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

We kept the economy strong and jobs secure through the worst economic crisis in living memory. Manufacturing is a critical part of that story. It employs a million Australians today and has done so for the better part of 50 years. Manufacturing employment will always fluctuate, as we saw during the economic crisis, and we have lost over 5,000 jobs in the last year. But throughout the decades of change it has always emerged much more robust, much more resilient and more productive. Manufacturing survived the rise of China, it has survived the rise of India and I am absolutely optimistic it will survive the new pressures of the resources boom.

Our approach is to work with firms to build solutions and not just whinge about problems. We are about building an innova­tion agenda. We are about transforming every firm and every factory for the 21st century. We are about helping them build the capabilities to compete in a global market. We know that our programs work and we are ramping them up today. There is our Enterprise Connect, for instance; Com­mercialisation Australia; and the new supplier advocates.

I frankly welcome Mr Abbott's interest—perhaps it is a new-found interest—in manufacturing because it certainly was not evident when he was the minister for industrial relations. Back then his only answer to manufacturing was to make it easier to sack people. (Time expired)