Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the importance of manufacturing for our nation, particularly our regional areas; and

(b) that Australia has suffered nearly a decade of policy-drift ranking last in the OECD when it comes to manufacturing self-sufficiency;

(2) recognises the Government is delivering on its commitment to establish the National Reconstruction Fund, which will:

(a) create secure, well-paid jobs;

(b) diversify Australian industry to drive sustainable growth to create future prosperity;

(c) build our capability to manufacture high-value products for the world; and

(d) drive economic development in our regions and outer suburbs;

(3) acknowledges that the Government is rebuilding Australia's manufacturing capacity to build a stronger and more resilient future; and

(4) further notes that the Government is delivering its plan to:

(a) create a better future for Australians by investing to support and stimulate regional manufacturing; and

(b) implement a National Rail Manufacturing Plan to support the rail industry and create more skilled manufacturing jobs.

I want to talk about why Australia needs to boost its performance in manufacturing and what the Albanese Labor government is doing to achieve that goal. Over the last decade Australia's manufacturing sector has been allowed to deteriorate. This is despite its vital importance to our economy and to the current and future living standards of our community. Three trends illustrate our decline and the challenges facing Australia. Firstly, a 2020 report by the OECD that ranked Australia last among member economies for manufacturing self-sufficiency. Secondly, and more recently, Harvard University's economic complexity index has tracked Australia's decline between the years 2000 and 2020 from ranking 55th to 91st. And, thirdly, between 2013 and May 2022 the number of manufacturing jobs fell by nearly 70,000, despite a growing economy and workforce. Labor wants to build a stronger and more resilient future. That requires a modern, growing and diverse manufacturing industry that delivers secure, high-skill, high-wage jobs. The Albanese government is committed to driving the transformation of Australian industry and reviving our ability to make world-class products in Australia for domestic consumption and for exporting. We are acting to create high-value jobs across the economy and to help Australians learn the skills needed for the jobs of the future.

One example is Labor's National Reconstruction Fund. The $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund is one of Australia's biggest government investments in manufacturing in living memory. This fund is exactly what Australia needs now. It will drive economic development in our regions and outer suburbs and boost our sovereign capability, diversify the nation's economy and help create secure jobs. This is just one Albanese-government policy to rebuild and modernise Australian manufacturing. Others include 180,000 fee-free TAFE and VET places to build our skills base; more affordable child care; grants to stimulate regional manufacturing; a national strategy to create a local battery industry as we move towards more renewable energy; a national rail manufacturing strategy; and 20,000 extra university places, including 936 additional places for the University of Wollongong, to train more teachers, nurses and engineers. These additional places represent an injection of $29 million into our Illawarra economy and community. My own electorate of Cunningham and the broader Illawarra already have a strong manufacturing base, but there's plenty of room to expand and diversify our base.

As I said in my first speech in this place, the Illawarra has the people, workers, resources, public and private sector organisations, schools, TAFEs and universities to be a growing manufacturing resource for the country. Already, the Albanese government has invested in our manufacturing future, including by recognising our role in moving to sustainable, renewable energy supplies. These federal investments include a $10 million energy futures skills centre for the University of Wollongong; a renewable energy training centre for Wollongong TAFE, supported by a $2.5 million investment; and $8.98 million to Hysata to work with Germany's Fraunhofer IPT to develop new facilities to deliver low-cost hydrogen in Port Kembla, a development about which Paul Barrett, the CEO of Hysata, observed:

Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be a global leader in green hydrogen and we are delighted to see the Government backing Australian innovators. Our technology will enhance sovereign manufacturing capabilities, create high skilled jobs and position Australia as a green hydrogen powerhouse …

There is also $800,000 to ATCO Australia, in partnership with Fraunhofer, for a feasibility study into deploying an electrolyser and ammonia facility to make advancements in hydrogen technologies and storage in the Illawarra. These recent initiatives followed Labor's announcement last August that the Illawarra is one of six proposed offshore wind energy regions. This investment in wind energy will underwrite the Illawarra's manufacturing future.

