy; they always have, they always will, and may they continue to do so—because these days there's a lot of disconnect between how nations create wealth and where jobs and economic opportunity come from. It's primary industries that provide the wealth and opportunity to grow manufacturing businesses, which also provide jobs and opportunity, which then go on to provide the service-based industries to support them.

As part of a supply chain for delivering food, goods and services to the world, agriculture in particular has always been critical to Australia's success, particularly as a nation that cannot consume everything it produces. In addition to that, it provides us with the export opportunities to make us a more prosperous nation, and it provides security and opportunity, particularly food security, for the world. It's an incredibly important industry, and one which is very dear to my heart as part of my general interest in Australia's trade opportunities. Exports sit at the heart of how Australia will continue to be engaged with the rest of the world and continue to grow the economic opportunities of the 21st century. The strength that Australia has is that it is a clean, green environment, enabling quality goods to be produced that are going to be consumed, increasingly, in parts of South-East Asia and North Asia to feed the growing middle class in those regions. It's something we should be enormously proud of. It touches on so many different job opportunities, particularly in a sector where we're incredibly innovative as a nation.

Just outside of my electorate, there's a business called RollsPack. RollsPack is a company that invests in packaging arrangements, particularly for processed foods that then go on to be exported throughout the world. In particular, they own the technology to create square, flat-bottomed packs so that products can stand up on supermarket shelves. They're the only ones that have that technology in Australia. But they can't use the advantages of that technology, the investment that it creates, or the jobs that it provides if they don't have the produce to go in it. And so having a vibrant and successful food, beverage and grocery industry is critical, not only to meet local domestic needs but also to meet the needs of a growing middle class in parts of South-East Asia and North Asia.

It goes across the board: it doesn't matter what product you're seeking to provide these days, there are export opportunities for Australians and Australian industry to shine. We're able to leverage the potential we have around quality, and around making sure that we provide goods that people want to buy at prices they're able to afford. We know full well that there are some sectors where it's very difficult for us to compete on scale. It's difficult because of not only higher energy costs, rising energy costs—something the Turnbull government is very committed to tackling—but also labour costs and skills. We have to take advantage of our natural assets to provide for the industries of the future that will always be in demand, that provide sustainable jobs. And that's where the agriculture sector, delivered through supply chains through to exportable products, is so critical.

We know full well the huge economic benefit that comes directly from the growth in these sectors. Exports alone are worth $32.6 billion—the food and beverage sector contributes $26.4 billion as part of that; grocery manufacturing contributes $4.6 billion; and fresh produce is $1.6 billion. At each stage, the sector provides opportunities for new investors and new incentives for people to invest, build jobs growth and provide products, goods and services in demand.

One of the great myths that permeates modern Australian economic discussion is about manufacturing being in decline. There are certainly some manufacturing industries which traditionally operated in Australia that no longer operate but, where we have our economic advantage and potential, manufacturing still remains very strong. And we have a lot of that in the Goldstein electorate, particularly around Moorabbin and Braeside as well as down the south-east corridor towards Frankston. Where there are businesses that provide and take advantage of Australia's natural wealth and potential, you find viable industry that can meet global need. In fact—and I only discovered this recently, I concede, and I can understand why they keep it secret—most of Victoria's wine is bottled in the Goldstein electorate, in a factory in Sandringham. It stunned and amazed me, and I think it stunned and amazed a lot of constituents when I told them—because some of them were thirsty! However, the potential that can be provided from this sector into the future is exceptional, and that is why we celebrate them.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Wakefield for bringing this matter to the attention of the House. This is indeed an important matter, as the State of the industry 2017 report from the Australian Food and Grocery Council points out, with the statistics the member for Wakefield alluded to earlier. I just want to repeat a couple of those, because they are critical statistics: a $127 billion industry with some 320,000 people employed directly in it. You have 30,700 small business—small, medium and even large businesses—around Australia, a $67 billion trade business with, I understand, nearly half of that being exports out of Australia to overseas destinations. That's the magnitude of the industry that we're talking about. But it's important because it's an industry that can and will continue to grow. In fact I see it as one of the areas we could, with a fair degree of confidence, invest in because it has not only grown year after year for many years but the potential for growth is indeed there. And not only can it grow; it, in turn, means that there is potential for additional employment in the industry at a time that it is badly needed in Australia. This can literally happen now. It's not an industry where we have to wait years or decades for it to come on board and reach fruition. It's an industry that already exists and the opportunity for growth is there. When I speak to people within it, which I have done continuously since I've been in this place, I see the opportunities are unlimited.

