Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Acting Deputy President. I was mentioning that the families who live in electorates like Makin and Kingston are suffering from out-of-control cost-of-living increases under this government. Families in those electorates are disproportionately affected by the housing affordability crisis. As I mentioned earlier today, 77 per cent of families renting in Kingston are paying more than 30 per cent of their income in housing costs. For those reasons it is very important that we address the future of manufacturing in South Australia, particularly in the electorates around Adelaide.

Unfortunately for Australia, long-term trends show manufacturing declining as a share of the Australian economy. Over the last decade, under the Howard government, the growth of exports and the amount of research and development spending, both of which are critical for sustaining competitiveness, have fallen. Labor is committed to facilitating growth within manufacturing because we know its importance with regard to not only innovation, exports and global integration but also the security of Australian families and the wellbeing of the Australian workforce.

Under the Hawke Labor government the objectives of industry policy changed from a primarily inward focus, concerned with the protection of industries, to an outward focus. I mention that because it illustrates that, despite what those on the other side say, Labor has always had a modern view of how the manufacturing industry should be progressed in this country. That was ably demonstrated under the Hawke Labor government, which took the approach of encouraging Australian industry to become internationally competitive through increasing exports, improving technological innovation, enhancing skills and developing an entrepreneurial culture. Through that innovative, visionary approach the Labor government was able to achieve high rates of growth in manufacturing exports and in research and development. Unfortunately, Australia under the Howard government was not able to sustain that growth.

Under Labor, manufacturing exports grew at a rate of 14.8 per cent per year, but under the Howard government that rate has fallen to just 1.8 per cent per year. Labor, however, are very optimistic that we can improve the rate of manufacturing exports again, as we will show leadership for industry and we have a plan for what needs to be done—unlike the Prime Minister, who has a plan for not much else except what to do in retirement. Labor believe that governments can and should have an impact on the health of Australian industry. Governments can have an impact through action or inaction. After 11 years of inaction at the hands of the current government, Labor are ready to take action to support Australian industry.

Despite the significant decrease in Australian manufacturing, it still accounts for more than one million jobs and $75 billion worth of exports a year. Manufacturing is responsible for almost 39 per cent of business expenditure on research and development, which is the most of any sector. Labor recognises how important this is and has taken an active role in planning for the future of manufacturing in Australia, with the view that manufacturing is a vital driver of innovation. A focus on innovation is essential to the very survival of manufacturing in Australia. That is why Labor says that innovation policy is industry policy.

Currently there are, I understand, some 169 separate Commonwealth and state programs intended to assist Australian industry to become more innovative and competitive. With such fragmentation and duplication it is very difficult for organisations to find what they need and to get help to be more innovative. Manufacturers just want to make things in the best way possible. They do not want to be bogged down in endless paperchases to get government assistance and advice. A national strategy and national leadership are desperately needed, and the Howard government has failed to provide either. Federal Labor, if we have the opportunity, will change this through the introduction of industry innovation councils. They will build partnerships amongst all participants in the supply chain and develop long-term strategic approaches to improving productivity. We will also establish a government department to provide innovation leadership by bringing together the key policy areas of innovation, industry, science and research.

A Labor government will sit down with the states and territories, companies, trade unions and workers to create a coordinated national industry policy that will guide us into the future together. Instead of playing the blame game, which this government is an expert at, Labor will show leadership, accept responsibility and take us forward. Labor has already begun that process, with Labor leader Kevin Rudd hosting a national manufacturing roundtable earlier this week. The roundtable brought together stakeholders and experts critical to the future of Australian manufacturing. Our roundtable included representatives from industry organisations, the labour movement, successful manufacturing businesses, research and innovation agencies, and economic and finance advisers and experts. It was an opportunity for everyone involved in manufacturing to come together to discuss the various challenges to and opportunities for Australian manufacturing in the future. Under the leadership of Mr Rudd and Labor’s shadow ministers, businesses were able to sit at the table with Labor and share fresh ideas to address the challenges so that we can take Australian manufacturing into the future with confidence.

