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

I thank the senator for his question. I trust that the Senate is aware that, following the last election, I was given responsibility for food manufacturing. This is an area of responsibility that had under previous administrative arrangements been within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. As a consequence of those changes, I have set about the development of a consultative mechanism to ensure that we get all the relevant players together to discuss the impediments and opportunities that exist for food manufacturing in Australia.

This is particularly important given that food manufacturing is our largest manufacturing sector. As a matter of urgency, a great deal more work needs to be done to encourage that sector to be more innovative and to take up more opportunities so we can produce better processes, increase investment, increase employment and increase exports.

The Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio already provides substantial support for the food industry—including through policy development, through programs, through service delivery and through agencies such as the CSIRO—but a great deal more could be done to ensure that we provide the necessary support, through Enterprise Connect and other networks, to ensure the food-processing industry strategy group can focus attention on the industry assisting itself— (Time expired)