Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am a passionate believer in Australia's manufacturing industry, and, hence, I am a passionate supporter of the Scott Morrison government's advanced manufacturing strategy. If the last year has taught us anything it is that we must make more things here in Australia. As a sovereign country we need to be less dependent upon overseas supply chains. We need to add value to our vast natural resources. We need to unleash that great Australian entrepreneurial spirit, which has been at the forefront of some of the greatest inventions the world has ever seen.

The government's modern manufacturing strategy has four pillars: first, getting the economic conditions right for business; second, making science and technology work for industry; third, focusing on areas of advantage; and, fourth, building national resilience for a strong economy. Recently I had the opportunity to see how the government's manufacturing strategy has translated to assisting manufacturing businesses on the ground to grow and to prosper.

I visited two great Queensland businesses with Minister Karen Andrews, the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology. Minister Andrews is a great Queenslander and she is doing great work in overseeing the government's advanced manufacturing policy. The first business we visited was Trumps food and product processors. Trumps are wholesalers, distributors and processors of nuts, dried fruits and more to the retail food service and manufacturing industries. They are a third-generation Queensland-owned business—three generations! They were established in 1939 by Dr John Leslie Dart, who was actually an eye specialist in Brisbane. Dr Dart's son Mr John P Dart took over the business and continued to grow it. Mr John P Dart's son Declan Dart is now the managing director. Three generations in one family building a great Queensland manufacturing business. It was a privilege to visit them.

Trumps food and product processors received assistance from the Morrison government to invest in an autocoding software system and automatic labelling hardware, which has increased their efficiency, increased their production and increased their employment. It's a win, win, win all round. I was so impressed with the facility and the passion of the staff. You can tell a business has a great culture the moment you step into it. There is no better example, in the case of Trumps, than when the Trumps operation at Rocklea was inundated by the Brisbane flood in January 2011. However, the company's employees, suppliers and customers rallied around them and helped the business get back in an extraordinarily short period of time. I should also note that Mr Declan Dart's father, Mr John P Dart—the second generation in this extraordinary tale; this great Queensland success story—has recently passed away. I say to the Dart family: what a legacy Mr John P Dart has left—a legacy which I'm sure will continue to go from strength to strength.

The second company I was delighted to visit with Minister Andrews was a company called the Evolve Group. The managing director of that company is Mr Ty Hermans. The Evolve Group has helped develop, manufacture and bring to market inventions with a specialty in plastics and composites. They recently received funds from the federal government's Innovation Connections program, which promotes collaboration between small and medium sized Australian businesses in the research sector to develop new ideas with commercial potential. Mr Hermans has been undertaking some absolutely inspiring work in this space. During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, he actually managed to source equipment from China, which enabled face masks to be produced, and they're being produced today—Minister Andrews and I saw them being produced—in the facility at Crestmead, south of Brisbane.

I was so impressed with the vision, the Aussie know-how, the technology and, again, the culture of that organisation. I was so impressed with their industrial designers, where every single millimetre can make such a difference to the commerciality of a product. I was so impressed by their re-use of plastics. I picked up a pool filter that had been manufactured out of recycled plastic Coke bottles. It is absolutely amazing stuff. This isn't recycling; it's upcycling, and it's being done here in Australia. I say to Mr Ty Hermans and his team: government can do only so much; it is the entrepreneurial spirit of Mr Hermans and his team that is driving the success of this company, with a little bit of support from the Scott Morrison government.

Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate another great Queensland company, Ellume. Today they announced that they've been awarded a $300 million contract from the US Department of Defense to provide 8.5 million at-home COVID test kits to the United States. Just think about that: a company in my home state of Queensland, in Brisbane, has just been awarded a $300 million contract to manufacture take-home COVID-19 tests and export them to the United States. And that's happening here, in Australia. It's absolutely inspiring. Ellume is at the forefront of creating digitally connected diagnostic devices, allowing individuals to self-test for diseases such as the flu. I pay tribute to Dr Sean Parsons, the company's managing director, and to that great group of original investors and shareholders who had faith in Dr Sean Parsons and his vision and who invested in that company. I also pay tribute to all the staff who've been part of that journey. When I visited the business in 2019 I immediately got a sense of the culture of teamwork. The employees really enjoy working for that company; you could see it. They were part of the journey, and that has all the hallmarks of a successful organisation.

So, there we have it: three great Australian manufacturing companies at the forefront of their respective industries today. And there are some common themes there: visionary entrepreneurial leadership, a culture of great teamwork, great Aussie know-how, and support from the Scott Morrison government. With those things, absolutely nothing's going to stop the growth of the Australian manufacturing sector, and that's got to be a wonderful thing—a terrific thing—for my home state of Queensland and for our beautiful country.