Just as importantly, it's an industry that will provide employment for people who don't have university degrees but who are, nevertheless, committed workers who develop unique and needed skills and become specialists in what they do. It is an area that we should be focusing on as much as any other because, as I said a moment ago, not everyone wants to or can go to university, for a whole range of different reasons. One young person I spoke to, who had the intelligence and the academic achievements to go to university, simply didn't want to. He wanted to actually work with his hands in an industry where he could do some physical work. If we're going to talk about diversity in this country, diversity shouldn't just be about the national identity of someone or their religion; it should also be about people's characteristics, their personal make-up and what they want to do in life. That is what true diversity is about.

Australia has an opportunity to grow this industry, because Australia's clean, green image is out there, whether we're exporting fresh food or processed food. In both cases, there is a demand for Australian food, as we saw with the demand for infant formula in China. It was a good example of the demand being there when something is made in Australia. Indeed, when we went through the 'made in Australia' inquiry in this country, we heard that that very term—'made in Australia'—is a term that is sellable because it has a value attached to it. When people know that food is grown or processed in Australia, they have confidence in the way it is made.

In my own region, we have many local food producers. I won't go through them all but I want to touch on a couple. Whether it's Coopers Brewery, Bickford's, Ingham's Chicken, Vili's pastries, Haigh's Chocolates or National Foods, they are good examples of industries that have not only grown but employed people in large numbers in the region. And I could go on. I'm pleased to see that Bickford's, in fact, only the other day bought out Vale Ales as part of their growth in the state. I've watched their growth over the years. I have to say it's a terrific example of someone who is on a journey forward with their particular industry sector.

As the member for Wakefield has quite rightly said, GMH is going to close because of the incompetence and the short-sightedness of the Abbott-Turnbull government. That will mean there will be thousands of people unemployed. There will be 950 people who will stop work on Friday, and there will be thousands more in the supporting industries to car making in this country. It's a shame that, after 69 years of car making, the brand name Holden will no longer be made. Those people need work and they need it now. They don't need it in two, three or four years time. The food, beverage and grocery sector is one area where, with a little bit of government support, the growth is waiting to be taken up.

Labor has committed to a $1 billion futures fund to assist manufacturers in this country. That would be a terrific start if we form government. But, again, what is this government doing? It's not doing enough. It's not doing enough to support the growers. It should take note of the importance of this sector within our industries.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to have this opportunity to talk about the food, beverage and grocery industry in our seat of Calare. It's thriving in many different respects—the people it employs, the small business that it supports and the tourism that it brings to our region. It is very important. Indeed, it is the cornerstone of many regional economies in New South Wales and across Australia. Calare is blessed to have some outstanding primary producers growing the food that feeds Australia. We're certainly proud of the work our farmers undertake in producing our beef, lamb, pork, venison, poultry, and our vegetables and grains. Also, there are our orchards. We have a very strong orchard industry in Calare. Their contribution to our local economy is huge.

In addition to our wonderful fresh food, Calare produces some of the best wines in Australia. The cool climate regions across the central west are becoming world famous. From January to June 2017, Australian exports of bottled wine to China grew by 86.1 per cent to $252.4 million in value—just showing how popular Australian wine is. Besides our excellent wines, we have some well-known brands manufactured in our electorate of Calare, including Ferrero Rocher and Nutella—that iconic brand, members will be interested to know, is actually manufactured in Lithgow. Also, Australia's iconic Chiko Rolls are manufactured in Bathurst—the home of Chiko Rolls. Indeed, if you go into the factory you will see the sign that says, 'Welcome to Simplot in Bathurst, home of the Chiko Roll'. I would like to congratulate the manager, Ivan England, for his great work and all that he does for our local economy.

There's great work going on right across the electorate. One person that I need to mention is Herb Smith, who has founded Dreamtime Tuka. Herb is a Wiradjuri man. He has decided that he will take Dreamtime Tuka to the world—and he's doing it. He launched the company in 2013. He employs two staff members in Wellington, but it has already been picked up by Qantas domestically. He's hoping to get Dreamtime Tuka on international flights, as well. Herb is famous for his rainforest plum chocolate slices. They're very popular. That's an example of a great local entrepreneur who is taking our local product to the world.