The Illawarra has long been a place of steel, mining and heavy industry. That and our deepwater port, great training and education facilities, skilled workers, large and small businesses and a growing services sector are a perfect base for expanding our manufacturing performance. Combining our strengths with an ambitious and supportive Albanese federal government and, hopefully, an incoming Labor state government in New South Wales means that the Illawarra will be part of the urgent regrowth and expansion of Australia's manufacturing sector.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to respond to the motion put forward by the member for Cunningham, and I would like to use this opportunity to formally correct the record when it comes to those opposite and their track record on manufacturing. It may be too long ago for some of the government to recall, but let's, for a moment, take a trip down memory lane as I remind those opposite of their track record on manufacturing.

Under Labor's manufacturing, the contribution to GDP fell by $7 billion and 6,800 manufacturing businesses closed, and employees all of the country were forced out of jobs as a result. Electricity prices also doubled last time Labor was in government. Sound familiar? Since being appointed as the shadow assistant minister for manufacturing, I have heard from plenty of businesses already that they are very concerned about the prospects for the sector going forward under this government. Australian manufacturers and their workers remember all too well what happened last time this mob was in government.

In contrast, I am incredibly proud of the work of the former coalition government and our efforts to support manufacturing organisations of all shapes and sizes in regional electorates, like mine in Central Queensland, and around the entire country. We know how important the manufacturing sector is for increased employment and growth to the nation's economy. Under the Modern Manufacturing Strategy, the coalition invested more than $2.5 billion to drive growth and innovation across the Australian manufacturing sector, funding more than 200 projects to boost our regions and national sovereign capability.

Under the coalition's modern manufacturing initiative program I was able to secure over $750,000 in funding for two manufacturers, Cirrus Ag and CQ Fibreglass Direct Ops. Cirrus Ag, based in Orange, recognised the potential of being based in the beef capital of Australia and constructed a pallet manufacturing facility in Rockhampton to service the agriculture industry. They accessed the grant to assist in the creation of an efficient granular manufacturing operation, improving the plant's operation. A family owned and operated business, CQ Fibreglass Direct Ops are one of only a few businesses in Queensland able to produce filament wound composite ventilation tubes and fittings. The coalition's modern manufacturing initiative assisted this business to invest in automated filament winding production for their goods. These grants benefit the region, its workers and grow our manufacturing sector and sovereign abilities. This funding makes a real difference to Australian businesses, but unfortunately the Albanese government seems to have no interest in the concept of supporting our regions or the manufacturing sector.

Under the coalition, more than 3,300 additional manufacturing businesses were created and manufacturing business turnover was at its highest level since Labor was last in government in 2010. But, despite the track record of the coalition's manufacturing strategy, Labor thought it best to ignore the facts, ignore the need to support industry and businesses to tackle rising costs, ignore supporting our regional manufacturers and of course ignore addressing workforce shortages in favour of doing their own thing, also known as giving in to their union overlords. If you could be bothered to follow this government's abysmal actions to date, you could be forgiven for thinking that Labor and Prime Minister Albanese are intent on ruining our strong manufacturing sector.

While manufacturers are struggling across the country to deal with rising power prices, almost 12 months on Labor's focus has been to forge ahead with radical industrial relations legislation, legislation which has seen a rise in the number of industrial disputes and give way to thousands of job losses, which will have a devastating impact on the industry. Need I state the obvious? It seems Labor's priorities are all wrong. Instead of easing costs for manufacturers and dealing with rising electricity prices, Labor's focus has been to make it more difficult for manufacturers to hire staff and grow their businesses.

In the 2022 budget, Labor actively stamped out key features of the coalition's successful industry policies and has been promising a National Reconstruction Fund, which we, in here, and manufacturers across the country are yet to see. Labor's only focus was to get rid of successful coalition policy, doing so without even having an alternative ready, leaving our nation's manufacturers in the lurch when they need it most.