There was agreement at the roundtable that government does play very important roles in a number of areas critical to successful manufacturing, and the foremost for the healthy future of manufacturing in Australia is the provision of affordable, accessible and appropriate education, training and skills development. The Howard government has not put adequate effort into those areas since its election in 1996, more than a decade ago. Australia and its workforce are a lot poorer because of the government’s hopeless, visionless and leaderless attitude to education and skills development. Even four-year-olds have been given a raw deal, with more than one-third of four-year-olds not receiving any pre-primary education at all. According to the OECD’s Education at a glance report, Australia spends just 0.1 per cent of GDP on pre-primary education, which is particularly concerning when our competitor OECD countries spend an average of 0.5 per cent of GDP.

At the other end of the scale, tertiary education institutions have been significantly underfunded. In the Howard government’s first budget they received a huge funding cut of more than $800 million—a budget cut they are still attempting to recover from. It is only now, when the skills crisis has really struck home and industries are pleading for assistance and the electorate has begun to notice the effects of the skills crisis created by this government, that the Howard government has done anything to address the education and training of Australians to the extent we need them to be skilled in order to ensure our manufacturing industry is vibrant and successful in the future.

The government has created the Australian technical colleges—30 of them—in an attempt to deal with the crisis. But those colleges will, unfortunately, be a drop in the ocean in lessening the skills gaps in Australia’s workforce. It is another example of too little too late from this government. Enrolments at the ATCs are still too low. At the ATC in Kingston, in my state, enrolments are still around the 100 mark this year. In 2010 Australia will face a shortage of more than 200,000 skilled workers. At that time the ATCs will produce their first qualified tradespeople. The graduation rate will not decrease the skills shortage by 50 per cent or even 10 per cent because there will only be approximately 10,000 graduates.

Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on those colleges, the government should have provided additional funding to the whole education sector, including the TAFE sector. You have to ask, as many of us here have asked the government many times and as many in the education sector repeatedly ask: why did the government determine to spend millions of dollars on a relatively inefficient system of technical colleges instead of investing in the structures that were already there—the universities and the TAFE colleges across the country that have demonstrated through their long history that they have the ability to educate and train people thoroughly and quickly? Why did we have to set up a parallel system of ATCs?

If we have the privilege of being elected to government, Labor will create an education revolution. It is a centrepiece of our policy going forward into the forthcoming federal election. As part of that, Labor would like to acknowledge the contribution made by the TAFE workforce in developing the knowledge and skills of Australia. In cooperation with unions, industry and state and territory governments, Labor will take a national approach to improving the professional skills and status of TAFE teachers, through the development of their contemporary and industry related skills.

Labor will address the emerging and ongoing skills shortages as a matter of high priority. Australia’s skills base can only be secured through a sustained commitment to providing training opportunities for more Australians. But that task cannot be left to governments alone. We should encourage more businesses to increase their local training programs, rather than continuing this current government’s only solution, which seems to be to increase temporary skilled migration. Labor believes that Australia’s skills needs will only be secured through lasting solutions, such as expanded education and training opportunities, complemented by a balanced skilled migration program with an emphasis on permanent migration.

To enable Australian industry to develop, innovate and grow, industry requires support to undertake high-level training and to expand the qualification base of its workers. We will ensure that training strategies are linked to industry development policy. Recently, the Labor Party, under the hand of Senator Carr, released an excellent background paper entitled Fresh ideas for Australian manufacturing. That paper, which I commend to all senators, examines the importance and challenges of manufacturing in Australia. We released that paper because we truly believe that manufacturing is a key driver of innovation and is crucial in maintaining Australia’s prosperity beyond the current mining and resource boom. That paper outlines a number of new challenges to Australian manufacturing, including concerns about climate change, globalisation, the impact of the mining boom and, as other senators have already mentioned, the rise of China as an economic force, particularly in our region of the world.

Labor’s roundtable discussions earlier this week centred around those issues. Participants discussed ways in which to deal with them creatively, efficiently but, more importantly, urgently. Climate change was of course discussed at length, as it is the most important issue facing today’s society. If we do not take immediate action on slowing down and reversing climate change then every other issue loses significance. Nobody will be making anything if we do not have any water or renewable energy to put into the manufacturing process. We have a responsibility as well to protect our planet for the generations ahead. I am very proud to see that many Australians have recognised that the environment is paramount and overshadows every other major issue that we have facing us. Most Australians are doing—