Sydney NSW
E&OE
Check against delivery
I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.
I pay my respects to Elders both past and present and I extend that respect to any First Nations people here today.
Good morning and thank you to Weld Australia for hosting this important gathering.
It is a pleasure to join so many leaders from across industry, government, trade unions, research and development, and the investment community - each of you playing a vital role in shaping the future of Australian manufacturing.
The Hon Anoulack Chanthivong MP, Professor Cori Stewart, Dan McKinna (Prince Engineering), David Shankey, Geoff Crittenden, Professor Madeleine du Toit, (WELD Australia Chair) Richard Denniss (The Australian Institute), and Rod Henderson (Ampcontrol).
When I addressed this Summit last year, I was the recently sworn in Assistant Minister for a Future Made in Australia.
While my title has changed since last year’s Summit, our Government’s ambition and objectives are the same – a revitalised Australian manufacturing sector in a more productive, more resilient, more diversified economy.
I don’t need to tell this room that manufacturing is at the core of Australian innovation and productivity growth.
At a practical level, those of us who have been in the sector know the impact of large, particularly globally facing manufacturing firms, in productivity uplift. In Australia, these firms have historically been found in the automotive sector, defence manufacturing, steel production, and medical technology sector.
A recent McKinsey study looks at the pivotal impact of a few highly productive companies on national productivity growth.
The study found that these firms drive economic progress not through gradual efficiency improvements, but through bold strategic moves and implementing innovation.
These firms are at the forefront of productivity enhancements, which are then followed by firms in the rest of the economy.
There are many great examples of Australian manufacturers who have had a disproportionate effect on local innovation, R&D, management capacity, manufacturing techniques and production approaches across the broader economy.
The success of these firms has been fundamental to productivity and investment.
It is no coincidence that Australia’s productivity performance has weakened in parallel with the decline of our manufacturing sector in recent decades.
That is why the Albanese Government is investing heavily in reindustrialising our economy and our capacity to make more things here, to grow and invest, as part of our Future Made in Australia plan.
This Government positions manufacturing as a driving force behind Australia’s productivity growth. Indeed, we know the reversal of the productivity slowdown depends in part on a revived manufacturing sector.
This Summit comes at a pivotal moment. The Government is clear-eyed about the risks and opportunities, and the scale of the challenge before all of us.
It is an Australian challenge – not for government alone – for all of us, in the national interest, working together in the fight for Australian manufacturing.
Investment, while picking up in recent years, has been subdued over what has been a difficult period due to the pandemic, high interest rates and a challenging international environment.
This is a time of great global uncertainty.
A deteriorating global security environment, intensifying geopolitical competition in our region and a breakdown of global trade norms that Australian businesses and workers rely on.
International competition is intensifying to attract and grow the industries essential for Australia’s and our international partners’ low-carbon future.
Whether it is steel, aluminium, or advanced manufactured goods, nations are prioritising their strategic interests – that demands a step up in national ambition and an active government working with industry to shape our national future.
In all of this volatility, there are enormous economic opportunities.
My colleagues and I are determined to build a more resilient and more productive economy so that Australians can seize these opportunities.
The Albanese Government’s Future Made in Australia agenda is not just a slogan, it is a national strategy and plan of action to rebuild Australia’s capability, drive innovation, and ensure that Australian workers and businesses share in the benefits of the global renewable energy transition.
And that Australia is stronger, more economically diverse and more resilient.
As you know, the Government is investing $22.7 billion over the coming decade to transform our industrial base and deliver our future economic advantage.
In the 2025-26 Budget, the Albanese Government committed a further $3 billion to support green metals production, including $1 billion in a new Green Iron Investment Fund.
Australia stands among the world’s leading exporters of iron ore. Yet, despite our proximity to major markets and the significant industrial capacity in steel-producing regions like Newcastle, Wollongong, and Whyalla, our share of global steel production remains modest.
The message is clear: we must broaden the scope of our trade, upgrade our position in global value chains, and focus on producing higher-value goods.
We must reorient the economy toward higher productivity and more strategically important industry.
Ambitious policy is needed to build a more resilient, capable, and secure economy.
Without this ambition we risk being more vulnerable to shocks in the global system.
That is why taking action now is always better than more costly action later.
Or worse, not being able to act at all, because it is too late.
This is what economic resilience means.
It means backing economically and strategically important industry, such as through our intervention in Whyalla, and actively attracting investment into Australian iron and steelmaking to secure our manufacturing future.
Think about the scale of that opportunity and the national interest that it engages:
- Billions of dollars of potential investment in good jobs and capability in Western Australia, Whyalla, the Illawarra and the Hunter in efficient, low emissions, high-quality Australian iron and steel products;
- A big step up for Australia, using our natural advantages in iron ore mining, our energy advantage and our industrial capability, a step-up in global value chains delivering Australia as an indispensable part of global steel supply chains, with all that economic resilience and strategic advantage;
- Acting to protect the future of our great iron ore mining sector for future decades; and
- All of the jobs, tens of thousands of good Australian blue collar and engineering jobs in Australia’s regions and outer suburbs, that will deliver for our future generations.
