George Campbell (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It might be humorous to you, Senator Brandis. You come from a mining state. I am sure you are happy to survive on those resources. But I actually have to give great credit to the Beattie government because at least they have seen the potential for those resources to run out in the longer term and they have set about strategically positioning Queensland as a base for manufacturing. Their manufacturing has been growing and they have been putting resources into helping small manufacturers to develop their products, to get the research into place, to get the resources to actually do the research and to build their opportunities for growth and innovation. But it is not only happening here; the Irish have done it. The Irish have been smart enough, whilst they have been milking the European Community, to invest two buckets of money—€750 million in each of them—one to ensure that their indigenous companies invest in research facilities and the other to ensure that researchers of the highest quality return to work in those facilities to build the base of their manufacturing sector. Because they know that, at the end of the day, the European stuff, including pharmaceuticals, will run out and that it is a finite position. They have to build the basis of their indigenous companies if in fact they are going to survive in the longer term. Australia has never taken the view much beyond getting bucketloads of iron ore onto the ships and getting it overseas as quickly as possible to make short-term profits— (Time expired)