Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was previously remarking, the Future Made in Australia Bill 2024 and the Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024 also set up the processes for the Treasury to undertake sector assessments as part of our Future Made in Australia laws. Critically, these sector assessments will be done in consultation with the experts. They'll be done in consultation with workforce and with business, with people on the ground. But we want to make sure that the economic dividends of a future made in Australia are genuinely felt in the community and are genuinely felt across the economy. To do that, these bills will establish our community benefit principles to ensure that, when the government is making Future Made in Australia decisions and when companies are benefiting from Future Made in Australia support, there are safe and secure jobs that are well paid and have good conditions too; that these investments contribute to more skilled and inclusive workforces; that this work is done consultatively with local communities impacted by the net zero transition; and, in particular, that the role and perspectives of First Nations communities and traditional owners are respected, listen to and acted upon.

To do that, we are introducing a specific community benefit principle recognising the unique role of First Nations people in our country and in our economy. Through our community benefit principles, we will ensure that the benefits of our investments contribute to stronger domestic industrial capabilities and stronger local supply chains too and, importantly, that companies benefiting from Future Made in Australia support are also transparent and compliant in their tax affairs. When public support is delivered, when we support projects to deliver a future made in Australia, we expect, and the community expects, to see those benefits returned and shared with the community.

These bills, our Future Made in Australia bills, are all upside, so it's difficult to comprehend why those opposite oppose these bills and oppose a future made in Australia. Do they oppose the community benefiting from the net zero transformation? Do they oppose the community benefiting from the good, secure jobs that should come with the net zero transformation? If they don't want a future made in Australia, where do they want it made? Do they want it made offshore instead?

We know that the coalition have form on this issue. They drove the Australian car industry off a cliff. What we don't want to see is that happen again. What we want to see is good, secure Australian jobs created in the communities that need them most, regional communities, so they can benefit from the net zero transformation. That is exactly what these bills are about. That's exactly what the Future Made in Australia is about, yet Peter Dutton's coalition oppose these bills and oppose a future made in Australia.

The evidence to the Economics Committee inquiry into these bills, which I chaired, could not have been clearer. There was so much support from industry for these bills that, again, it is confounding as to why the coalition oppose these bills and oppose a future made in Australia. Industry, miners, workers, unions, investors, environmental groups, academics and many more told us that these bills are needed. They told us that the parliament need to pass these bills, that we need to set up this framework for a future made in Australia. We heard, from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union:

We are in a global race for the jobs of the future … and we've missed the starter's gun. The Future Made in Australia Act is an opportunity that will not only build social licence domestically by giving workers some reassurance that their future is going to be looked after … but also find Australia its natural place in the world.

The ACTU gave evidence to our inquiry, and they told us:

We see it as a really vital piece of economic statecraft that will help Australia lock in decades of new, good jobs …

But it's not just the union movement supporting the Future Made in Australia and supporting the good, secure jobs that it will create; industry is supporting it too. The Australian Industry Group said in their evidence to the committee:

Ai Group also welcomes and strongly supports the degree of rigour that FMIA introduces to industrial policy in Australia.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry told us:

… we support the overall thrust of the bill.

…   …   …

We don't see this as a fundamentally politically controversial bill. It should not be. It should be one where the parliament can do its work.

Beyond Zero Emissions, in their evidence to the inquiry, said that Australia needs this bill and:

Delaying the passage of the bill will harm Australian industry, particularly small to medium enterprises.

…   …   …

They're the ones who will suffer if this bill does not pass.

Again, it is those opposite who want to stand in the way of this bill. It's those opposite who want to create that harm for Australian industry, particularly for small and medium enterprises, according to the evidence that was given to the committee. We heard really interesting evidence from Liontown Resources, an Australian lithium producer, who said:

We support the Future Made in Australia framework and what it is seeking to achieve …

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies also supported the bills, telling the committee:

We are strong supporters of the Future Made in Australia framework …

These bills are important to Australians now. They are important to creating good, secure jobs across our country and in our regions. They are important to Australian communities harnessing the benefit of the net zero transformation that we are currently experiencing and that we are driving as a government.

By ensuring a future made in Australia and establishing this framework, we are taking a proactive step to capitalise on our national, natural advantages. We want to strengthen those advantages, and we will strengthen and modernise our economy and transform ourselves into a clean energy superpower and become an invaluable part of the net zero global supply chain. This policy is suitably ambitious for the times. It meets the moment that we find ourselves in today. In conclusion, through this policy we will be able to make the most of our advantages and transform ourselves to meet the needs of the future as well.