Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator O'Neill, who I know is a very strong supporter of the manufacturing industry, particularly in her state of New South Wales. A key commitment that the Albanese government made at the election was to rebuild Australian manufacturing after 10 years of neglect and turning our back on manufacturing under the former government. The Albanese government committed to build a future made in Australia, and the National Reconstruction Fund is a key part of doing that. The National Reconstruction Fund will provide finance to co-invest with industry to drive investments to grow advanced manufacturing and support businesses to innovate and create more good blue-collar jobs right across our country. The National Reconstruction Fund will also leverage Australia's natural and competitive strengths and shore up our supply chains.

We saw through the pandemic how our supply chains were under huge pressure. Products we expected were hard to get. Across a range of products our supermarkets and pharmacies couldn't get us what we needed.