Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Carr, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. I ask: can the minister update the Senate on recent Commonwealth initiatives to support the manufacturing sector? What role does manufacturing play in the wider economy? How does it contribute to the prosperity of other industries? How do the government’s procurement policies create opportunities for the manufacturing sector? What recent steps has the government taken to strengthen these policies? In particular, what progress has been made in implementing the improved Australian Industry Participation National Framework announced by the minister earlier this year?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Marshall for his very thoughtful question. The government recognises the contribution manufacturing makes to Australian jobs, to growth, to exports and to innovation. Manufacturing drives activity right across the economy. Every dollar’s worth of manufacturing production generates $1.30 worth of demand for services and primary products.

One way we are backing Australian manufacturers is by ensuring that they have full, fair and reasonable opportunity to compete for work on major projects and procurements in both the public and private sectors and at home and abroad. In July I announced a $19.1 million package to strengthen Australia’s industry participation framework. That included $8.2 million to appoint specialist supplier advocates. Their job is to champion Australian industry and to improve its ability to compete by extending networks and capabilities.

Today it is my pleasure to announce the appointment of our first supplier advocate, Mr Bruce Griffiths, whose focus will be on our $3 billion rail manufacturing sector. This is a highly skilled, highly technical industry with huge potential. Working with individual companies, unions, industry associations and the government, the supplier advocate will help small and medium sized firms market their products to government buyers. They will be able to support sectoral initiatives to make firms much more competitive and they will be able to coordinate support from the Industry Capability Network, Enterprise Connect, Austrade and other programs. This is all about creating new opportunities for an industry that already employs 8,000 Australians and is ideally placed to have an even bigger— (Time expired)

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I thank the minister for his answer and I ask him a supplementary question: can the minister advise the Senate what industries the government is assisting beyond rail manufacturing? In particular, what other industries will benefit from the supplier advocate program? Does the government support any other advocacy initiatives, including initiatives for specific sectors and initiatives in the international arena? Can the minister inform the Senate what these initiatives have achieved to date, and how they serve the government’s broader competitive objectives for Australian manufacturing?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, the government supports every branch of Australian manufacturing with the potential to provide quality jobs locally and to compete internationally. We have foreshadowed the appointment of supplier advocates for textiles, clothing and footwear and for steel. We have already appointed two automotive envoys as part of the New Car Plan for a Greener Future. Their job is to showcase the capabilities of Australian component makers to global markets and supply chains. Our North American envoy, Steve Bracks, has already led a mission to Detroit and the emerging electrical vehicle hub in California. The Asia envoy, Mr John Conomos has led a delegation to Thailand and advanced Australia’s cause with car makers from China and Japan. Our aim is to give Australian firms the best chance of getting in the game and the best chance of winning. We want to ensure that Australia has jobs for the future. (Time expired)

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I have a further supplementary question. Again I thank the minister for that comprehensive answer and I ask: can the minister explain to the Senate how the manufacturing sector has responded to the global recession? In light of the government’s ongoing commitment to the industry, what are its prospects, both immediate and in the long term? Are there signs of a recovery in local manufacturing as the world begins to move out of recession? What evidence is there to support this? What does this tell us about the staying power of manufacturing and its potential contribution to Australia’s prosperity in the decades ahead?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Marshall for his question. We should never underestimate the resilience of manufacturing. I ask the Liberal Party to take note of that. This is an industry that has shown again and again that it can evolve and reinvent itself in response to new demands and new challenges. After being hit hard by the global recession the sector is expanding again and has been doing so since August. New loan commitments from manufacturing rose dramatically in the September quarter. The supply of credit remains tight, but at least things are moving in the right direction. Yesterday we learnt that Holden would be reintroducing a second shift at the Port Melbourne engine plant to fill the growing export orders. These are timely reminders that manufacturing is here to stay. It is an industry on which Australia can and will build a future. It is a pity the Liberal Party did not understand that.