Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

What I would like to do is advise the Senate that IBM and the University of Ballarat have announced today, 27 August, that they will be constructing a new $10.8 million IT services centre at the University of Ballarat in connection with the Victorian government and the City of Ballarat. The centre will lead to the creation of a further 300 jobs and is expected to contribute an additional $61 million to the region’s economy.

The state of manufacturing as a whole is an issue of deep concern to this government. This of course stands in sharp contrast to the position that was taken by the previous government. The previous government, if we take for instance the automotive industry, took the view that the arrangements entered into in 2002 should stand and should not be adjusted in the light of the dramatic change in circumstances arising as a consequence of the increases in interest rates, increases in the price of petrol and the dramatic changes in the currency. Those three factors led to a fundamental change in the circumstances of the Australian automotive industry and its ability to deal with the competitive pressures facing this country. I say the automotive industry because we all understand—I trust we understand—just how important the automotive industry is strategically to Australian manufacturing.

There have been a number of claims made about the state of employment in manufacturing. I am deeply concerned at the number of job losses that have occurred in recent times as a result of the changes that have occurred within the global competitive environment, but I think it also should be appreciated that since this government came to office, in the period from November 2007 through to May this year—appreciating that in terms of the ABS figures the samples often jump around considerably—we have had a situation where there have been an additional 23,000 jobs created. There have been an additional 23,000 jobs in manufacturing across Australia in the period that this government has been in office. So, while there are circumstances that are of deep concern at the moment, we ought to understand the nature—