From the Ministry

Building optimism for the future One of the great things about Australians is that we are natural optimists. In difficult times we expect it to get better. This pandemic has been a long trial but there is a strong sense of a pent-up national energy just waiting to be released.

This is particularly so in the private sector, which is bursting to get back to business. And it is the private sector that will lead our economic recovery. Our role as a Government is to create the conditions in which businesses can thrive and create the jobs we need now and for the future. As Industry Minister, I am delighted that the $1.5bn Modern Manufacturing Strategy launched in October will play a key part in our economic recovery and beyond. It is at the heart of our JobMaker plan, helping create jobs for Australians. We are working to create a stable and competitive business environment which will spur growth in the economy. Across Government we are working to get the economic conditions right for all businesses, by lowering energy costs, building our skills pipeline, and introducing new tax incentives, for example. Building on that solid base, the Modern Manufacturing Strategy will ensure that government, industry and the research community are all working together to advance the opportunities for our manufacturers. Our aim is to build scale in manufacturing through playing to our strengths, strategically investing, and boosting the role of science and technology in industry. By building scale we will open up opportunities to embrace new markets and take more of our quality products to the world. We need our small businesses to become medium enterprises and our medium enterprises to grow to larger businesses that are competitive and resilient. The centrepiece of the Strategy is the $1.3bn Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which will support projects within six priority areas: • Resources technology and critical minerals processing • Food and beverage • Medical products • Recycling and clean energy • Defence • Space We have made these choices because, as I have long said, we cannot be all things to all people. It is critical that we concentrate on Australia’s established competitive advantages and emerging areas of strategic priority. Having identified these priorities, we are already working with industry to develop roadmaps and identify opportunities for growth. These roadmaps will set clear goals and performance indicators over the next two, five and ten years so we can track our progress and guide our actions and investments. A key driver in our success is making science and technology work for industry to help businesses grow and create jobs. We are also providing nearly $460m in additional funding for the CSIRO, which plays a vitally important role helping businesses to translate their ideas into new products and services. The extra injection of funding in the 2020-21 Budget takes the Government’s total investment in CSIRO to $3.8bn over the next four years. The funding addresses the impacts of COVID-19 on the CSIRO’s commercial activities to ensure it can continue its essential scientific research. Our Strategy also provides a further $52.8m investment for a second round of the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund (MMF). Earlier this year the Government invested $48.3m in a first round of the MMF to support about 200 projects worth $215m, which are expected to create 2,600 jobs. The second round of the MMF will open by the end of the year and is expected to support about 150 more businesses in the National Manufacturing Priority areas. This new funding will build the confidence businesses need coming out of COVID-19 and continue to help them harness technologies, upgrade equipment, create jobs and upskill their workforce to remain competitive. The COVID-19 crisis has also highlighted the need to better understand and address our supply chain issues and opportunities. We have worked closely with industry to help provide vital products and supplies at short notice, such as masks and ventilators, and industry has risen magnificently to the challenge. But for ongoing certainty of production and for protecting supplies in areas of national interest, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), we need to guard against shortages and vulnerabilities. Our Strategy’s $107m Supply Chain Resilience Initiative will work with industries to identify supply chain gaps and develop Sovereign Capability Plans to ensure we are prepared for future shocks. We will also be working very closely with like-minded nations to ensure reliable supply chains for ourselves and also creating opportunities for our manufacturers to feed into the supply chains of these nations. As a Government we understand it is industry, not governments, that create jobs. That’s why we have repurposed Innovation and Science Australia to Industry Innovation and Science Australia (IISA). The revamped organisation will play a crucial advisory role in implementing the Modern Manufacturing Strategy and overseeing the development of the industry-led road maps. In October we announced five new appointments to the board of IISA. DuluxGroup CEO Patrick Houlihan and Woodside Energy’s Lauren Stafford have both been appointed for three years. Fintech and consumer rights expert Scott Farrell, space technology entrepreneur Dr Alex Grant and internationally recognised agtech innovator Sarah Nolet have been appointed for two years. These appointments will ensure the Board has the necessary skills, expertise, and connections to the Australian business community that are needed to help advance Australian manufacturing. Our Strategy builds on the work across Government to improve economic conditions for business, including streamlining regulation, cutting taxes and red tape. We’ve improved the instant asset tax write-off and committed $2bn to the R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI) scheme. The Government is strategically investing in areas of manufacturing where we know we have an edge and that can deliver the jobs we need. We are improving collaboration and commercialisation, and supporting the development of highly skilled workforces. Our Strategy will deliver for the nation and rebuild the economic growth and jobs we need. Australians are right. We have every reason to be optimistic about the future.