Even worse, Labor is playing politics with funds already committed to businesses under the coalition's modern manufacturing initiative. These funds have already been independently assessed by experts and the department, funds which Australian manufacturing businesses are currently waiting for. These are real businesses with real employees that Labor is purposely playing politics with.

It is time this government deliver on their promises and actually stand up for our country's manufacturing sector instead of hanging them out to dry. I'll be doing everything in my power to make sure that the manufacturing industry is heard and that this incompetent government is held to account.

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Labor Party has a great track record on manufacturing, and one of the aspects of this motion that I think resonates most with the Western Australian community is building a stronger and more resilient future through manufacturing. This clearly did not happen in the decade under the last Liberal government. The manufacturing industry is something that the Labor Party fundamentally understands. My father was a metalworker in Kambalda. He inspired me to become an engineer in the industrial and resource sector. This experience taught me that Australians cannot rely on digging up our backyard forever. Because our resources are limited, our economy must become more sophisticated, which brings me to a great example in WA.

The town of Collie is 150 kilometres south of my electorate and has an economy centred around coalmining and coal-fired power generation. But power generation in WA is changing. Renewables and gas are rapidly overtaking coal as the source of power in WA. One in three homes in WA have rooftop solar. The output from base load generation from coal cannot easily be turned up and turned down, as gas generators can and batteries can. There is an end date for coal-fired power generation in WA, and that is 2030. To complement this, there is a transition plan. The town of Collie has been united for over a decade in its transition plan where community, the state government and unions have been working together to reskill and reorientate the local community.

It has been a steady process, one that requires community buy-in and funding and, most importantly, action. This is why the McGowan state Labor government committed over $660 million in funding to the Collie transition plan. To quote Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary Steve McCartney, 'If you're going to take an industry out of a town, you've got to replace it with another industry.' In Collie, WA, state government grants have attracted major investment to the region. Last year we saw a company called International Graphite open a pilot-scale processing plant locally. This is an important component in solar panels. We also saw Magnum Australia receive a grant for a feasibility study for a carbon neutral magnesium refinery right in Collie. Should that project get off the ground, it will create 350 permanent jobs in critical minerals. These are stable, well-paid jobs, jobs that build community and increase resilience, which also creates economic resilience. It's why people from Collie to Kewdale, in my electorate, are excited about the Albanese Labor government's $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.

The pandemic taught us that we need to make more things here and build our resilience. Collie demonstrates that, when government backs manufacturers and their workers, there are huge downstream benefits for the community and the economy. The National Reconstruction Fund will drive economic development across the nation by creating stable jobs, jobs that can insulate our economy against the boom-bust cycles of the resources sector. There are great examples of government support that can build capacity and support new industrial growth. The common user facility for shipbuilding in Henderson was started thanks to funding from the state Labor government. This has helped create infrastructure that's required for shipbuilding in WA at unprecedented levels. We now have the opportunity to build precincts that add value to existing commodities while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In the South West there are massive expansions of rare earth mineral mining and processing, which will play an important role in batteries. Imagine an old coalmining town being at the forefront of decarbonisation which, for example, could be manufacturing batteries or green steel. To quote Daniel Graham, a scaffolding supervisor at the Muja Power Station in Collie, who would like to see green steel manufacturing get off the ground: 'We've got great facilities here. We've got a railway line, our highway is in great shape, and we have the skilled labour to build things.' For my community of Swan, downstream servicing of the resource sector and construction are major employers. As we develop the diversity of our economy in WA, including in the South West, the local economy will also grow in my community. My community is excited about the Albanese government's plan for manufacturing. This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I thank the member for Cunningham for bringing forward this motion.

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker, I've been here since the Button plan and many other plans before it, and I wouldn't be so enthusiastic about Labor's plan for manufacturing in this country, from what I've seen before. I put to you that Australia is running away from its cheap and amazing fossil fuel reserves to run into renewable energy. Do you realise that, with renewable energy coming forth to support our manufacturing industry, the cost of power to those manufacturers has gone through the roof?