I also want to mention Ashcroft's Supa IGA. They are a locally owned grocery enterprise. The owners are Ian and Rochelle Ashcroft. They have a program called Let's Make Better. Their team is Nerida Noon, Jessie Blizzard, Kristy Mansell and Bree Selwood. The Ashcrofts opened their first store in Peisley Street in Orange in 1988 and now have a second store in the Orange Summer Centre. They employ more than 200 staff across both stores. So it's an enormous contribution to our local economy.

What makes Ashcroft Supa IGA stand out is their commitment to supporting the central west community. This is evident in the local product that they sell, including Orange's salad and dip brand, Fresh Fodder; Dubbo's Little Big Dairy milk; and MSM Milling's Auzure canola oil, which is produced in Manildra. They also aim to give back to the community through the Let's Make Better charity. It was established in 2016 and they have since raised $80,000 for a number of community organisations. The money is raised at their fundraising days held in store and through their rewards program and donation boxes. They also have a bonus club, which is a loyalty scheme that allows members special prices and discounts and also the choice to have some of their rewards donated to the community group of their choice. Donation boxes are located at the store counters and outside the checkouts, where cash and purchased items are donated.

The charity was recognised earlier this year when the team received the Community Group of the Year Award, with 100 per cent of donations from Let's Make Better going to supporting the community. Some of the organisations which they have helped in Orange include Housing Plus, Riding for the Disabled and the Vinnies food van. They are supporting every aspect of community life in the central west, and we commend them here today.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Wakefield for moving this motion, because it gives me an opportunity to inform the chamber of what happens in Western Sydney when it comes to food production. It's a story that I doubt many people know. In case you didn't know, Western Sydney is Australia's largest manufacturing region in the country. Manufacturing companies generate around $13.5 billion annually. The food and grocery sector in Western Sydney represents 33 per cent of the manufacturing jobs in the region and employs over 100,000 people in Western Sydney. So it's a major part of who we are as a region. It employs many, many people who support their families through working in the food industry. That includes the really big guys, who we all know—huge players in the food manufacturing industry like Arnotts in Huntingwood, which isn't in my electorate; Steggles in Pendle Hill, which is; and Coca-Cola in North Parramatta.

But it's not just the big ones; it's literally thousands of small players across the full range of cultures and cuisines, supported by small independent grocers, that initially service specific communities and grow to be part of our larger community. If I'm after edamame or tamarind paste, I go to the Chinese supermarket down in Church Street. If I'm after pomegranate molasses, I go to the Iranian Aria store. If I'm after dried pomegranate seeds, I go to the Indian supermarket in Victoria Road or down in Harris Park. We also have a growing number of African markets that sell African spices.

Increasingly, these niche products that are sold in this diverse range of independent grocers are made locally. You can go and buy locally made chutneys, including some by a company called Eat Me Chutneys, which makes chutneys from product that would otherwise go to landfill. It is a really interesting company. You can also buy tamarind and coconut chutneys as well as the more well-known ones, such as mango chutney. There's an incredible range of things. I happen to love an Indian street food called idli. It's made with fermented rice and split black gram lentils. I love it; in fact, I make it in my rice cooker in my office. But, not only can you buy the best idli in Sydney in my suburb, you can also buy locally made batter for dosa and idli, and now you can buy the flour, made locally, for idli and dosa from several producers in my electorate as well as in broader Western Sydney. It's a great place to eat food and it's also an incredibly great place to make food. We have a small yoghurt maker in Pendle Hill, and we have two kebab manufacturers in Rydalmere that supply meat for the Western Sydney staple the halal snack pack, which you can get right across my suburb. We produce cured meats, kebab meats and specialty Filipino meats. We've got food producers right across the community, in Clyde, Toongabbie, Granville, North Rocks and Carlingford. And we have at least two brewers that make some incredibly good-quality craft beer. If you want dim sum, there are manufacturers right across, from Granville to Carlingford.

