Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

Our nation was built on industry: makers, doers, builders and manufacturers. South Australia was the manufacturing capital of this nation. Melbourne was textiles, Sydney was finance and South Australia was the manufacturing heart of this country. Today it remains our sixth largest industry, producing $137 billion of value added output, employing 390,000 people, from big businesses like the smelter in Port Pirie and the steelworks in Whyalla to family operations like Sharman's in Long Plains. We in regional South Australia produce high-value goods using cutting-edge processes. But, in 2026, most manufacturers are no longer with us, and those remaining are fighting to stay alive.

Under this Labor government, we are witnessing a complete disconnect between the Treasury benches and the daily reality facing our regional businesses. Labor has comprehensively lost touch, and Minister Bowen must put Australians first. After wasting $150 million to host a climate conference in another country, he's handing even more taxpayer money to foreign governments trying to make a buck out of green energy projects on our soil. Meanwhile, families and businesses are still waiting for the promise of a $275 reduction in their power bills. Minister, where is it?

When we talk about energy, people only think about the energy in their homes—their air conditioners and the lights in their rooms. Household electricity consumption is less than 10 per cent of this nation's energy consumption; the rest is industry and transport. When the price of energy goes up, everything goes up: the cost of producing a coke can, the cost of your protein in the supermarket or the cost of processing your recycling. If energy is cheap, we create a prosperous nation. In South Australia, we have the highest energy prices in the developed world.

If you want a prosperous and secure Australia, we must unleash our own energy resources to reduce these crippling costs. We need reliable and firm base-load power for our manufacturers to remain competitive. We'll put an end to green energy rent seeking. We will bring down power prices by backing all technologies that can deliver affordable and reliable energy. Labor put all their eggs into the wind and solar basket, and they're proving to be the most unreliable and expensive energy in the developed world. South Australia is the classic example.

You see, Labor governs for big unions and big city projects, leaving regional South Australian businesses out in the cold. Look no further than the impending payday super changes rolling out on 1 July. The government attempts to frame this as a simple administrative update. But for a smaller manufacturer in Port Lincoln or Moonta, it is a sudden, brutal drain on their cash flow. Super is absolutely critical, and all employees are entitled to it. That is not up for debate. But, under this new scheme, money will leave businesses much sooner, fundamentally altering their working capital, at a time when they are being battered with energy costs.

And what specific support measures has government offered to help cash-poor businesses adjust? Absolutely none. If you want to see this government's true priorities, look at the budget. They allocate a paltry amount to help small businesses navigating complex IR disputes, yet they happily hand out millions of dollars of taxpayer money to continue propping up union administration. The compliance burden of tax and reg law falls on small businesses with the same weight as on big businesses. They do not have large HR and legal teams.

The fight to save Australian manufacturing and reclaim our national sovereignty means we must challenge these sorts of policies that leave us vulnerable to foreign imports. Regional industries are not seeking a handout. They just want a level playing field. Without immediate policy intervention to address the energy disparity and the lack of import standards, we risk even more industrial decline. We must protect our domestic production at all costs. Australia needs a national import quality taskforce to stop foreign dumping. We should offer royalty discounts for companies that produce 100 per cent Australian made—Aussies backing Aussies. We must back our manufacturers now. We must secure our energy future. We must reclaim our sovereignty, and build a prosperous, secure nation for the future.

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