Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Today I am proud to introduce the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Bill 2022. The National Reconstruction Fund is a key commitment of the Albanese Labor government.

Introducing this bill today is a significant step in rebuilding Australia's industrial capability.

Another step in creating secure, well-paying jobs for Australians.

Australia can be a country that makes things again.

We should be a country that makes things again.

We must be a country that makes things again.

If we want to elevate our national economic, environmental and social wellbeing, build our strategic industry capability and drive economic growth, we need to partner with industry and researchers.

The pandemic highlighted the importance of an agile advanced manufacturing capability that can pivot to produce critical products, and meet our needs at a time when we need them most.

The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation will oversee one of the largest investments in our country's history, with $15 billion to invest in independently assessed projects that will support, diversify and transform Australia's industry and economy.

We can help build investor confidence and see the private sector—whether they be institutional investors, private equity or venture capitalists—work with us to turbocharge Australian industry, making sure Australia is a country that makes things now and into the future.

Australian industry wants to know that government recognises their efforts and recognises their contribution. They want to know their government is not only vocal in its support but backing that support in a concrete way, not just with a domestic focus but helping to make the most of opportunities that overseas markets present.

They need access to capital to back well-thought-out, deliverable business plans.

For too long we've seen good ideas leave our shores for lack of supportive capital. Our government wants this fund to help keep talent and businesses on our shores growing this nation.

Today we make clear our commitment to helping Australian industry rebuild, grow and evolve, to capture the strong opportunities for Australia to be a global leader in high-value manufacturing.

The pressure is on every nation to support sectors that are vital to their economy and sovereign capability.

The National Reconstruction Fund will do just that here in Australia.

We should rank among the nations with complex economies, advanced manufacturing and thriving technology exports.

The National Reconstruction Fund will build on our strengths and ensure long-term national resilience, supporting well-paid sustainable jobs of the future.

It will help Australian industry capture new high-value market opportunities in the economy of tomorrow.

Priority areas

The bill allows the government to set priority areas for the corporation to invest.

The seven priority areas we've outlined will be further defined through public consultation, including, of course, with industry, to draw out market gaps and investment opportunities.

Our national science agency, the CSIRO, played a crucial role in helping identify these priority areas, identifying the opportunities that offer the best chance for growth and jobs, including across advanced manufacturing, science and technology.

The priority areas reflect current and emerging industry strengths. They will help uplift our capacity to respond to domestic challenges and global opportunities.

These priority areas will build on and transform our strategic industry capabilities—including, of course, in manufacturing—and strengthen our ability to harness technologies to futureproof our prosperity and national wellbeing.

Government needs to be part of investing in these frontier technologies—sourcing them from overseas is not enough. We should be a maker, not a taker, of technologies and the ideas they sprang from.

The seven priority areas are: value-add in resources; value-add in agriculture, forestry and fishery; transport; medical science; renewables and low-emission technologies; defence capability; and enabling capabilities.

Let me go through them one by one.

We are going to invest in value-add in resources: like high-purity alumina from red mud and bauxite processing or lithium processing for batteries.

Our resources industry is a bedrock of our economic prosperity, and critical minerals will be vital to reaching net zero emissions. Through the National Reconstruction Fund, we want to support the creation of additional value onshore as high-quality inputs for domestic manufacturing and higher-value exports.

Investments that help sectors like food processing, textiles, clothing and footwear manufacturing will be covered through our value-add in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Seriously? Australian science and clever agtech firms are at the forefront of developing novel ways to provide food that is low impact and high in value—both for nutrition and for potential export to our friends and neighbours in Asia.

Transitioning to a net-zero economy will deliver jobs and export income, while delivering sustainability to the precious environments upon which this value is built: our lands, forests and oceans.

Transport: including value chains for cars, trains and shipbuilding. The budget started the work on our commitment for a National Rail Manufacturing Plan. The NRF can assist in our vision to not just develop rail but support manufacturers to ensure they're tapped into rapidly developing global supply chains in electric vehicles and shipbuilding.

Medical science: such as medical devices, medicines and vaccines.

We are already investing in our health industries. With the Victorian government we have established a strategic partnership with Moderna to manufacture mRNA vaccines on our shores.

Through this we will become one of the few countries in the world with end-to-end mRNA manufacturing capability.

Australia has a proud medical manufacturing heritage which, with some notable exceptions, was largely frittered away. It's time to change this.

The NRF will be able to support investment in medical manufacturing not just in vaccines but for medical devices, helping to create more companies to share the success of manufacturers like Cochlear, which makes the bionic ear.

Renewables and low - emission technology: we led the world in solar technology only to see others seize the opportunity by scaling up manufacturing. Investing in solar and wind technologies and developing batteries to store renewable energy. The NRF can accelerate Australia becoming a renewables superpower.

The two other priorities identified are in defence and enabling capabilities.

Working with our international partners we can transform Australian know-how into globally recognised skills and manufacturing in defence industries.

And we can build on our undeniable expertise in areas like quantum technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence.

We will seek to partner with industry and state and territory governments to identify investment opportunities within priority areas. An on-ramp, if you will, of turn-key opportunities for investment to make sure the NRF is well placed for success.

Independent, transparent decision-making by exper ts

The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation will be independent. An independent board, making independent investment decisions.

Independent of political influence.

There will be no commuter car parks built far away from train stations. No sports rorts and colour coded spreadsheets like we saw under the previous government.

The Australian taxpayer rightly expects their tax dollars to be treated respectfully, guided by the national interest not political interest. And that's what they'll get with the NRF.

The board—appointed jointly by the Minister for Industry and Science and the Minister for Finance—will be made up of industry and investment figures, experienced in job creation, finance, governance and business.

The independent board will be empowered to manage its investment portfolio. Decision-making will be based on the merits of a project, free from political influence.

Giving industry the tools to innovate and adopt new technologies

The bill provides the corporation access to $15 billion over the next seven years for its investments. And we aim for returns from those investments to be reinvested in the corporation, ensuring its sustainability in the long term.

The bill gives the corporation broad investment powers, allowing it to invest across business types and industries, using debt, guarantees and equity to ensure that its investments are suited to industry needs.

It will allow for significant, large-scale investments, facilitating transformative projects that can help industry innovate and adopt new and complex technologies.

To ensure the projects benefit Australia, the bill directs the corporation to invest in projects that are solely or mainly Australian based.

Helping to keep industries onshore, opening up opportunities here, now and into the future.

Australian ideas are powerful. When our continent can have heatwaves in one corner and floods in another, it takes an ability to think on our feet to not just to survive here but innovate—something First Nations people have done for millennia.

Great Australian ideas create great firms and great jobs. Our ideas are worth backing.

We must inspire investment in our companies, in our industries, in our people.

The introduction of this bill is another step in delivering an important election commitment which will propel Australia towards a strong, modern and diverse economy.

The NRF is about growing our ability to make world-class products.

It's about creating secure well-paid jobs.

It's about building on our national strengths.

It's about diversifying our industrial base.

It's about developing our sovereign capability.

It's about growing our regional economies.

We want to work together—with all sides of politics, all parts of our community—to deliver high-value, high returns and high tech.

An economy of high wages, high productivity and sustainable growth.

We might not always agree in this place about the journey, but we very often agree on the destination. Today, that destination is a faith in Australia and its people and it is a strongly-held belief that our industry is capable of so much more, with the support of government, its parliament and its people.

Debate adjourned.