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

The Future Made in Australia agenda addresses the major structural and strategic challenges that are facing the Australian economy. We've established a national interest framework to support the consideration and the decision-making in relation to public investment that facilitates private sector investment in the national interest. In other words, we're encouraging Australians to work together to create a better future, and the agenda is urgently needed. Australia has a rich history of manufacturing innovation. We need to have a rich future, developing sustainable products, becoming a renewable energy superpower, powering Australia with cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy. We need to trust and encourage the creativity and capacities of Australian industry.

Our $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia innovation fund encourages investment in new industries, new ideas and future growth, and this is happening right now across our country. My electorate of Hasluck now includes the town of Bassendean, a lovely place rich in heritage nestled along the Swan River, about 10 kilometres from the city of Perth. The people of Bassendean believe in economic development, social advancement and sustainable solutions. Bassendean is also home to Hofmann Engineering, one of the most impressive workplaces in Australia. Recently I visited Hofmann Engineering with the Deputy Prime Minister. It was an excellent opportunity for him to see for himself the precision engineering of the gears used in mining and defence, right beside the bogies that are being prepared for WA's newest trains. These gears include the world's biggest, a superbly engineered masterpiece with a diameter of 15 metres. Standing inside it was absolutely a surreal experience. Hofmann's story is the story of our nation. Hofmann Engineering began as a small tool-making shop in a Perth backyard in 1969. Two brothers, immigrants from Germany, reckoned there was a future in high-quality gears. Today, Hofmann Engineering employs over 700 people across Australia, but they also have a presence across five other countries.

What's the secret of their success? Erich Hofmann, the managing director, believes that you can always get better at what you do. He also believes that every worker has good ideas and that every idea deserves to be heard. Research and development are everybody's business. Workers there have been looking to the clean technology market for some time now. The company is already developing wind turbine gears and building better components for the local wind power industry, aided by a $5 million grant from the federal government. The Hofwind project will produce enough green power to supply more than 200,000 homes, producing an additional 900 megawatts.

The enthusiasm and commitment of the workers making this happen is enormously impressive. In a Perth suburb which also boasts a higher percentage of artists than any other in the city, there is world-class engineering literally just walking distance away. That's another kind of service to the community. You can see the energy that stems from the determination to produce work of the highest quality and to compete internationally. Workers at Hofmann Engineering are rightly proud of what they do. Their products are found in the mining, defence, transport, energy and manufacturing industries, as well as in agriculture. They make mills, kilns, wind turbines, Hofnuts, crushers, shovels, portable machine tools, cutting tools, valves, pumps, drills, food packaging, hydraulic excavators and haul trucks. It is quite extraordinary.

Student engineers are offered work experience, site visits, internships and cadetships. In fact, Hofmann Engineering has a principle that 10 per cent of their workforce must be apprentices. Young workers work beside workers from around the world who have vast experience and are from all sorts of backgrounds. They learn from each other. They create the technology of the future in the biggest gear-making operation in the southern hemisphere. They also learn from seminars and industry development programs about the latest overseas technologies and systems. Their working days are learning and discovery days. They learn how to design, manufacture, repair and refurbish mining and industrial equipment. They work on gears for heavy and light industry, processing equipment and tooling, installation analysis and corrections.

For a future made in Australia, Australia needs workers who have this confidence in each other and in making a future for all. We are resource-rich in all sorts of ways, but, to paraphrase Erich Hofmann, Australian workers are the lifeblood of the new economy. The tools and skills will always change, but their ingenuity continues to be vital. That's how we get a future made in Australia.