Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. With regard to Pacific Brands, I might begin by reiterating that the government’s primary concern is for the 1,850 workers whose jobs are on the line. Our concern is also for the 4,000 or more workers that the company will continue to employ after the closures of a number of plants that have been announced. Our concern is for the 40,000 workers who continue to rely on the textiles, clothing and footwear industry. The government are convinced that these industries do have a future in Australia and that that future is based on innovation.

We cannot compete with low-wage countries producing low-wage goods and we cannot compete on costs alone. We can compete on originality, on quality, on timeliness and on safety. We can compete on these things when you invest in innovation. Advanced countries like Australia have maintained a significant presence in the TCF industries by focusing on high-wage areas such as technical textiles and fashion. This is the direction Australia needs to be heading in, and Pacific Brands is an important player but it is not the whole industry. Australia has and will continue to have significant TCF capacities not only in manufacturing but in design, supply chain management and research and development. We need to harness those capacities to build an innovative and sustainable TCF sector, and we need to focus on new technologies and niche markets.

We need to focus on management skills. Many have suggested that Pacific Brands is in fact the victim of poor management. It is worth noting that the company chairman (Time expired)