From the Union

A National Reconstruction Fund is what Australia needs

The election of Anthony Albanese’s Labor government is the first time in a long time that a new government has come to power with a positive vision for the future of our industry.

After a decade of a Liberal/National government, whose attitude to the manufacturing industry wavered from neglect and disdain, to active antagonism, we now have a new opportunity to get our industry growing. As an industry, we will need to work together to ensure that the promise of this new government becomes a reality. At the very least we’ve got a partner in government who have committed to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to the importance of making things in Australia. The headline project is obviously the $15.2bn National Reconstruction Fund, which hopes to attract an additional $30bn of investment in domestic manufacturing across a range of sectors. This is exactly the sort of investment that our industry will need to modernise and secure our place as global leaders in new and emerging technologies. For too long, our nation has not taken full advantage of our access to vital natural resources, easy access to cheap energy and a highly skilled workforce. These are three crucial ingredients for an advanced manufacturing industry that many other nations can only dream of. But despite these advantages, we’ve spent decades underinvesting in our domestic industry, seemingly content to dig up and sell resources, watching jobs and investment leave our shores. It is worth a quick review of where those investments will be made and how they are likely to impact our industry. After the recent shocks to our domestic electricity market – requiring the government to step in and run it themselves – the $3bn investment in our electricity network is probably the best place to start. If we want to be a manufacturing powerhouse in the years to come, it will need to be driven by low-cost, lowemissions energy. Luckily, we’ve got better access to vast pools of renewable energy than any of our competitors – we just need to get it built. The Powering Australia policy will help to unlock billions in renewable energy investments to deliver an electricity network that will be more resilient, produce fewer emissions and drive lower prices. That will help to establish the first key plank for a modern manufacturing industry. Next is the $5bn that has already been earmarked for the key industry sectors which will be the core of our manufacturing sector for decades to come, including: • $1.5bn for medical manufacturing – already a big strength in Australia, but something which we can (and should) broaden and deepen, particularly coming out of the pandemic; • $1bn for resources so we can move up the value chain and develop domestic industries in green steel and aluminium; • $1bn for critical technologies like AI, robotics and more to ensure that we’ve got a presence in this growing part of the manufacturing industry; • $1bn to invest in advanced manufacturing processes to help to secure existing jobs and businesses by helping them to update their capital; • $500m for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and fibre so that we’re making the most of these primary resources and adding value here in Australia before we export to the world. But all this money will only deliver a good outcome if it results in more good quality jobs for the highly skilled workers that are the backbone of our industry. That means that manufacturing workers will need to receive quality training, higher wages and secure work that they deserve as important partners in the future success of our industry. That is why I am very pleased to see that the new government has established plans to improve all three of these important issues for workers not just in manufacturing, but across the economy. I am looking forward to seeing how Jobs and Skills Australia, together with the Australian Skills Guarantee, will improve the skills of our existing workforce and deliver a pipeline of skilled apprentices needed for a growing industry. The AMWU has fought for a long time to ensure that all workers doing the same work, at the same workplace, are paid the same wage. The new government’s Same Job, Same Pay guarantee will end the abuse of labour hire and contractors and improve the job security of all Australian workers, which is long overdue. So, while there is a moment of opportunity for our industry, with a new government bringing a fresh approach to industry support, its success is by no means assured. We must work together to get our industry growing again to deliver the quality, secure, high-skill, high-wage jobs that have been a feature of our industry in Australia.

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