Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think that it is also the case, Senator, that there were tens of thousands of people employed as typists and blacksmiths in the old days and those positions are no longer in our workforce. The reality is that the economy changes. Jobs grow in some sectors and are made redundant in others by technology or other factors. But it is a serious concern because manufacturing is so central to economic wellbeing. That is why the Prime Minister created the Manufacturing Task Force, to see in a bipartisan way with unions and employers how we could protect and grow the sector. They handed down their report this morning and I refer the senator to that report. It is a report that attempts to look at the future of manufacturing and how we can set out our plans for supporting it, and I think it will be an important basis for future government policy as we respond to this very important report.