I went to an Afghan home last year for dinner, and they were making a well-known Afghan dish called mantu. Rather than make the dumplings themselves, they went down to the dim sum and bought them there—not the pork ones but the vegetarian ones. So we had Chinese-Afghan food that night, which was very special. There are Middle Eastern sweets like baklava and lady's arms. Polvoron, the Filipino powdered milk candy, is manufactured locally, as is Turkish delight. You can't go past Parramatta for breads, whether they are Lebanese or Afghan breads or paratha. We have an incredible range of manufacturers. We have an increasing number of dairy producers. Yoghurt, labne, feta and paneer—across the different cultures, we make them all.

All these food-manufacturing businesses should be applauded for the huge contribution they make to employment and the economy—and, of course, our dinner! They are a great contributor to food diversity and innovation in diet that comes from these small, niche producers. The possibility in this diversity is extraordinary. The possibility to extend their markets from niche markets to the broader community and to export back into the cultures from which the foods come is extraordinary. The risks are also great, with the rising cost of gas and power. That's why I'm incredibly grateful to Bill Shorten and the member for Wakefield for announcing Labor's $1 billion advanced manufacturing fund, which will help support our most innovative food manufacturers in the years to come.

Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a great opportunity to stand here and talk about food manufacturing and food processing and the growers of food and milk products right throughout the electorate of Murray and northern Victoria. Many of Australia's biggest brands have their home in the electorate of Murray. The township of Echuca has Kagome, the largest processor of tomato in Australia, with cutting-edge science, developing products right across the food industry. Also in Echuca there's Simplot, home of the brands Birds Eye, John West, Leggo's, Edgell, Chiko and Lean Cuisine. Alongside it is Parmalat, and it has brands like Pauls and a range of yoghurts, creams and custards.

Nearby Tatura is a relatively smaller town, but it has some large industry. Unilever is one of the larger ones. Unilever has brands including Continental, Lipton, Flora, Bertolli, Jif, Lux and Pond's. Tatura is also home to Bega Cheese and Tatura Milk, and they manufacture world-class cream, cheeses, milk powders and instant formula. Nearby Shepparton, the home of Goulburn Valley, plays host to some of Australia's most iconic household brands. SPC, for instance, produce the best tins of baked beans and spaghetti you will ever taste as well as a whole range of fruit and tomato products, under the Ardmona, Goulburn Valley and IXL brands. Nearby, Campbell's soup is based out of Shepparton. It has produced soup forever and has also in last 10 or 15 years moved into the stock products that sit in nearly every pantry in Australia.

Murray's dairy processors, in addition to Parmalat and Bega, include some of the biggest in the country. There is Murray Goulburn, with its Devondale, Liddells and Table Cove brands. Fonterra has recently opened a $140 million cheese plant in the town of Stanhope, and its cheese will be sent to the growing Asian markets that have been the huge beneficiaries of the free trade agreements this government has put together. Ozpak wines in Nagambie have also capitalised on the free trade agreements, a great success story. They have increased their sales into China from 100,000 cases to 750,000 cases, with an expected further lift of 25 per cent in the coming year. The CEO at Ozpak is Andrew McPherson, and he attributes this work to the government's opening up of free trade agreements.

These free trade agreements, predominantly with China, Japan and South Korea, have led to infant formula in China doubling in the last year—it's up 99 per cent, an incredible boost to infant formula sales into China. This has happened through a whole raft of important programs, but, with the agricultural competitive white paper, there has been a $30 million investment to break down the technical barriers to trade, assisting more people with those issues. It is also worth looking at some of the other work that the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has done. It is making it easier for people to work out all of the various necessary aspects of trading with our neighbours.

When we talk about the in the Goulburn Valley and the Greater Murray region, one of the things that really strikes me is that the whole food process really is from the paddock right to the supermarket shelf. It's the work that the primary producers, the farmers, are doing. It's their ability to buy and sell water, to trade water, which is why we need water at an affordable price. Then consider the transport industry, and Shepparton, per capita, would certainly be the biggest transport hub in Australia. Then look at the food-processing plants, where 10,000 to 15,000 people in the Goulburn Valley are employed. Then there is the packaging industry, which is vibrant in the region. It is making sure that this produce goes effectively from the paddock through to the supermarket shelf in a professional and large-scale way that leads the nation. I don't think there is any other electorate or region in Australia with such a comprehensive paddock-to-shelf process as the Goulburn Valley.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.