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

My question is to the talented Minister for Industry and Science. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to rebuild Australia's manufacturing capability after a decade of neglect?

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

HUSIC (—) (): I'm happy to inform the member for McEwen and the whole House that we'll be taking a big step forward today in strengthening Australian manufacturing when we introduce the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill, a key election commitment, because we believe in the value of Australian ideas and the value of know-how to get things done. These are great ideas leading to great firms and great job in our cities and our regions. It's a bedrock belief of the government that Australia must be a country that makes things. Modern economies need to possess sharp manufacturing capabilities value-adding critical technology across medicine and across energy. The other thing is that we have the ability to get this done. I've seen in businesses—and we saw this through the pandemic—their ability to pivot, to scale up manufacturing when needed. I'm reminded of a visit to the member for Lilley's electorate and seeing AAA Engineering. I was visiting that electorate because, as you all know, I love Queensland—you may have heard that! AAA Engineering normally work on supercars, and they delivered an engineering result that saw them manufacturer ventilators when we needed them most. Well done to them.

We need to tap into that spirit for the long-term good, but we have a big task ahead of us because we are dead last on the OECD list of countries in their manufacturing capabilities. It's time to get up off the mat, and the $15 billion we will provide through the National Reconstruction Fund will help. It will be the greatest investment in industrial and manufacturing capability in living memory—a huge thing. The bill will set out the framework for the fund, an independent board guided by an investment mandate targeting key priority areas. Again, I need to emphasise for the House, this will be an independent board making decisions, not a colour-coded spreadsheet in sight. Decisions will be made on the basis of the national interest, not political interest.

We won't be standing at this dispatch box, daring large manufacturers to leave the country. Instead, we'll be backing them to grow jobs, and that's what this is all about. We need to grow jobs and recognise, as most of the members in this place realise in their regions, manufacturing is a big job creator. It creates full-time, stable work. We need to do more of that. The National Reconstruction Fund is the platform for those manufacturers to think globally, build locally, so we will get this done.