All you have to do is stand back and observe exactly what has happened over a long period of time with Australia's manufacturing being virtually shipped offshore to China. In the process of shipping it offshore to China, China's emissions have gone through the roof, although they collapsed a bit around the COVID exercise, when they closed down a lot of their manufacturing. Now we've got major supply chain issues that are affecting Australia directly. You'll be feeling them in every area of your activity. Just go to the shortages in prescription medicines right across this country at the moment and what the TGA are saying about paracetamol. They're going to reduce the number of pills because there are supply chain issues. They are everywhere. This is because we have become a country that is not self-sufficient in manufacturing, because we have closed our coal-fired power stations, to the point where we haven't got that base load of cheap power.

Victoria was built on the Latrobe Valley—I represent the Latrobe Valley—and it was built on the fact that we had that cheap energy that was able to fire up our manufacturing industries. What we have done now is moved the whole lot to another country. You say, 'But we're reducing our emissions.' Yes, but we've moved the manufacturing to another country where emissions are exploding—where they are opening coal-fired power stations by the dozen. We're moving our manufacturing to Vietnam, and we're moving our manufacturing to India.

The best example was the other day in the UK. One of their motor vehicle manufacturers is dropping 800 of their 1,600 employees so they can move their manufacturing to America, because America now has green subsidies. As for renewable energy in this country, if there were no subsidies, there would be no wind farms—not one. There wouldn't be one wind turbine in this country if there were no subsidies. If there had been no subsidies originally, there wouldn't have been the rooftop solar panels that we're talking about in this country. All renewable energy relies on government funding—in other words, your and my money. I look at the bigger picture. There was a very good article in theAustralian today on electric vehicles and the truth around them right across the world, and I'll be speaking to that a bit later on in the House.

We've gone through, time and again and time and again, closures of power stations in the Latrobe Valley where a restructure plan comes in, governments put in billions of dollars each time and it seems to go nowhere. We finally get a manufacturing company that's going to come to the Latrobe Valley, and they're going to rebuild motor vehicles to have electric motors in Australia. We're going to have our own manufacturing plant right there in the Latrobe Valley. It's really exciting. The member that just spoke talked about the town of Collie and a whole lot of ideas which are perhaps good ideas but they are yet to come to fruition. We get this manufacturer down there, they get the subsidies, they get the support from the state government, they get the support from the local council, they get all the offers in the world, and they decide because of logistics it's probably better to do it in Dandenong, not the Latrobe Valley. So Latrobe Valley misses out again on that manufacturing opportunity.

Honourable Member:

An honourable member interjecting—

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For lots of reasons. Companies decide what they're going to do, and they will decide to manufacture offshore if that's their best approach. That's what's happening in this country, in the UK and right across Europe. They are exporting their manufacturing to other countries whose emissions are going through the roof. And our emissions are diminishing, because we are losing all the manufacturing that once made this nation great. It gave opportunities for people to work. It fed families. And we're diminishing that. I don't know why we are kicking ourselves in the face.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

GARLAND () (): When I speak to people in my community about Australia's future, I'm really optimistic, because I'm really ambitious for our country. One of the reasons for this is that, in the Albanese government, we at last have a federal government that cares about good, secure jobs here in Australia and about ensuring we make things here, both for our own sovereign capability and to trade with the world. The unfortunate fact is that we have suffered from a coalition government with a lack of ambition for Australia, and manufacturing has declined. But under the Albanese Labor government manufacturing is back because we're backing manufacturing. When the Liberals came to government, there were 927,000 manufacturing jobs. That was in November 2013. When they left government last year, there were only 855,000 manufacturing jobs. But in December 2022 there were 872,000 manufacturing workers. So we are starting to see, under our government, these good, secure jobs in really key industries coming back.

Despite what we might have heard here this afternoon, those opposite are part of a party that dared automakers to leave the country, so it is really difficult for me to be anything but cynical about their capacity to support Australian manufacturing. They simply can't be trusted. On this side, in government, we want to build a stronger and more resilient future, and that requires a modern, growing and diverse manufacturing industry that delivers secure, high-skill, high-wage jobs. Our government is committed to driving the transformation of Australian industry and reviving our ability to make world-class products in Australia. We're taking action to create high-value jobs across the economy and to help Australians skill up for the jobs of the future.