Making iron here in Australia is one of our most exciting opportunities.
There are also huge opportunities to use Australian structural steel to build Australia’s modern electricity system. Over the coming years, Australia will need thousands of wind towers.
The opportunities presented by this work, particularly for good blue-collar jobs in regional Australia, are immense.
I know that increasing domestic production of wind and transmission towers is on the list of key issues to be addressed at this Summit and I look forward to hearing about the practical strategies you discuss.
During the campaign, the Prime Minister announced that our Government will invest $500 million through the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund for clean energy manufacturing so that wind towers and other elements of the renewable energy rollout are made here in Australia.
That investment in our fabrication capacity ensures Australian manufacturers have the backing they need to invest in new tech, scale up and seize the opportunities our energy transition presents.
This will drive new jobs in manufacturing and secure our economic resilience, ensuring we continue to have the know-how we need here in our shores.
I recently got to see this in action at Precision Oxycut, a leading manufacturing firm 25km from here in the heart of Western Sydney.
They are turning Australian steel from BlueScope into steel products that can be used in a range of projects, including wind and solar farms.
That includes high-performance anchor cages and hold-down bolts for wind turbine foundations.
I was really encouraged to see the progress they have been able to make delivering Australian products to renewables projects around the country. I want to see more firms do the same, because that means more good jobs in our outer suburbs and regions.
The Albanese Government will also protect domestic industry from unfair competition.
In the campaign, we announced that we will strengthen our anti-dumping regime to safeguard key sectors like steel, aluminium, and manufacturing.
We also announced that we will establish a new Economic Resilience Program through our National Reconstruction Fund.
This will provide $1 billion in zero interest loans for firms to capitalise on new export opportunities.
We also announced $50 million for export sectors affected by US tariffs, to secure and grow their market share overseas.
Energy costs weigh heavily on manufacturing businesses. This Government is focused on ensuring a reliable and affordable clean energy supply to Australian industry.
We are doing this by investing in renewables and electrification infrastructure, supporting businesses and households to electrify and working to unscramble the omelette of Australian gas in the interests of Australian industry.
The pathway to protecting current Australian industry and delivering future investment in Australian manufacturing is dependent upon more renewables and affordable gas.
And the pathway for industry and government is lower cost if we deliver more renewables, storage and gas at affordable, stable prices.
The Future Made in Australia agenda is also about harnessing science’s proven ability to foster a competitive and dynamic economy.
We are reviewing our R&D system to understand how we can encourage more home-grown ideas and strengthen linkages between research, industry and government.
We know that the development of a more innovative and connected R&D system will be essential to the successful revival of Australia’s manufacturing sector.
I have outlined some of the important steps we are taking and the foundations we have laid, but we know there is much work to be done.
We cannot afford complacency, a hallmark of the previous government that allowed critical national capabilities to erode, and in some cases, collapse.
The Albanese Labor Government’s manufacturing strategy is a decisive shift from nearly a decade of neglect under the Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison Governments.
That was a period defined by declining investment, shrinking manufacturing and engineering jobs, and policy decisions that drove the automotive industry offshore.
We want to undertake this vital work in lockstep with all of you in this room. This Summit brings together the ecosystem we require to succeed.
We want to build cooperation across business, research institutions, trade unions and levels of government to achieve our objectives in the national interest – this is how we have been working and how we intend to continue.
This Summit is also a well-timed opportunity because it comes in the weeks prior to the Treasurer’s economic reform roundtable.
The roundtable will convene in August and will focus on shaping the direction for long-term economic reform. It will support our Government’s growth and productivity agenda. We are looking for consensus on national reform priorities for this term and beyond.
I expect many of the challenges you are discussing at this Summit will be focuses of the roundtable conversations – whether related to energy challenges, workforce issues or productivity.
I encourage you all to contribute to this process and to the public discussion.
As the Treasurer has said, we are approaching this with an open door and an open mind.
We will consider any good ideas that we can afford and where there is sufficient consensus about the way forward.
In this coming term of government, my colleagues and I are laser-focused on delivery.
We are acutely aware of the responsibility each of us has, and that we have as a government, to deliver the agenda that we were elected upon for the benefit of Australians.
For me, I am focused on driving toward our Future Made in Australia objectives with purpose.
I am focused on building on the foundations we have laid and getting on with the job of delivering a future where Australia leads, not follows, in manufacturing excellence.
I am very much looking forward to working with all of you to ensure our economic future is powered by Australian ingenuity, Australian workers, and Australian-made solutions.
Thank you.
