Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Industry and Science. Why is it important that Australia is a country that makes things again? Is there any opposition to the government's plans to support manufacturing?

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

I want to thank the member for Boothby for her question. I also think it's important, if I may, to give a shout-out to a manufacturer in her electorate. Boothby is the home to Micro-X, which is a terrific manufacturer that makes portable x-ray equipment. We can all be proud of the fact that they sent some of these machines to Ukraine to help save lives over there. Well done to them! Please pass on our gratitude for their work.

It's the kind of know-how we need to back more and more. From the factory floor to the lab bench to board rooms, Australian ideas matter. Know-how matters. It helps create good jobs, particularly in terms of our manufacturing capability. We are committed, as a government, to revitalising Australia's industrial base. The NRF will invest in our industry capability, it'll address supply chain vulnerabilities, it'll build sovereign capability, and—importantly—it'll help us stand on our own two feet again in a lot of key areas.

There are a lot of great Australian manufacturers with great ideas on how to get things done. What comes from a country that makes things is good, secure work. In the nearly-900,000 jobs in manufacturing, 85 per cent are full-time jobs. This matters to a lot of people.

Unfortunately, Australia ranks dead last in manufacturing self-sufficiency in the OECD, and during the pandemic we learnt firsthand about how vulnerable our supply chains were. We saw how we were under huge pressure, and we couldn't get the products we expected to be able to get. We need to be able to change that. The government's determined to learn the lessons.

Those opposite have never really been there for manufacturing, either in office or now in opposition. A lot of this stuff happened under their watch, when they were in government. You'd think that they would have a unique understanding of how vulnerable those supply chains are, but no. And some of the quotes from those opposite! The Manager of Opposition Business and shadow minister for science described the NRF as saying, 'It's nice to have spending.' What's nice to have? Do you think mRNA vaccines are nice to have, or PPE is nice to have, or RAT tests are nice to have, or transport and defence capability is nice to have? Are well-paid and secure jobs nice to have? Under the vision of those opposite, manufacturing seems to be an optional extra in an economy. It's not really the stuff that they want to be able to fight for or support or invest. That's not what we want to see. I get that the Liberals don't support it. I'm surprised the Nationals don't understand how hard it is for regional businesses to get access to capital to grow, either through agriculture or manufacturing.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Barker will cease interjecting.

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

It is incredible that the Nationals will be led by the Liberals on this. We will not stand for this; we will back manufacturing. Australia should be a country that makes things. (Time expired)