Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

The benefit of the production tax credits and, I have to say, the incentives offered more broadly in the other Future Made in Australia package measures is that firms that otherwise would invest in production processes in other countries will invest in the Pilbara, in the Kwinana strip, in Central Queensland and in our great industrial regions, like the Hunter Valley, Portland and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, and Northern Tasmania. These are firms that otherwise would have invested in the Middle East, China or other locations that are competing hard for foreign investment in manufacturing capability. That is the first set of advantages: very substantial investments in Australian manufacturing capability that will transform Australia's economy in the future.

Secondly it of course doesn't just have an economic rationale, while that is very important. It's seeking to secure Australia's future comparative advantage, which I know is a view that's not shared by the coalition. So, yes, it's about securing Australia's future comparative advantage but it's also about making sure that Australia is economically resilient and that we're diversifying the products and services that Australia exports to the world in our national interest. So there are a broad range of benefits and an overwhelming national interest imperative. I'm frankly shocked that, when questions go to our security and our future economic resilience, Mr Dutton and Mr Taylor's message to the people of Western Australia and to manufacturing workers and manufacturing firms is: we're not with you.

The Albanese government is backing manufacturing unashamedly, and you and your colleagues are basically sending the message 'don't bother knocking' to international investment and talking Australia's capability down. I'd hate for international investors to be listening to what Senator Smith has got to say about the capabilities of Australians and the competitiveness of Australian industry, but it's a common feature of the coalition talking points—talking Australia down and trying to push investment offshore.