Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

In short, Senator Hume, the answer is opportunity. It is about the opportunity to help Australian businesses—in particular, small and medium businesses—on the world stage. It is all about opportunities for Australian businesses to reinforce their position as part of a global value and supply chain and, of course, opportunities for jobs.

Industry 4.0 is about optimising manufacturing processes through integrated use of digital technologies such as automation and robotics, data exchange, artificial intelligence and 3D printing. The program itself has been designed to ensure that Australian SMEs—small and medium enterprises—can take advantage of those opportunities and are provided with the tools so that they can compete on the global stage. We are committed to ensuring that our small and medium enterprises have every opportunity to ensure that they can compete in a globally competitive environment.