One of the ways we're doing that is through the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, which is one of Australia's biggest government investments in manufacturing in living memory. It will drive economic development in our regions and outer suburbs, boost our sovereign capability, diversify the nation's economy and help create secure jobs. It will create jobs in communities right across our country, including my community of Chisholm. We want Australians to think globally and make locally. When we as a government spend through the National Reconstruction Fund, there won't be any colour coded spreadsheets in sight. There'll be no sports rorts and no car park rorts. Investment decisions will be free from political interference.

We saw very clearly the impacts of not having local capabilities in manufacturing when borders were shut and supply chains were disrupted during the worst part of the pandemic. We all saw that across our communities. People in my community were shocked by the extent to which the previous government had not just neglected but destroyed manufacturing in this country. It has been made very clear to me that—certainly in my community in Chisholm—there is an expectation that we have a responsible government with sensible strategies to stimulate industry and the economy and the economy so we can grow our wealth, create good, secure jobs for now and the future, and lead the world in advanced manufacturing technology.

Something that has really held us back has been a real lack of investment in and support for skills and training. I was delighted to spend time at the Box Hill Institute with Minister O'Connor and Victorian minister Gayle Tierney to hear from students and staff last week. We're doing a lot in the skills space. Of course, the Prime Minister's very first visit to Victoria after the election was to my electorate of Chisholm, to the magnificent Victorian Tunnelling Centre at the Drummond Street campus of Holmesglen TAFE. We are delivering 180,000 fee-free TAFE and VET places for Australians in 2023. We're delivering on our commitment to build a stronger economy and help give more Australians the skills and training they need today and to harness the jobs and opportunities of the future. We're investing in our greatest resource, our people, honouring our key election commitment to provide fee-free TAFE and vocational education places. Whether it's in the care sector or in manufacturing, we need to deliver these skills at a time of acute skills shortages. Manufacturing is a great industry to get work in, and our government is backing that industry for a better future for all.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call the member for Riverina.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Chesters. You are from Bendigo, one of the homes of the Chiko roll—a great manufacturing and processing area.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The home.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The home. Gee, I'm being verballed by the Deputy Speaker! But it is also the home of the Bushmaster, and what a great Australian manufacturing success story the Bushmaster is. Indeed, how many troops has that saved—not just Australians, but across the world. That is something that we should be very proud of. I was pleased to hear the member for Chisholm be optimistic and enthusiastic, and I hope that is infectious in her side, in the government. I hope it runs through to the Treasury and particularly to the Treasurer, the member for Rankin, because I think all too often he has been guilty of talking down our economy, and we need to talk up what we do here in Australia, certainly when it comes to manufacturing.

I'm interested in the member for Cunningham's private members' motion, where she talks about implementing a national rail manufacturing plan. Well, you've come to the right person here because, as Deputy Prime Minister, I was the one who signed the intergovernmental agreements with the three state ministers to get inland rail up, off the laptop and onto the track. Indeed, the first one was with Jacinta Allan—you would know her well, Deputy Speaker Chesters—and that was a great meeting. I had a good relationship with her, and I still do. She wanted to get on with the job of inland rail; so did Mark Bailey in Queensland and the then minister in New South Wales. We signed those three intergovernmental agreements. As I say, two of them were with Labor states. We got on with the job because we cooperated, and people wanted to see that cooperation.

This motion, and some of what I've heard from those opposite, reminds me a bit of the Yes Minister episode where they were talking about the success of the health system, the episode in which they were praising the best-performing hospital in England. Indeed it was, and it had 500 administrative staff yet no patients. They were saying, 'It's a great hospital; it's so efficient.' Yes, but it had no patients! They were trying to convince the minister that it wasn't such a success story, because it had no people receiving treatment.

