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

It is a pity that the opposition could not understand a word of that, because we know that manufacturing is still under a lot of pressure. The opposition has not got a clue when it comes to what is happening in the Australian economy. Australia lost eight per cent of its manufacturing workforce between the last cyclical peak in February 2008 and May this year. This is a measure of how hard the global crisis has hit this critical sector. And yet even here the government’s stimulus measures, combined with effective partnerships between companies and workers, have ensured that we are travelling much better than many other countries. Compare that to the United States, which lost 13 per cent of its manufacturing workforce in the year to June. The Australian Industry Group’s index on the performance of manufacturing rose to 51.7 points in August, which means that the sector is now growing again. (Time expired)