House debates

Monday, 9 November 2020

Bills

Industry, Science, Energy and Resources Portfolio

6:31 pm

Photo of Karen AndrewsKaren Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to open the debate tonight on the budget measures for the industry, science, energy and resources portfolio. This year, the world has been shaken and changed by COVID-19. Our government has been proactive from the start, and we put investments in industry, science, and technology at the centre of our JobMaker agenda. Jobs are at the heart of this budget. Everything we do is geared towards getting the conditions right to retain and create jobs, build business confidence and turbo charge recovery from the COVID-19 recession.

My fellow portfolio ministers, Minister Pitt and Minister Taylor, will be outlining their crucial elements for job creation through our energy and resources policies. But I'm particularly excited that the 2020-21 budget demonstrates our government's commitment to backing Australian manufacturing as well as the science and research that underpins it. The centrepiece of my portfolio's budget measure is the $1.5 billion modern manufacturing strategy, which will harness our manufacturing capability to boost competitiveness, achieve scale, and build resilience.

The $1.3 billion modern manufacturing initiative will help accelerate market-led investment, encourage collaboration between businesses, researchers and investors, and provide opportunities for innovation, growth and investment in new technologies. It will support projects within six national manufacturing priorities—resources, technologies and critical minerals processing; food and beverage; medical products; recycling and clean energy; defence; and space. By setting clear priority areas and focusing investment based on our strengths, businesses in these sectors will be better able to compete, move up the value chain and create jobs.

We are also contributing to the $50.4 million investment in the budget to help Australia become a world-leading digital economy by 2030. This will help Australian businesses better use digital tools to readjust their operations and processes in a post-COVID economy. Importantly, we're backing science, with an extra $459.2 million to CSIRO to address the impacts of COVID-19.

In the limited time we have for debate, and in the interests of my colleagues having the opportunity to speak, I will reserve further discussion in my closing remarks.

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