What we don't want to see is this Labor government talking up manufacturing, having sent all the manufacturing overseas because of reckless energy policies making it too costly to do business here. That is my great fear—that it will be too costly to make things here in Australia.

I want to of see more Bushmasters built. I want to see more processing plants in agriculture and in all sorts of things. I know the RDA estimates the manufacturing industry in my own electorate of Riverina supports 7,988 jobs. I want to see more jobs! I know there are 80,000 vacancies in regional Australia at the moment. I want to see them filled. Many of those nearly 8,000 jobs are in manufacturing. We grow the world's best food and fibre. We have so much opportunity with the inland rail, with those special activation precincts that have been put in place, particularly by the New South Wales coalition government. I want to see those fully explored, exploited, enhanced and worked upon such that we can have more manufacturing jobs.

The challenge is there, the opportunity is there and the obligation is there for those opposite to make sure that they do everything they can to bring energy costs down. If they don't, it's going to be like the hospital in England which had no patients and was written up as such a success story in the minister's office. We're going to have members opposite talking about the success story of manufacturing: 'It's such a success story, but we've got nobody working in there, because we've sent it all overseas.'

This is a huge thing. Energy is going to play a big part in the future success or otherwise of our manufacturing industry, with businesses such as Flipscreen in Wagga. I know we gave generously as a coalition government. The coalition provided $2.5 billion to create the Modern Manufacturing Strategy. Those opposite need to not only talk that up; they also need to enhance it. Most importantly, they need to bring energy costs down so that we can help manufacturing create opportunities and create more employment, particularly in regional Australia.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It would be easy to fall to an assumption that the beautiful, historic and well-forested electorate of Hasluck is a stranger to manufacturing. Not so. We boast rail manufacturing in Bellevue. The McGowan government has not just carried on the fine Labor tradition of building rail in Perth as part of the METRONET network; it has also brought rail manufacturing back after a 27-year hiatus, with the first cars rolling off production in Hasluck last year. More than 15 WA companies are producing components for these rail cars.

We also boast cutting-edge companies like Connect Source in Midvale, BGC in Midland and Fortescue Future Industries in Hazelmere. Connect Source specialises in electronic control, producing products like module harnesses and driver monitoring systems. BGC are innovating the manufacturing processes for building and construction materials to be a leader in energy efficiency. Fortescue Future Industries is focusing on green hydrogen to support sectors such as shipping, transport and agriculture. Midland itself is a hive of activity, and the Swan Chamber of Commerce gathers the local heads of business regularly, bringing them together to discuss their ideas to take their sectors forward. Their next chamber meeting is on 24 February at Bailey Brewing Co. in Henley Brook. They are one of the biggest manufacturers as a brewer and a value-adding industry in Western Australia.

What do such dynamic businesspeople require from government? One thing: a clear vision. It's needed in order for them to grow, invest and employ more people and have the confidence to do so. Vision, like the first National Battery Strategy, launched by Minister Husic last week. Australia will now make its own lithium batteries. Vision, like setting emissions reduction targets in legislation, as the government did last year, backed up by the legislation introduced by Minister Bowen for the improvement of the safeguard mechanism. Australia will have a safeguard mechanism that does the job and provides a clear lead to industry. Vision, like the request by the government for the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth, which I am a proud member of, to inquire into how Australia can transition to being a green energy superpower. This inquiry has received over 100 submissions from manufacturers and community groups alike.

Vision is required in a busy, moving space where much is yet to be developed or well understood. The stakes are high. Governments can and must play a role in derisking ventures at crucial stages of development by stating clear intentions and setting ambitious targets. If the government sets the vision, businesses will then apply their experience, their innovation and their enterprise to deliver. We are not alone in the world in trying to lead in this space. Indeed, we are starting from behind due to the past decade's wilderness of denial. Countries like Germany, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Chile are setting clear targets and therefore attracting capital investment. The US Inflation Reduction Act is already having an effect on investment flows and boardroom decisions. We have competition.

