Let’s talk Aussie made and Aussie manufacturing. The iconic logo of the green and gold kangaroo is a choice we as consumers make time and time again; supporting locals, supporting jobs and supporting industry. Australians take pride in our work, and we recognise Australian Made as a quality product.
Throughout my career I have unfortunately seen firsthand the decline in Australian Made. As a boilermaker, I used to fabricate dragline tubs and revolving frames in a workshop right here in Mackay. Nowadays these items are fabricated in South Korea or China, often to a lower quality, then shipped over here. This is just one example of the many products we now buy back once the value adding has been completed by other countries and their workers.
I get there may be some who point to high wages as the cause for driving manufacturing offshore. However, my vision for Australian manufacturing is to compete with Germany who are known for their high tech, high quality and highly engineered products. Australia has this same opportunity. We have some of the best technology, engineers and tradespeople in the world and match this with targeted marketing; we will not only be competitive but market leading. The Paget industrial area is proof of this with the private sector already taking up many opportunities, imagine how many more there would be if we had government assistance.
The facts around manufacturing are staggering. How is it possible that we are ranked dead last in the OECD when it comes to manufacturing, but we are resource rich in people, minerals and energy? Australian resources and energy exports were forecasted to reach a record $425 billion in 21/22. So essentially, we are the world’s quarry. We send our resources overseas to be processed and then we buy them back as products; products that we could be making here.
The pandemic exposed Australia’s dependency on the global supply chain. We were waiting on products, vital products such as medical supplies, that could have been made on Australian soil. In true Aussie spirt, our existing industries stepped up and adapted to meet this market demand with distilleries making hand sanitizer and fashion labels making PPE. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that Australian Made should be at the forefront of this election.
Labor is prioritising manufacturing this election. We want to make things locally again and create good, secure jobs along the way. Labor will invest $15 billion in a national reconstruction fund. This will drive investment into new industries and technologies. I personally believe Dawson could be an energy superhub. We already have a well-established coal sector but there is much more we can be doing. Our cane farmers have big plans for biofuels, bioplastics and laminated building products. Bowen could also be a massive hydrogen producer, exporter and power generator. All this backed by the industrial might of Mackay will mean more jobs in more industries.
We have a real opportunity here to bring back manufacturing, bring back Aussie Made and develop new industries along the way.
