Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

We're debating the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill, and we've had a lot of contributions. This is an important infrastructure fund. Thank goodness that the Greens were able to get the amendments we have and the commitment we have from the government to ensure that this money won't be flowing to any fossil fuel companies or to those that want to destroy our native forests. If we are honest about the type of manufacturing, infrastructure and smart jobs of the future that we need in this country, it won't be with the century-old economies such as the fossil fuel industry or knocking down our native forests and in no way adding to the high value of our manufacturing footprint.

It is essential that we get smarter about how we support manufacturing in this country, what type of manufacturing we need and where we invest. It has to be those highly skilled jobs that value-add to the products and services that we need. We need to be looking at how we ensure that we have our own supply chains that we can rely on at times when—heaven forbid—we are facing another COVID or other global pandemic. If there was anything that the global pandemic taught us, it was that we've gotten lazy and that the last decade, with its lack of funding, disregard and lack of support for the manufacturing industry—let's be honest, the manufacturing industry was disenfranchised and undermined because the government of the day was too busy looking after their fossil fuel mates. That's what was going on. So, rather than investing in smart manufacturing in this country, which are the real jobs for Australians, we saw the government simply putting their hand in the pocket of taxpayers and handing it over to big coal, gas and, let's be honest, even native forest logging. We need to put an end to that.

The Greens' amendment does that. That's fantastic. But what we need to get on with now is how we genuinely support that smart manufacturing around the country, and here is the pitch that we need for South Australia—that is, manufacturing the electric car revolution in this country. I want to see electric cars being built in Adelaide. I want to see a manufacturing community industry in my state that helps to drive the decarbonised economy that we know we desperately need for the future. We are on the brink of climate crisis—it is already here—and we need to get smarter about the things we make.

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