Nevertheless, I am optimistic, because the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund is one of Australia's biggest government investments in manufacturing in living memory. The National Rail Manufacturing Plan, following the example of Western Australia, will bring jobs and skills back home. To build things in Australia we need to ensure we have workers with the skills necessary to do so. As my learned colleague the member for Parramatta presciently stated in his book Ozonomics back in 2007, we have no alternative but to work smarter and stay ahead of the game. If young Australians aspire to well-paid jobs in secure industries, they must move up the value chain. For government, these lessons are clear: educate, train and empower, and then educate some more.

Our government understands this and has invested in 180,000 free TAFE and VET places to give more Australians the skills and training they need today and to harness the jobs and opportunities of the future. We are investing in TAFE at Midland in my electorate. We are delivering $3.34 million to equip the campus with the appropriate resources to train Australians in wind turbine maintenance. In manufacturing, there are many opportunities present in this time of change, and this government has the vision to carry the nation forward. I commend the motion to the House.

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

It is always a pleasure to rise and speak on matters of economics, business and manufacturing. As the member for Blair, who is in the chamber, would well know, our electorates mirror each other greatly. The member for Hasluck and I serve on the Economics Committee together and I like the idea of a clear vision. However, I disagree with her on the notion that the government is actually providing it. One of the things we know that business needs is cheap, reliable energy. As the member for Riverina quite clearly pointed out in his contribution, that is one thing we're not getting from this government.

I'll say this: it's wonderful that the Labor government, through this motion, has finally decided to recognise the importance of local manufacturing and that it is a vital component of the Australian economy. As with many things with this government, it is important we don't just hear the words but we see the deeds. Last year's budget was the right time to address these spiralling costs, workforce shortages, ongoing supply chain issues and rising energy costs yet they did nothing in that budget to address these issues. Labor's budget failed to properly establish their vision for industry. All it did, really, was redirect funds from programs that the previous government had set up.

This failure to provide substantial support to our manufacturers is in stark contrast to the real measurable actions that the previous coalition government took to support industry in Australia. The coalition provided some $2.5 billion to create the Modern Manufacturing Strategy. This support bolstered our sovereign manufacturing capability and empowered over 200 projects across Australia. In addition, we reduced the small business tax rate to 25 per cent and expanded the instant asset write off, which significantly improved cash flow by allowing businesses to write off assets more quickly—in a cash flow manner rather than depreciated over time.

Additionally, through JobKeeper and other measures, the coalition government helped businesses keep their doors open through COVID. These measures allowed businesses to focus on their core competencies of growing their business, developing services and products for the Australian community and, importantly, bringing manufacturing capacity back on shore that was previously offshore. I know one of the issues businesses now face is a workforce shortage but that is something that will resolve itself over time as we focus on building a skilled workforce.

I have said to the business community that one of things that has lacked in the past 20 or 30 years is the willingness of our business community to engage with our schools and our TAFEs to build an experienced, dedicated, trained workforce. There has been enormous focus on sending our school leavers to university, which is fantastic for those who wish to pursue that career path—terrific. But we also need boilermakers, welders, electricians, carpenters, mechanics, diesel fitters, all of those skilled jobs that we need to develop and maintain a manufacturing industry. We need to ensure that we encourage those at school who have the skills and talent in the area to pursue those career opportunities.

As a result of the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, looking across the electorate of Forde at the great local companies that benefited from that fund, Merino Country in Shailer Park received over $400,000 to adopt new technologies for sewing machine and garment production to support international expansion of their wool clothing business. ATP Science and its new factory of Meadowbrook received over $1 million to build and expand their production line of high-quality protein products. Under our Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority grants, Holmwood Highgate at Loganholme received over $1 million to enhance their manufacturing capability for high-quality liquid storage and transport vessels for aviation and defence industries. Frontline Manufacturing at Meadowbrook received over $700,000 to purchase equipment that allows them to manufacture metal plates for armoured fighting vehicles. These are just some of the examples of the support we provided. (Time expired)